Chapter 7 - THE FRIEND WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
I stared at the photograph for almost a full minute.
My brain kept trying to reject what my eyes were seeing.
Because the person standing beside Vanessa wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t some hidden enemy.
It was someone who had been part of my life for years.
Someone who had hugged me when my father died.
Someone who had told me I could always trust them.
My voice came out quietly.
“No.”
Michael watched me carefully.
“Emma.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“That’s not possible.”
The person in the photograph was Sarah Whitmore.
My father’s former business partner.
My mother’s closest friend.
The woman who helped me through my father’s funeral.
The woman who called me every week after I became an orphan.
“She wouldn’t do this.”
Michael didn’t argue.
He didn’t say she was guilty.
He simply placed another file on the table.
“Look at the dates.”
I opened it.
Bank transfers.
Company records.
Emails.
My hands became colder with every page.
The first transaction was eight years ago.
The exact year Vanessa was fired.
The exact year everything started changing.
“Sarah knew?”
Michael nodded.
“She knew your father suspected someone inside his company.”
I looked up.
“Then why didn’t she tell him?”
Michael’s expression hardened.
“Because she was the person he was investigating.”
I felt like the room moved.
“No.”
I stood up.
“No, you’re wrong.”
Michael stayed calm.
“Emma.”
“You don’t understand.”
My voice cracked.
“She was there for me.”
He looked at me.
“She was also there when your father changed his will.”
Silence.
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Michael opened another document.
“Three weeks before your father died, he changed several protections around your inheritance.”
I looked at the paper.
A signature.
My father’s signature.
“He knew something was coming.”
Michael nodded.
“He moved everything into a protected trust.”
I swallowed.
“Because of Sarah?”
“Because of everyone.”
I sat back down.
Suddenly, memories started coming back.
Small things.
Things I ignored.
Sarah asking about my relationship with Daniel.
Sarah asking if I knew how much money my father left me.
Sarah always telling me:
“Emma, you should let Daniel handle the financial decisions. Men understand these things better.”
At the time, I thought she was giving advice.
Now…
It sounded different.
My phone suddenly rang.
I looked at the screen.
Daniel.
I almost ignored it.
But Michael stopped me.
“Answer.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because people reveal more when they think they’re winning.”
I answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Emma.”
His voice was different.
Not angry.
Not arrogant.
Scared.
“What do you want?”
“I need to see you.”
I laughed quietly.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t understand what’s happening.”
I looked at Michael.
“You mean the part where you broke my arm?”
“Emma, please listen.”
“No.”
I stood.
“I listened for three years.”
His breathing changed.
Then he said:
“Your father wasn’t honest with you.”
My chest tightened.
“Don’t use my father to protect yourself.”
“I’m not.”
A pause.
“I’m trying to save you.”
I almost hung up.
Then Daniel said something that stopped me.
“Vanessa is not working with me.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She’s using me.”
Michael immediately looked at me.
“Ask him who she works for.”
I repeated:
“Who does Vanessa work for?”
Silence.
Then Daniel whispered:
“Your father’s enemy.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Michael’s expression changed.
Because now we both understood.
Daniel wasn’t the mastermind.
He was just another person who had been controlled.
Michael looked at me.
“We need to find Vanessa.”
I nodded.
But before we could move…
Michael’s security team rushed into the room.
“Mr. Russo.”
“What happened?”
The man looked at me.
Then at Michael.
“Sarah Whitmore just left the city.”
Michael went still.
“Where?”
The security man hesitated.
“She took a private jet.”
My stomach dropped.
“To where?”
The answer came quietly.
“Switzerland.”
Michael looked at me.
“She’s running.”
And somehow…
May you like
That scared me more than if she had stayed.
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