Chapter 8: The Lawyer Who Wrote The Trap
The name on the screen burned into everyone's mind.
DAVID MILLER.
For several seconds, nobody reacted.
Because sometimes the most unbelievable truths were the ones standing right in front of you.
Daniel stared at the man beside him.
The man who had defended him.
The man who had sat through every hearing.
The man who had promised him:
"I will get you out of this."
Now that same man stood beneath the first Carter Technologies building, surrounded by evidence of a conspiracy.
And the evidence said he was part of it.
"No."
David shook his head.
"No, this isn't what you think."
Daniel didn't move.
"What should I think, David?"
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
"You were my attorney."
David looked at the screen.
"I was trying to access the files."
"Why?"
Silence.
That silence answered more than words.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Why?"
David finally looked up.
And the sadness in his eyes was worse than anger.
"Because I needed to know if it was true."
Daniel frowned.
"What was true?"
David swallowed.
"That your company was built on something illegal."
Everyone looked at him.
Even Victor.
"You knew?"
David nodded slowly.
"I suspected."
Daniel felt betrayed.
"You suspected, and you said nothing?"
"I wasn't sure."
David looked around the room.
"I spent twenty years defending people who thought they were innocent."
His voice became heavier.
"Some were."
"Some weren't."
"But every single one of them had one thing in common."
He looked at Daniel.
"They believed they knew the whole story."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"So you investigated me?"
"No."
David shook his head.
"I investigated the company."
The truth began to unfold.
Three years earlier, David Miller had taken a case involving a former Carter Technologies employee.
A man who claimed the company had hidden illegal operations.
Nobody believed him.
The employee had no proof.
No documents.
No witnesses.
Just accusations.
The case was dismissed.
But something bothered David.
The man's final words before leaving court.
"They don't destroy people with weapons. They destroy them with information."
David remembered that sentence.
So he started digging.
Quietly.
He discovered strange financial patterns.
Hidden accounts.
Unusual transfers.
Employees who suddenly disappeared.
But every trail ended.
Someone was always one step ahead.
Until Daniel Carter was arrested.
Then David saw something strange.
The evidence against Daniel was too perfect.
Too organized.
Too clean.
Real crimes were messy.
Real criminals made mistakes.
But this...
This looked designed.
Someone had created a story.
And everyone was following the script.
"I didn't betray you."
David's voice was quiet.
"I was trying to find out who did."
Daniel stared.
"Then why does the system show your name?"
Andrew stepped toward the computer.
"I can answer that."
Everyone looked at him.
Andrew pointed at the screen.
"This isn't a login."
"What?"
"It's a trap."
David frowned.
Andrew continued.
"Someone wanted us to see David's name."
He typed quickly.
The screen changed.
A hidden file appeared.
Inside was a list.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
And at the top...
One name.
Victor Hayes.
Daniel looked at Victor.
Victor's expression changed.
"I didn't create that."
Andrew nodded.
"Exactly."
The room became silent.
Because now they understood.
Someone was controlling the game.
Someone wanted everyone to blame each other.
Victor.
Laura.
David.
Detective Mason.
Everyone was being moved like pieces on a chessboard.
And the person holding the board was still hidden.
Then Emily spoke.
"Daddy."
Everyone turned.
The little girl was standing beside Andrew.
She looked at the screen.
"I saw that man."
Daniel walked toward her.
"Who?"
She pointed at the list.
A name.
Not Victor.
Not David.
Not Laura.
A name nobody expected.
"I saw him talking to the man with glasses."
Andrew's face changed.
"What?"
Emily pointed again.
"He came to the garden too."
Daniel knelt beside her.
"Who came to the garden, sweetheart?"
She looked at the name.
Then whispered:
"Grandpa."
The room froze.
Daniel's face went pale.
Everyone turned toward Thomas.
His own father.
Thomas slowly closed his eyes.
"Daniel..."
"No."
Daniel stood.
"What did she mean?"
Thomas didn't answer.
"Why would Emily see you?"
Thomas looked broken.
"Because I visited."
"How many times?"
"Only once."
Daniel's voice rose.
"You lied again."
Thomas lowered his head.
"I was trying to protect her."
"Everyone says that."
Daniel looked around the room.
"Everyone keeps saying they are protecting me."
His eyes became full of pain.
"But everyone keeps hiding the truth."
Suddenly, the basement door slammed open.
Everyone turned.
Police officers rushed inside.
Weapons raised.
"Nobody move!"
Daniel looked confused.
"What is happening?"
A detective stepped forward.
"We received information about this location."
David looked at him.
"From who?"
The detective held up a phone.
"A message from an anonymous source."
Daniel stared.
"What message?"
The detective looked at him.
"That Daniel Carter is hiding evidence and working with the people who kidnapped his daughter."
Silence.
Another trap.
Daniel looked around.
They were all there.
The underground facility.
The hidden files.
The people connected to the conspiracy.
Anyone walking into this room would believe the story.
A powerful businessman.
A secret room.
Illegal information.
A missing child.
It looked exactly like another setup.
Someone was writing the story again.
And this time...
Daniel was the villain.
As police surrounded the room, a figure watched from a security camera.
A hidden room.
A dark office.
Multiple screens showed Daniel and everyone around him.
The person smiled.
Everything was going exactly according to plan.
A voice spoke from behind.
"Are you sure this will work?"
The person watching the screens answered:
"Daniel Carter spent his entire life believing he was the hero."
A pause.
"Now the world will finally see the truth."
The second voice asked:
"And what is the truth?"
The person looked at the screen showing Daniel.
Then answered:
"That the man who built the empire..."
A cold smile appeared.
"...was the one who destroyed it."
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End of Chapter 8
(Chương tiếp theo: Chapter 9: The Evidence That Was Never Meant To Be Found.)
