Chapter 11: My Father's Final Message
I opened the envelope.
No one stopped me this time.
Inside was a single letter.
My father's handwriting covered the page.
The first line destroyed me.
*My dearest Evelyn, if you are reading this, then I failed to protect you.*
My eyes filled.
I sat down.
Nathaniel and Adrian stayed silent.
I continued.
*I spent my entire life building something I thought would keep you safe. I was wrong. Money attracts people who see love as an opportunity.*
I swallowed hard.
*If Adrian is beside you when you read this, remember one thing: he is not the beginning of this betrayal.*
I looked up.
Adrian stared at the floor.
The letter continued.
*But he may not be the end.*
My hands shook.
My father knew.
He knew Adrian was dangerous.
But he also knew there was someone worse.
*Daniel found evidence that someone inside our family had been working with Bellweather. He wanted to expose them. I begged him to wait.*
I turned the page.
*The night of the accident, Daniel discovered the truth. He went to confront them.*
My breathing stopped.
The accident.
The lie I had believed my whole life.
*Your mother was there.*
I looked at Adrian.
He didn't move.
*She was not alone.*
The room felt smaller.
*Evelyn, there is something I never told you because I wanted to spare your childhood. Your mother made choices that hurt our family. But she also tried to fix what she had broken.*
I whispered:
“Why?””
Nobody answered.
I kept reading.
*Daniel survived that night. But he disappeared because he knew the person responsible would come after him.*
My eyes moved to the hospital records.
Daniel survived.
He was alive.
Somewhere.
*If Daniel returns, listen to him. He knows what happened.*
The final paragraph was underlined.
*Do not trust anyone who claims they protected you. Protection without truth is another form of control.*
I closed the letter.
Nobody spoke.
Then Adrian said quietly:
“He hated me.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Your father.””
I stared.
“No.””
“Yes.””
He looked broken.
“He knew what I was.””
I remembered the photograph.
Adrian beside my father.
The meetings.
The secrets.
“But he still let me marry you.””
Adrian nodded.
“Because he thought I could change.””
The bitterness in his voice surprised me.
“And did you?””
He looked at me.
“I tried.””
A laugh escaped me.
“You tried by stealing my company?””
“I failed.””
The honesty was painful.
Before I could respond, Nathaniel's phone rang.
Again.
He answered.
“Ross.””
His expression changed.
“What?””
He stood.
“Where?””
He ended the call.
“What happened?””
He looked at Adrian.
“Your mother disappeared.””
Adrian froze.
“What?””
“Victoria Vale left her house twenty minutes ago.””
“Where did she go?””
Nathaniel hesitated.
“Her car was found abandoned near the old Hawthorne estate.””
My heart sank.
The old Hawthorne estate.
The place my father had sold after his death.
The place nobody visited.
“Why would she go there?””
Adrian looked at me.
Because he knew.
“I think she was going to meet someone.””
“Who?””
He didn't answer.
Then his phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His face turned white.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
“Adrian?””
He handed me the phone.
A photo.
Taken inside the old Hawthorne estate.
Victoria standing in a dark room.
Facing someone.
A man.
Older.
Alive.
My breath disappeared.
Because I recognized him from the hospital record.
Daniel Hawthorne.
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Below the photo was one message.
*Come alone if you want to know why your father really died.*
