CHAPTER 4: THE DAUGHTER OF THE ENEMY
"From the truth about your father."
Those words followed me everywhere.
They followed me while I drove home.
They followed me while I sat alone in my apartment.
They followed me when I closed my eyes and tried to convince myself that everything could still be explained.
But explanations require honesty.
And Evelyn had given me ten years of silence.
That was something I couldn't ignore anymore.
I stood in her apartment doorway, waiting.
Waiting for her to deny everything.
Waiting for her to laugh and tell me I misunderstood.
Waiting for the Evelyn I knew to appear.
But she didn't.
Instead, she looked like someone who had finally run out of places to hide.
"Come inside."
I didn't move.
"I don't think I want to."
Her eyes lowered.
"That's fair."
The fact that she accepted it hurt more than an argument would have.
Evelyn always fought.
She fought for me.
She fought against my doubts.
She fought against anyone who tried to hurt me.
But now...
She wasn't fighting.
She was surrendering.
And that terrified me.
I finally stepped inside.
Her apartment looked exactly like I expected.
Organized.
Clean.
Almost too perfect.
Every book aligned.
Every picture placed carefully.
Nothing out of position.
Just like Evelyn herself.
I sat on the couch.
She sat across from me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked:
"Who was my father to your family?"
Evelyn looked at the floor.
"My father worked with yours."
"That's not an answer."
She nodded.
"You're right."
A pause.
"My father, Victor Cross, was your father's business partner."
"I know that now."
Her eyes moved to mine.
"You don't know everything."
"Then tell me."
She took a deep breath.
"Ten years ago, my father and your father built a company together."
"My father never mentioned him."
"Because they stopped being partners."
"Why?"
Her fingers tightened.
"Because my father betrayed him."
The answer came quietly.
But it carried weight.
"What did he do?"
Evelyn looked away.
"He stole money."
I frowned.
"How much?"
"Enough to destroy the company."
I was silent.
"My father found out?"
"Yes."
"And he exposed him?"
"No."
That surprised me.
"Why not?"
Evelyn swallowed.
"Because your father gave him a chance to fix it."
I laughed bitterly.
"That sounds like my father."
She looked sad.
"Your father believed people could change."
"And Victor?"
"He didn't."
I leaned forward.
"Why were you watching me?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
"How long did you know who I was?"
She closed her eyes.
"Before college."
My chest tightened.
"How?"
"My father kept files."
"Files?"
"About your family."
The room felt smaller.
"Why?"
"Because he was afraid your father would expose him."
I stared at her.
"So you approached me because of your father?"
Evelyn looked hurt.
"No."
"Then why?"
She whispered:
"Because I wanted to know what kind of person you were."
I stood.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"It isn't."
For ten years, I had believed our friendship started with a broken laptop.
Now I realized there was another beginning.
One I didn't know about.
A beginning where Evelyn wasn't a stranger who helped me.
She was someone who had studied me.
Someone who had entered my life with a purpose.
"You manipulated me."
Her eyes filled slightly.
"I know how it looks."
"Because that's what happened."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Not everything was fake."
"How am I supposed to know?"
"You can't."
The honesty stopped me.
She didn't defend herself.
She didn't say the perfect thing.
She simply accepted the damage.
And somehow that made it worse.
"Tell me something."
"What?"
"That day outside the library."
Her face changed.
The memory clearly mattered to her.
"Did you know my laptop was broken?"
A long silence.
Then:
"Yes."
My stomach dropped.
"How?"
"I saw you before."
"When?"
"The day before."
I stared.
"Where?"
"At the university orientation."
"You were there?"
She nodded.
"I saw your name on the registration list."
My voice became quiet.
"So when you walked up to me..."
"I knew your name."
"You knew who I was."
"Yes."
The room became silent.
"Why help me?"
Evelyn looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw something genuine.
Not calculation.
Not strategy.
Pain.
"Because after meeting you, I realized you weren't your father's mistake."
I didn't understand.
"What does that mean?"
She looked down.
"My father spent years teaching me that your family was my enemy."
She smiled sadly.
"But then I met you."
A tear fell.
"And you were just a person who couldn't afford coffee and was panicking over a broken laptop."
I didn't say anything.
"I spent months trying to understand why I felt guilty."
"Guilty?"
"Because my father hurt your family."
The anger inside me became mixed with something else.
Something dangerous.
Doubt.
Because Evelyn was not a simple villain.
Villains were easy.
They lied.
They manipulated.
They destroyed.
But Evelyn...
Evelyn had done all those things while also saving me.
And that made her impossible to understand.
"What happened to your father?"
Evelyn went quiet.
"After the investigation?"
"Yes."
"He disappeared."
"Like Sarah said."
Her eyes widened.
"You spoke to Sarah?"
I noticed her reaction.
"You know her?"
Evelyn looked away.
"Yes."
"How?"
Another silence.
Then:
"Because Sarah was the person who helped your father investigate my father."
I froze.
"She worked with him?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she contact me?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
"Why?"
Finally, she said:
"Because she wants revenge."
"Against who?"
"Me."
I frowned.
"Why?"
Evelyn looked at me.
"Because she believes I helped my father escape."
The words hung between us.
"Did you?"
Her eyes filled with pain.
"Nathan..."
"Did you help him?"
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
I left her apartment without saying goodbye.
I needed space.
I needed distance.
I needed to figure out whether the person I trusted most was secretly my enemy.
But before I reached my car, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From Claire.
Nathan, I found something about Evelyn. You need to see this before it's too late.
Attached was a photo.
A document.
A name.
A date.
And a signature.
My hands started shaking.
Because the signature belonged to my father.
And the document was dated...
Three months before he had his heart attack.
The title at the top read:
CONFIDENTIAL AGREEMENT: PROTECTION OF NATHAN REED
I stared at the screen.
Protection.
That word again.
Everyone kept saying they were protecting me.
Evelyn.
My father.
Maybe even Claire.
But nobody told me what danger I was supposed to be protected from.
Then another message appeared.
This time from an unknown number.
Only four words.
"Ask Evelyn about your mother."
I looked back toward her apartment window.
The lights were still on.
She was standing there.
Watching me leave.
And suddenly I realized something terrifying.
For ten years, I thought Evelyn was the person who knew everything about my life.
But maybe...
She was the person who knew everything I wasn't supposed to know.
May you like
End of Chapter 4
Chapter 5: The Woman My Mother Feared sẽ mở ra bí mật về mẹ của Nathan, lý do bà luôn yêu quý Evelyn nhưng lại từng âm thầm sợ cô ấy, và sự thật đằng sau bản hợp đồng "Protection of Nathan Reed".**
