Chapter 12 - The Target Was Never Daniel
For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe.
Thomas’s words repeated inside my head.
“The person they wanted dead was you.”
I gripped the phone tighter.
“What are you saying?”
Thomas sounded like a man who had finally run out of places to hide.
“Daniel discovered the truth before the accident.”
“What truth?”
“He found out Victor wasn’t trying to take the company.”
I looked at Margaret.
She was already listening.
“He wanted control of the trust.”
My blood ran cold.
“The trust connected to my baby.”
“Yes.”
Thomas continued.
“Daniel changed everything when he realized they weren’t just after his business.”
A pause.
“They were after you.”
My hands started shaking.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel’s entire estate was designed to protect you and your child. As long as you were alive, they couldn’t touch anything.”
The room became silent.
Then I remembered.
The threats.
The messages.
The break-in.
The fake custody documents.
Everything pointed to one thing.
They didn’t want me gone because they hated me.
They wanted me gone because I was the last lock on Daniel’s empire.
“Thomas.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
He was quiet.
Then he whispered:
“Because Victor knows I talked to you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“I’m not safe anymore.”
The call suddenly became filled with static.
Then Thomas said one final sentence.
“Emily, check Daniel’s old phone.”
The call ended.
I immediately looked at Margaret.
“Daniel’s old phone.”
She understood.
Within minutes, we were back at her office searching through the evidence files.
Police had returned Daniel’s personal belongings after the investigation.
His phone was inside a sealed bag.
I stared at it.
The last thing he ever touched.
The last device that held his secrets.
Margaret turned it on.
The screen lit up.
One unread message.
From Daniel.
Sent three hours before the crash.
My heart stopped.
I opened it.
A video appeared.
Daniel looked exhausted.
But alive.
“Emily.”
I covered my mouth.
“If you’re watching this, they found out.”
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Daniel continued.
“I need you to understand something.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“You were never the weak one.”
I cried silently.
“They will try to convince you that you need them.”
A pause.
“Your father will do that.”
Another pause.
“Kelsey will do that.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“But you don’t need people who hurt you.”
The video froze.
Then a final line appeared.
LOCATION SAVED.
Margaret stared.
“Emily…”
“What?”
She looked at the screen.
“Daniel left something behind.”
“Where?”
She clicked.
A map appeared.
A private storage facility outside Columbus.
And underneath it:
ACCESS CODE: EMMA.
I whispered:
“He knew.”
Margaret nodded.
“He knew they would come after you.”
I grabbed my coat.
“Then let’s find out what he left.”
May you like
Because after everything they had taken from me…
I was finally going to take something back.
