Chapter 10 - THE TRUTH THEY TRIED TO HIDE
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I wasn’t tired.
I was exhausted.
But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mireya standing on those stairs.
A six-year-old girl.
Afraid of adults who were supposed to protect her.
I sat beside her bed until morning.
Watching her breathe.
Listening to every small movement.
Because I had learned something painful.
Sometimes the people who say they love your child are the people you have to watch the closest.
At 6:30 a.m., my phone rang.
It was Rachel.
“Cullen, you need to come in.”
Her voice sounded serious.
“What happened?”
“I found something about Daniel.”
My stomach tightened.
“I’m on my way.”
When I arrived at her office, she had several files open on her desk.
“This is not just about the custody papers.”
I sat down.
“What else?”
Rachel turned the laptop toward me.
“Daniel has represented Tove before.”
I frowned.
“Represented her?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
She hesitated.
“Financial disputes.”
I stared at the screen.
There were documents.
Transfers.
Emails.
Contracts.
Then I saw a name.
Mine.
“What is that?”
Rachel pointed.
“Your life insurance policy.”
My face changed.
“What does my life insurance have to do with this?”
She looked at me.
“Cullen, when was the last time you reviewed your beneficiaries?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
I hadn’t.
Rachel opened another document.
“Six months ago, someone attempted to change your policy.”
My hands went cold.
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“The request came from a device registered to your home.”
My mind immediately went to one person.
Tove.
“No.”
I whispered it.
But the evidence was sitting right in front of me.
Rachel continued.
“We don’t know if she completed the change.”
“But someone tried.”
“Yes.”
I stood up.
Anger rushed through me.
Not because of money.
Not because of property.
Because every decision she made had one thing in common.
My daughter.
She wanted control.
And Mireya was the easiest way to get it.
Before I left, Rachel grabbed my arm.
“Cullen.”
I stopped.
“You need to be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because if Tove realizes you’re collecting evidence…”
She paused.
“She may act before you’re ready.”
I drove home immediately.
But when I arrived…
Something felt wrong.
The front door was open.
“Mireya?”
No answer.
My heart started pounding.
“Mireya!”
I ran through the house.
The living room was empty.
The kitchen was empty.
Then I heard something.
A small sound.
Coming from upstairs.
I rushed toward it.
And found my daughter sitting on the floor.
Crying.
Holding her backpack.
“What happened?”
She looked at me.
“Daddy…”
Her voice was shaking.
“Tove said you’re going to leave.”
I knelt beside her.
“No.”
“She said you’re angry because of me.”
My heart broke.
“No, sweetheart.”
Then Mireya opened her backpack.
And pulled out something.
A piece of paper.
I recognized it immediately.
It was a drawing.
But someone had written on it.
A message.
Five words.
Daddy doesn’t want you anymore.
I stared at it.
May you like
And I knew…
This had gone too far.
