Chapter 8 - Richard's Confession“Tell me.”

Richard didn't move.

“What?”

“What happened sixteen years ago?”

He closed the office door.

Ava left.

For several seconds, Richard simply stared at me.

Then he sat down.

“I was there.”

My heart stopped.

“Where?”

“The night your mother died.”

I stood.

“You were at the crash?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Your grandfather called me.”

“What did you see?”

Richard rubbed his hands together.

“I arrived after the vehicle left the road.”

“You were there before the police?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because your grandfather believed something would happen.”

“What?”

“He didn't know exactly what.”

I waited.

Richard looked exhausted.

“Your mother had discovered Victor's financial scheme. Daniel knew she had discovered it.”

“So my father knew?”

“Yes.”

“He did nothing?”

“He was afraid.”

“That's not an excuse.”

“No.”

Richard met my eyes.

“It isn't.”

I paced across the room.

“What happened after the crash?”

“Your mother was alive.”

My head snapped toward him.

“What?”

“She was injured. But alive.”

Richard's voice broke.

“Your grandfather reached her first.”

I could barely breathe.

“What did he do?”

“He called emergency services.”

“Then?”

“He got your father out of the car.”

“Why?”

“Because Daniel had been driving behind her.”

I stopped.

“My father was there.”

“Yes.”

“Then why did everyone say he wasn't?”

Richard looked at me.

“Because Victor threatened him.”

“With what?”

“Your life.”

Silence.

I sat down.

“My father stayed silent to protect me.”

“Yes.”

“But my grandfather knew.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't he tell me?”

“Because by then you were the only thing Daniel had left.”

I closed my eyes.

All those years I had believed my father didn't care.

Maybe he did.

Maybe he had simply become trapped inside fear.

Then I remembered something.

“Richard.”

He looked at me.

“The condition.”

“Yes.”

“Why does my inheritance depend on me staying away from my father?”

Richard hesitated.

“Because your grandfather believed you would eventually discover the truth.”

“That still doesn't explain it.”

“It does.”

He reached inside his jacket.

Pulled out another letter.

“This was sealed with the will.”

I opened it.

Nathan,

I know you will want to forgive your father when you learn the truth.

You must resist that temptation.

Not because he is evil.

Because he is still afraid.

I read the next paragraph.

A frightened man can be more dangerous than a cruel one, because he will make the wrong choice again if given the same reason.

My hands trembled.

Then the final sentence.

And the person who taught him to be afraid is still alive.

I looked up.

“Victor.”

Richard nodded.

“But Victor is missing.”

“Exactly.”

We found his location three hours later.

A warehouse near the harbor.

I went with Richard and two police officers.

The building was empty.

Except for one chair.

On the chair was a photograph of me sleeping in my car.

Next to it was a note.

Your grandfather built an empire to protect one child.

I built mine to control that empire.

Now you belong to me.

Then beneath the message was a second photograph.

My father.

Tied to a chair.

Blood running down his forehead.

And a timestamp.

12:00 A.M.

Richard looked at his watch.

May you like

My Family Inherited Millions and Left Me a Ruined House. Four Months Lat...

The lawyer’s office fell silent as my grandmother’s will was read, and I watched my family inherit millions while I received nothi...

A Desperate Mother Begged a Billionaire for a Job to Feed Her Two Childr...

I was stranded on a lonely Arizona highway with two starving children, a pair of ruined suitcases, and no way to reach our destina...

I Saved the Mafia Boss’s Baby from a Dumpster, but He Threw Me in Jail f...

The first thing I noticed when I opened the dumpster behind the Valente mansion was a tiny blue hand sticking out from beneath a f...

11:43.

We had seventeen minutes.