Chapter 9 - THE LAST LETTER FROM MY FATHER
The penthouse was finally quiet.
Too quiet.
The chaos was gone.
But the pain remained.
I stood beside the window, watching the city below.
Hours ago, I thought I was about to become a wife.
Now I was standing alone, wondering how I had missed every warning sign.
Daniel approached slowly.
“I’m sorry.”
I didn’t turn around.
“For what?”
“For keeping this from you.”
I closed my eyes.
“My father trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“And you hid something from me.”
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.”
I turned around.
“Then tell me everything.”
He nodded.
From his briefcase, he removed a small envelope.
My name was written across the front.
In my father’s handwriting.
My heart stopped.
I knew that handwriting.
I had seen it on birthday cards.
Graduation letters.
Notes he left before business trips.
My hands trembled as I took it.
“He wrote this six months before he died,” Daniel said.
“Why didn’t you give it to me?”
“Because he asked me not to.”
I looked at the envelope.
“What could possibly be more important than my own life falling apart?”
Daniel was silent.
Then he said:
“Your father believed someone close to you would betray you.”
My fingers froze.
I opened the letter.
The first line made tears fill my eyes.
My dear Emily,
If you are reading this, something happened that I hoped would never happen.
I continued reading.
I spent my life protecting you. But I couldn’t protect you from everyone.
My vision blurred.
There is a reason I never wanted you to rush into marriage. There is a reason I questioned Jason from the beginning.
I stopped.
Jason.
Even my father knew.
I kept reading.
Jason is not the first person who tried to get close to our family for money.
My breathing became heavier.
Years ago, someone destroyed our family trust. Someone we believed we could trust.
I looked at Daniel.
“What does this mean?”
He hesitated.
Then he answered.
“It means Jason wasn’t acting alone.”
The room went cold.
I looked back at the letter.
The final sentence on the page made my hands shake.
Emily, if Jason ever betrays you, look at the people closest to him. The person helping him may be someone you never suspected.
I slowly lowered the letter.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the closed door.
Then he said the name.
A name I never expected.
A name that made my entire body freeze.
“It’s someone in this room.”
I turned around.
Everyone who had stayed behind was still there.
Jason’s family.
His friends.
The people who watched everything happen.
And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.
The betrayal wasn’t finished.
The wedding was destroyed.
Jason was exposed.
But the person pulling the strings was still free.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message appeared.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
“You found Jason. Now try to find me.”
I looked up.
And for the first time that night…
May you like
I was truly afraid.
TO BE CONTINUED...
