Chapter 3 - The Trap Inside My Own Family
Two days later, I returned home.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I needed to see what my father had done.
The police had removed him from the property.
The locks had been changed.
And for the first time in my life…
My father needed permission to enter my home.
Margaret walked beside me.
“Are you sure you’re ready?”
I looked at the front door.
“No.”
She nodded.
“Good answer.”
I smiled slightly.
“Why?”
“Because people who pretend they’re not hurt usually make mistakes.”
I opened the door.
And immediately felt it.
Something was different.
Daniel’s office looked like someone had searched it.
Drawers were open.
Files were missing.
The bookshelf was damaged.
I walked slowly inside.
My chest tightened.
This was where Daniel worked.
Where he planned our future.
Where he sat late at night making sure we would be okay.
And my father had destroyed it.
Then I saw something on the desk.
A photograph.
A picture of Daniel and me on our wedding day.
Someone had turned it face down.
I picked it up.
My hands shook.
Margaret noticed.
“Emily?”
I flipped the photo over.
On the back was a handwritten message.
Three words.
“You should leave.”
I froze.
Margaret took the photo from me.
Her expression changed.
“This wasn’t your father.”
“What?”
“He’s angry. He’s arrogant. But this…”
She looked around the room.
“This is intimidation.”
A sound came from upstairs.
A floorboard creaking.
Both of us stopped.
“Someone’s here.”
Margaret immediately reached for her phone.
“Stay behind me.”
We heard footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Then a voice.
“You really came back.”
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that voice.
Kelsey walked down the stairs.
But she wasn’t smiling anymore.
She looked completely different.
Cold.
Confident.
Almost threatening.
“How did you get inside?” I asked.
She shrugged.
“Your father gave me a key.”
I stared at her.
“You broke into my house?”
She laughed softly.
“Your house?”
The same words.
The same attitude.
But this time, I wasn’t alone.
Margaret stepped forward.
“Leave immediately.”
Kelsey looked at her.
“You must be Margaret Sloan.”
Margaret narrowed her eyes.
“And you must be the person who helped Richard forge documents.”
For the first time…
Kelsey looked nervous.
Only for a second.
Then she recovered.
“You can’t prove that.”
Margaret smiled.
“No?”
She pulled out her phone.
“Interesting.”
Kelsey’s face changed.
“What did you do?”
“I checked the security footage from the bank.”
Silence.
Margaret continued.
“Yesterday morning, someone accessed Daniel’s private account information.”
Kelsey stopped breathing.
“And the camera captured the person.”
I looked at her.
My voice barely came out.
“It was you.”
Kelsey said nothing.
Because she didn’t have to.
Her silence was the answer.
Margaret stepped closer.
“You weren’t trying to help Richard steal this house.”
She paused.
“You were trying to steal everything.”
Kelsey’s eyes turned cold.
Then she smiled.
A dangerous smile.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“You think Daniel left you everything?”
She looked back.
“You’re wrong.”
My heart dropped.
“What are you talking about?”
Kelsey smiled.
“Ask Margaret what happened three days before Daniel died.”
Then she walked out.
Leaving us standing in the middle of the house.
Confused.
Terrified.
And wondering what secret my husband had taken to the grave.
Because for the first time…
May you like
I wasn’t fighting to protect what Daniel left behind.
I was fighting to discover the truth about the man I loved.
