Chapter 7: The Truth About My Father
I couldn’t move.
Daniel’s voice was still in my ear, but all I could hear was silence.
My father.
A subject I had avoided for years.
A wound I had buried so deeply that even my closest friends stopped asking about it.
“Rachel?””
Daniel’s voice sounded almost amused.
“Are you still there?””
I looked at Emily.
She was standing across the room, frozen.
Not confused.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
“Where did you hear about my father?”” I asked.
A long pause followed.
Then Daniel said:
“Ask Emily.””
The call ended.
I lowered my phone slowly.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I turned toward her.
“Emily.””
She closed her eyes.
“Rachel…”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“Don’t do that.””
She opened her eyes.
“Do what?””
“Look at me like you’re protecting me.””
The pain in her expression made me even more frustrated.
“Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle.””
Emily looked down.
“I didn’t want to hurt you.””
“You already did.””
The words came out harsher than I intended.
But they were true.
She accepted them without defending herself.
That somehow hurt more.
“My father disappeared when I was twelve,” I said.
“I know.””
My heart tightened.
“You know?””
Emily nodded.
“He told me.””
I stared.
“Who?””
“Your father.””
The room felt like it tilted.
“What are you talking about?””
Emily walked toward the window.
“When your father left, everyone believed he abandoned your family.””
She paused.
“But that wasn’t what happened.””
I felt a cold feeling spread through my body.
“Then what happened?””
Emily turned around.
“He was trying to expose someone.””
“Who?””
She looked at me.
“Daniel’s father.””
I said nothing.
Because the answer was too impossible.
“My father worked for Daniel’s family company,” Emily continued.
“He discovered they were hiding financial problems. Fake reports. Missing money.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“You’re telling me my father disappeared because of Daniel’s family?””
Emily’s eyes filled with sadness.
“I’m telling you your father was trying to do the right thing.””
I walked away from her.
My mind was searching for memories.
My father leaving.
My mother crying.
The neighbors whispering.
Everyone saying the same thing.
“He ran away.””
But what if they were wrong?
“What does Daniel have to do with this?””
Emily hesitated.
“That night at graduation, you found documents proving Daniel helped his father cover it up.””
I looked at the notebook.
“And you knew?””
“I found out later.””
“When?””
Emily looked away.
“After your father contacted me.””
My breath stopped.
“Contacted you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Three days after graduation.””
I stared at her.
“You talked to my father?””
Emily nodded.
“He told me he couldn’t come back yet.””
“Why?””
“Because someone was watching him.””
I felt anger rise.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because he asked me not to.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He said if Daniel knew you had the information, you would become a target.””
I laughed bitterly.
“So you just let me believe he abandoned me?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I tried to tell you.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
Emily looked at me.
“Because Daniel got to you first.””
I remembered.
That night.
Daniel showing up outside my house.
Sitting with me.
Telling me everything would be okay.
Telling me Emily was obsessed with revenge.
Telling me my father left because he didn’t care.
My stomach turned.
“He manipulated me.””
Emily nodded.
“Yes.””
I sat down.
Ten years of memories suddenly felt like someone else’s life.
Then Emily reached into her bag.
She pulled out another envelope.
“This came yesterday.””
I looked at it.
“From who?””
She handed it to me.
The handwriting was old.
But familiar.
I knew that handwriting.
My hands shook.
“My father?””
Emily nodded.
“He’s alive.””
The room went completely silent.
I stared at the envelope.
Ten years.
Ten years believing I had been abandoned.
Ten years hating someone who might have been protecting me.
I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
Only one sentence.
*Rachel, if you are reading this, it means Daniel finally knows I’m coming back.*
I looked at Emily.
“What does that mean?””
She didn’t answer.
Because the next sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Then another.
Emily walked toward the window.
Her face changed.
“What?””
I stood.
“What is it?””
She looked outside.
“There are two men standing in front of the restaurant.””
“Who are they?””
Emily’s voice dropped.
“People who work for Daniel.””
My phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
From an unknown number.
*You should have left the past buried.*
I looked at Emily.
And for the first time, I understood something.
The dinner tonight wasn’t a coincidence.
May you like
Daniel didn’t just want the restaurant.
He wanted whatever truth my father had left behind.
