Chapter 9 - November
The month that connected every lie was the month I was supposed to forget.
Liam finally sat down.
Sarah stood beside him.
“Talk.”
He looked at me.
“I was there.”
“Where?”
“On the night your father died.”
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“You told me you didn't meet him again.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because he asked me not to tell you.”
I felt anger burn through me.
“What exactly happened?”
Liam looked down.
“He called me at 1:14 a.m.”
“Why?”
“He said Victor had found the documents.”
“What documents?”
“The ownership files.”
“And?”
“He wanted me to take them.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
He looked at me.
“In your office.”
I frowned.
“My office has nothing from five years ago.”
“Not your current office.”
I understood.
The old house.
My father's study.
We returned at dawn.
The hospital had agreed to keep Gary under observation.
Sarah refused to leave him.
I went with Liam.
The old family property had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered the windows.
The furniture remained exactly as I remembered it.
We went downstairs.
My father's study had a hidden wall panel.
Liam pressed three places.
Nothing.
I stepped forward.
I pressed the fourth.
The wall opened.
Inside was a metal safe.
My heart raced.
Liam handed me a key.
“Your father gave me this.”
I inserted it.
The safe opened.
Inside were twelve envelopes.
Each contained documents.
Property deeds.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Corporate agreements.
And one handwritten note.
For Alina.
My hands shook as I opened it.
You are going to hate me.
I swallowed.
You will think I betrayed you.
Another line.
You will be wrong.
I kept reading.
The person you trust most will eventually ask you to choose between your family and the truth.
I looked at Liam.
He said nothing.
The next line made my blood run cold.
When that happens, don't choose family.
I stared at him.
“Who did Dad mean?”
“I don't know.”
I opened another envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
Gary.
Evan.
Victor.
And a fifth person.
Liam.
Sarah's boyfriend had been part of the family secret before he ever met Sarah.
I looked at him.
“You knew my family before meeting Sarah.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I was investigating Victor.”
“And you met them.”
“Yes.”
Gary had lied.
My mother had lied.
Evan had lied.
But Liam had chosen to date Sarah knowing she was part of the family he had been investigating.
I whispered,
“Did you use her?”
“No.”
“Did you come into her life because of me?”
“No.”
“Would you have dated her if you knew I was involved?”
He hesitated.
I knew.
That hesitation was enough.
Then we heard a sound from upstairs.
A door closing.
Liam raised his head.
“Someone's here.”
We moved silently.
The hallway was empty.
Then a phone rang from my father's old bedroom.
I pushed the door open.
A phone sat on the bed.
Not mine.
Not Liam's.
It belonged to my mother.
Beside it was a note.
You were never supposed to find the fourth envelope.
I looked at the safe.
Only eleven envelopes remained.
I opened the fourth.
Inside was a single bank statement.
The account belonged to Victor Hale.
The final transaction occurred five years ago.
The recipient was listed as:
ALINA VALE
Amount:
$4,500,000.
Date:
November 14.
The date my father died.
Liam stared at the page.
“You didn't receive this.”
“No.”
“Then someone used your name.”
I looked at the signature.
It was mine.
Perfectly copied.
And underneath it was a handwritten note.
Payment for silence.
May you like
My blood went cold.
Because I knew exactly who had the skill to forge my signature.
