Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH UNDER THE FLOOR

Nathan arrived at Daniel’s office thirty minutes later.

The place was destroyed.

Drawers were open.

Files were everywhere.

Someone had searched everything.

But they weren’t looking for money.

They were looking for something specific.

“What was taken?”

Nathan asked.

Daniel pointed to the empty safe.

“One file.”

“What file?”

Daniel looked at him.

“The file Emily created before she died.”

Nathan’s stomach tightened.

“What was inside?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Proof.”

“Proof of what?”

“That Michael planned everything.”

Nathan looked down.

He didn’t want to believe it.

Michael had been his brother.

His best friend.

The man who held him together when Emily died.

Daniel continued.

“Emily knew someone close to her was betraying her.”

Nathan looked up.

“She knew?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did she stay?”

Daniel sighed.

“Because she was trying to protect you.”

Nathan looked confused.

“How?”

“She knew if she exposed them too early, they would come after you and the children.”

Nathan looked away.

“Everyone keeps saying they protected me.”

Daniel looked at him.

“But Emily actually did.”

That sentence hurt.

Because Nathan realized something.

The person who was gone had been the only person trying to save him.

Then Daniel handed him another envelope.

“Emily left this with me.”

Nathan opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

A family photo.

Nathan.

Emily.

Lily.

And another person.

A man standing behind them.

Nathan stared.

“That’s Michael.”

Daniel shook his head.

“No.”

Nathan looked closer.

The man was smiling.

Standing beside Emily.

Holding a folder.

On the back of the photo was a message.

Nathan,

The person you trust most is the reason I’m afraid.

But there was something else.

A second sentence written underneath.

Something Nathan had never seen before.

If I don’t make it home, look beneath the house.

Nathan’s heart started racing.

“Beneath the house?”

Daniel nodded.

“She told me she hid the final evidence somewhere nobody would search.”

That night, Nathan returned home.

Claire was waiting.

“What happened?”

Nathan didn’t answer.

He walked straight to the basement.

Claire followed.

“What are you doing?”

“Finding what Emily left behind.”

They moved old boxes.

Old furniture.

Everything.

Until Nathan noticed something strange.

A loose wooden board.

He pulled it up.

Underneath was a small metal container.

His hands shook as he opened it.

Inside were documents.

A flash drive.

And one final letter.

Nathan opened it.

My love,

If you found this, it means I was right.

Someone close to us betrayed me.

But there is one thing you need to know.

The person who started this wasn’t Michael.

Nathan stopped reading.

His face changed.

Claire stepped closer.

“What?”

Nathan looked at her.

The letter continued.

The person who started everything…

was the person who introduced Claire into our lives.

Nathan slowly lowered the paper.

Because only one person had introduced Claire to him.

One person who knew everything.

One person who had been there from the beginning.

Nathan whispered:

“My father…”

Then the basement lights suddenly turned off.

And a voice came from behind them.

“You finally found it.”

Nathan turned.

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Standing at the bottom of the stairs…

was Michael.