Chapter 10: The Investigator Who Disappeared
Daniel Cross placed the folder on the table.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The restaurant continued around us.
Forks touched plates.
People laughed.
A couple at the next table took pictures of their food.
But our corner felt frozen.
Seven years ago, Daniel Cross vanished.
My father’s investigator.
The man who supposedly disappeared after my father’s death.
And now he was standing in front of me like he had never left.
“You’re alive.””
My voice sounded distant.
Daniel gave a small, tired smile.
“I suppose that’s the first thing everyone says.””
“Everyone?””
He looked at Julian.
Julian’s face was tense.
“You knew he was alive.””
Julian didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I looked between them.
“How many secrets are there?””
Daniel pulled out the chair.
“Too many.””
I didn’t invite him to sit.
“You have five minutes.””
He nodded.
“That’s fair.””
He opened the folder.
The first thing I saw was a photograph of my father.
My throat tightened.
“I spent seven years trying to finish what Thomas started.””
“Why didn’t you come to me?””
Daniel looked down.
“Because your father told me not to.””
I froze.
“My father?””
“He knew you would become a target.””
I looked at Julian.
“And yet Julian found me anyway.””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“That wasn’t a coincidence.””
The words landed heavily.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel looked at Julian.
“Tell her.””
Julian looked away.
I felt anger rise.
“Tell me what?””
Daniel answered.
“Julian wasn’t sent to find you.””
A pause.
“He was sent to watch you.””
My stomach turned.
I looked at Julian.
“Is that true?””
He didn’t deny it.
And somehow, that hurt more.
“How long?””
Julian whispered:
“Before we met.””
I stepped back.
The restaurant suddenly felt too crowded.
Too loud.
Every sound hurt.
Daniel continued.
“Victor believed Thomas Bennett left something behind.””
“The money?””
“No.””
I frowned.
“Then what?””
Daniel tapped the folder.
“The truth.””
I looked at him.
“What truth?””
“The reason Victor destroyed your father.””
He opened another document.
A financial report.
I scanned the pages.
At first, they looked like ordinary company records.
Then I saw a name.
Victor Hayes.
Another name.
My father.
And underneath them, a third name.
Someone I didn’t recognize.
“Who is Elizabeth Bennett?””
Daniel went silent.
Julian looked at me.
I noticed immediately.
“You know that name.””
Julian swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Who is she?””
Daniel answered quietly.
“Your aunt.””
I stared.
“My father didn’t have a sister.””
“That’s what you were told.””
The world tilted.
“My father lied to me?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“Then who did?””
He closed the folder.
“Your mother.””
I stopped breathing.
My mother died when I was young.
The woman I barely remembered.
The woman everyone described as gentle and kind.
“What does my mother have to do with this?””
Daniel looked at me carefully.
“Everything.””
Before I could demand an explanation, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From Sienna.
*You’re asking the wrong questions.*
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
*Your father wasn’t protecting you from Victor. He was protecting you from the truth about your own family.*
I looked up.
Daniel saw my expression.
“What did she say?””
I showed him.
His face changed.
“She found the file.””
Julian stood immediately.
“We need to leave.””
I looked at him.
“You don’t get to give orders anymore.””
“Clara, listen.””
“No.””
I picked up the folder.
“I’m done being the last person to know what’s happening in my own life.””
Daniel stood.
“Then you need to see where this started.””
“Where?””
He looked at me.
“Your father’s old office.””
I frowned.
“That building was sold years ago.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
He reached into his pocket.
He placed a key on the table.
“He never sold it.””
I stared at the key.
“What?””
“He hid it.””
Julian looked terrified.
“Daniel, if she goes there—”
Daniel interrupted.
“She has the right.””
Then he looked at me.
“Because that office contains the one thing Victor spent seven years trying to find.””
“What?””
Daniel’s answer was barely a whisper.
“The proof that your father never stole anything.””
May you like
A pause.
“And the proof that someone helped him.””
