Chapter 7 - THE NAME DANIEL HID FROM EVERYONE
For the first time in weeks, Margaret felt completely lost.
The evidence was everywhere.
The recording.
The hidden laptop.
The secret files.
Daniel’s final message.
But none of it answered the one question destroying her mind.
Who was he warning her about?
“The person you trust the most…”
Those words followed her everywhere.
At the police station, Detective Mason placed the documents across the table.
“We need to understand something, Margaret.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“Daniel wasn’t just investigating Robert Hayes.”
He tapped the files.
“He was investigating his entire inner circle.”
Margaret looked at the pages.
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
“His family?”
“Yes.”
“His friends?”
“Yes.”
Margaret swallowed.
“That means nobody was safe.”
Detective Mason nodded.
“That’s exactly what Daniel believed.”
Emily sat quietly beside Margaret, holding her father’s old watch.
She hadn’t let go of it since the courtroom.
Suddenly, she spoke.
“Daddy knew someone was following him.”
Everyone turned.
Margaret looked surprised.
“Emily, why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because Daddy told me not to.”
“Why?”
Emily looked down.
“He said if something happened, people would try to make me forget.”
Margaret felt tears forming.
A child shouldn’t have to carry secrets like this.
“What else did he tell you?”
Emily hesitated.
Then she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small piece of paper.
“I found this inside his watch.”
Margaret unfolded it.
Three words were written.
NOT YOUR FAULT.
She stared.
“What does this mean?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Detective Mason looked closer.
Then he noticed something.
“The handwriting.”
“What about it?”
“It matches the note Daniel left.”
Margaret froze.
“So Daniel wrote this too.”
“Yes.”
She turned the paper over.
There was another message hidden underneath.
A faint mark.
A symbol.
A circle with a line through it.
Detective Mason’s face changed.
“You know this symbol?”
He nodded slowly.
“I’ve seen it before.”
“Where?”
“In another investigation.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“What investigation?”
Detective Mason looked at Emily.
Then back at Margaret.
“The disappearance of Daniel’s first wife.”
The room went silent.
Emily’s face went pale.
“My mom?”
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly the past Daniel tried to hide...
Was coming back.
Detective Mason opened an old file.
“Your mother’s disappearance was never solved.”
Margaret looked at Emily.
“But everyone said she left.”
Detective Mason shook his head.
“That’s what someone wanted everyone to believe.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“So my daddy was right?”
Margaret held her hand.
“Yes.”
But before anyone could continue, Detective Mason received a phone call.
His expression changed instantly.
“What happened?”
He listened.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
“We have a problem.”
Margaret stood.
“What?”
“The person who accessed Daniel’s laptop…”
He looked at her.
“Wasn’t Robert Hayes.”
Margaret’s heart stopped.
“Then who was it?”
May you like
Detective Mason answered quietly.
“It came from your apartment.”
