Chapter 7: The Truth Daniel Buried
Chapter 7: The Truth Daniel Buried
The sentence echoed through the room.
“The person trying to kill your mother… was me.”
Lena felt like the floor beneath her had disappeared.
She had imagined this moment for years.
Meeting her father.
Hearing his voice.
Learning why he left.
In every version she created in her mind, there was pain.
But she never imagined this.
Never imagined that the first truth from the man she had searched for her entire life would be a confession.
“You…”
Her voice barely worked.
“You tried to kill my mother?”
Daniel looked at her.
And the sadness in his eyes was almost worse than anger.
“Yes.”
Adrian immediately stepped forward.
“Daniel, explain.”
But Lena raised her hand.
“No.”
Everyone stopped.
She looked at Adrian.
Then Daniel.
Then Marcus.
“No more secrets.”
Her voice trembled.
“No more people deciding what I can handle.”
She wiped away a tear.
“I want the truth.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“You deserve it.”
Marcus leaned against the wall.
Enjoying the moment.
“Finally.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You don’t get to enjoy this.”
Marcus smiled.
“I’m simply watching everyone admit what they did.”
The room became tense.
Daniel ignored him.
Fifteen years disappeared from his face.
Not because he became younger.
Because he finally stopped running.
“Your mother and I built Hart Technologies together.”
Lena listened.
“Everyone thought I was the genius behind it.”
A bitter smile appeared.
“But Clara was the reason it survived.”
Adrian looked down.
He knew that.
Clara had always been underestimated.
She was not the person standing on the stage.
She was the person making sure the person on the stage didn’t fall.
“Then Victor came.”
Daniel continued.
“He wanted our technology.”
“What technology?”
Lena asked.
Daniel looked at the necklace.
“The Helios Project.”
The name meant nothing to her.
But everyone else reacted.
Adrian’s expression changed.
Marcus became quiet.
“You know that name?”
Lena asked.
Adrian nodded slowly.
“I heard rumors.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“That it was a system capable of predicting and solving complex problems using advanced artificial intelligence.”
Lena frowned.
“That sounds like something companies would want.”
Daniel looked at her.
“It was more than that.”
A pause.
“Much more.”
He walked toward the window.
“Helios could analyze global patterns. Energy. Climate. Medical research. Economic systems.”
Adrian understood.
“A technology that could predict future events.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
Because that was not just valuable.
That was power.
“The wrong person controlling Helios could manipulate markets. Governments. Entire countries.”
Lena looked at the necklace.
“And my mother hid it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel’s eyes became painful.
“Because people started dying.”
Fifteen years earlier.
Daniel remembered the final night.
The rain.
The fear.
The sound of Clara packing documents.
“We need to leave.”
Daniel had never seen her like that.
Clara was not someone who panicked.
Not even when their company was collapsing.
Not even when threats appeared.
But that night...
She was terrified.
“Who knows?”
Daniel asked.
She looked at him.
“Everyone.”
That answer frightened him.
Because Clara had never exaggerated.
They had discovered Victor Hale was not working alone.
Someone inside their circle was leaking information.
Someone close.
Someone they trusted.
Daniel wanted to fight.
Clara wanted to disappear.
“Take Lena.”
She had told him.
“Get her somewhere safe.”
But Daniel made the mistake that destroyed everything.
He refused.
“I can protect you.”
Clara looked at him sadly.
“No.”
A pause.
“You can protect the company.”
She touched his face.
“But you cannot protect me from the people who know you.”
That night, Daniel made a choice.
A terrible choice.
He decided to become the villain.
He leaked false information.
He made it look like he had stolen the Helios Project.
He made enemies believe he was the threat.
He thought if everyone chased him...
They would stop chasing Clara and Lena.
He was wrong.
Because the people hunting them were smarter than he expected.
Back in the present.
Lena stared at him.
“So you made everyone believe you were the enemy.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother?”
Daniel looked away.
“She believed I betrayed her.”
The room became quiet.
“Because I couldn’t tell her the truth.”
Lena felt tears forming.
“So you let her hate you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“Because if she hated me, she would stay away from me.”
His voice cracked.
“And if she stayed away from me, she might survive.”
Lena shook her head.
“But she disappeared.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The pain was obvious.
“Because the person I trusted most betrayed us.”
Everyone looked at Marcus.
Marcus didn’t react.
Daniel continued.
“I discovered someone was tracking Clara.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at Marcus.
The answer was immediate.
“Victor Hale.”
Adrian frowned.
“That’s impossible. Victor disappeared.”
Daniel nodded.
“Because someone helped him.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“And now we return to the same question.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Who?”
Marcus smiled.
“Exactly.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re still hiding something.”
Marcus looked amused.
“Everyone is.”
Then he walked toward the table.
He picked up the necklace.
Adrian immediately moved.
But Marcus didn’t take it.
He simply looked at it.
“You know what’s funny?”
Nobody answered.
“Clara trusted all of us.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Her husband.”
Then Adrian.
“Her closest friend.”
Then himself.
“Her colleague.”
His smile faded.
“And every single one of us failed her.”
Lena felt a strange anger rising.
Because everyone was talking about Clara.
Her intelligence.
Her sacrifice.
Her death.
But nobody was talking about the little girl who lost her mother.
Until now.
“Stop.”
Everyone looked at Lena.
Her voice was quiet.
But powerful.
“You keep saying you failed my mother.”
She looked around.
“But nobody is saying you failed me.”
The room went silent.
Adrian lowered his eyes.
Daniel looked devastated.
Marcus stopped smiling.
Lena continued.
“I don’t care about your companies.”
She touched the necklace.
“I don’t care about your secrets.”
Her eyes filled.
“I just wanted my mother.”
No one had an answer.
Because there was no explanation that could fix fifteen missing years.
Suddenly, Marcus’s phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Adrian noticed.
“Who is it?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Who?”
Marcus slowly turned the phone around.
A message appeared.
One sentence.
THE GIRL HAS BEEN FOUND. BEGIN PHASE TWO.
Adrian’s face changed.
“Phase two?”
Marcus looked at him.
For the first time...
He looked genuinely worried.
“Adrian.”
A pause.
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
Marcus looked at Lena.
“The people who wanted Helios never cared about the technology.”
Silence.
“They cared about the person who could activate it.”
Lena froze.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel’s face went pale.
Because he understood.
Adrian looked at him.
“Daniel?”
Daniel whispered:
“Helios was never activated by a password.”
A pause.
“It was activated by DNA.”
Everyone looked at Lena.
Her heart stopped.
“My DNA?”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“You were the key.”
The lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot echoed from downstairs.
Everyone froze.
Then another sound followed.
Glass breaking.
Someone had entered.
And this time...
May you like
They were not coming for the secret.
They were coming for Lena.
