Chapter 7 - THE SECRET MY FATHER HID
The silence after Daniel’s words felt heavier than anything I had experienced that night.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for him to explain.
Waiting for the next betrayal.
I looked at Daniel, the man my father trusted.
“Tell me the truth.”
My voice shook.
“What secret did my father hide from me?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
For the first time since entering the penthouse, he looked uncertain.
“I promised your father I would never reveal this unless it became necessary.”
I stared at him.
“And now it is.”
He slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
Jason crossed his arms.
A small smile appeared on his face.
He thought he had finally found a way to escape.
He thought if he exposed someone else’s secret, people would forget what he had done.
But he was wrong.
Because I wasn’t the same woman who walked into that room twenty minutes ago.
The woman who trusted Jason blindly was gone.
“Speak,” I said.
Daniel opened the folder again.
Inside were more documents.
But these weren’t about Jason.
They were about my family.
“Your father knew Jason was interested in your inheritance.”
My eyes narrowed.
“I know that now.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. You don’t understand.”
He pulled out a document.
“He knew before you met Jason.”
The room froze.
“What?”
Daniel continued.
“Your father hired investigators after Jason started asking questions about your financial situation.”
My stomach twisted.
Questions.
I remembered.
Jason always asked about my father’s company.
About investments.
About accounts.
I thought he was interested in my life.
I never imagined he was studying my money.
“He discovered Jason was not acting alone.”
Everyone looked confused.
Not alone?
Jason’s face changed.
“Daniel, don’t.”
Daniel ignored him.
“He found evidence that someone close to Jason was helping him.”
My eyes moved toward Jason.
“Who?”
Daniel looked at the woman who had been in the bed.
Her face turned pale.
“No…”
I whispered.
“You?”
She looked away.
Jason immediately stepped forward.
“Leave her out of this.”
That reaction told me everything.
“You were protecting her?”
Jason stayed silent.
The woman started crying.
“I didn’t know how far he would go.”
I looked at her.
“Then tell me.”
She wiped her tears.
“Jason told me he only needed information.”
“What information?”
She looked at me.
“Your schedule. Your passwords. Your personal habits.”
My chest tightened.
He wasn’t just cheating.
He was studying me.
Preparing.
Planning.
The person I loved had been building a trap around me.
Daniel placed another document on the table.
“And there is one more thing.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Three weeks before the wedding, Jason attempted to change the beneficiary information on several accounts.”
My blood went cold.
“He tried to do what?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Take control of your money before you married him.”
Jason finally lost his patience.
“Enough!”
His voice exploded through the room.
“You’re all acting like I’m some monster!”
I looked at him.
“Aren’t you?”
Jason stepped closer.
“You think you’re innocent?”
The anger in his voice shocked everyone.
“You think you’re better than me because your father left you everything?”
I stared.
And then I realized.
He wasn’t sorry.
He was angry that he failed.
Jason pointed at me.
“You had everything handed to you.”
The room went silent.
Linda looked at her son in disbelief.
“Jason…”
But he continued.
“You don’t know what it feels like to struggle.”
I laughed quietly.
Through my tears.
“Struggle?”
I looked around the room.
“Tonight I lost my fiancé, my wedding, and the future I believed in.”
I stepped closer.
“But somehow you’re the victim?”
Jason’s expression changed.
Because he knew.
He had lost control.
Then Daniel’s phone suddenly rang.
He answered.
His face changed after hearing the voice on the other end.
“What?”
Everyone watched him.
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
“We have a problem.”
I frowned.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“Someone just entered your house.”
My heart stopped.
“My house?”
Daniel nodded.
“And they’re looking for something.”
Jason smiled.
A cold smile.
And that scared me more than anything.
May you like
Because he knew exactly who it was.
TO BE CONTINUED...
