Chapter 6 - The Truth About Daniel’s Death
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t speak.
The words kept repeating inside my head.
Someone caused the crash.
Someone killed Daniel.
My husband wasn’t just taken from me.
He was taken from us.
“Who?” I asked again.
My voice barely existed.
“Who killed my husband?”
Thomas looked down.
“I don’t know who ordered it.”
My anger exploded.
“You just said someone did!”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me what you know!”
Margaret touched my shoulder.
“Emily…”
“No.”
I pulled away.
“I buried my husband.”
My voice cracked.
“I stood there while everyone told me it was an accident.”
Tears fell.
“And all this time someone knew?”
Thomas looked guilty.
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“You should have.”
He accepted the anger.
Because he deserved it.
“Daniel discovered someone was moving money through the company.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“And my father?”
“Your father was involved.”
My stomach turned.
“My own father helped someone kill my husband?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I don’t know if he knew about the crash.”
“But he helped them.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman’s voice.
Kelsey.
“You’re asking too many questions.”
My blood froze.
“How did you get my number?”
A soft laugh.
“You really don’t understand how much access I had.”
Margaret grabbed her phone and started recording.
I put mine on speaker.
“Where are you?”
Kelsey laughed.
“Still trying to be brave?”
“You helped my father attack me.”
“No.”
Her voice became colder.
“I helped him take back what should have belonged to him.”
My fingers tightened.
“You mean my home?”
“I mean everything Daniel stole from people like us.”
I looked at Margaret.
People like us?
“What are you talking about?”
Kelsey was silent.
Then she said:
“Ask Margaret why Daniel changed his will.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Ask her what Daniel discovered about his own family.”
The call ended.
I looked at Margaret.
“What is she talking about?”
Margaret didn’t answer.
That scared me.
“Margaret.”
She closed her eyes.
“Emily…”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You promised me the truth.”
She slowly opened her eyes.
“Daniel found something about your father.”
“What?”
She took a deep breath.
“Richard wasn’t just trying to steal the company.”
“Then what was he doing?”
Margaret looked at me.
“He was trying to hide what he did years ago.”
The room became silent.
“What did he do?”
Margaret reached into the folder.
She pulled out an old document.
I recognized the signature immediately.
My father’s.
The date was fifteen years earlier.
My hands shook as I read the title.
A settlement agreement.
A confidentiality contract.
And one name written at the bottom.
Daniel Mercer.
I looked up.
“Why would my father have an agreement with Daniel fifteen years ago?”
Margaret’s voice was quiet.
“Because Daniel knew your father before he met you.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Emily…”
A pause.
“Your husband knew your family’s secrets long before you did.”
And at that moment, I realized something terrifying.
I thought Daniel spent his final days protecting me from my father.
May you like
But maybe…
He had spent years protecting me from the truth.
