Chương 4
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"He wanted us distracted."
A cold feeling moved through Daniel.
He looked around the room.
The phone.
The documents.
Emily.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
"What did he do?"
Victor walked toward the window.
"He gave someone else time."
Daniel followed his gaze.
Below them, cars moved through the city streets.
People walked by without knowing anything happening above them.
The world continued normally while Daniel's entire life was collapsing.
Victor picked up the phone again.
"There is something you need to see."
Daniel looked at the screen.
A new file had appeared.
It was a video.
Emily immediately became nervous.
"No."
Daniel looked at her.
"You know what this is?"
She looked away.
"Yes."
Victor pressed play.
The video showed a meeting inside an office.
Daniel recognized the room immediately.
It was his father's old office.
The office had been closed since his father's death.
The camera angle was hidden.
The recording showed Michael sitting across from another man.
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
Michael was speaking.
"I told you Daniel would never suspect me."
The words felt like a physical удар.
Daniel stepped back.
He watched silently as Michael continued.
"His father trusted me too much."
The video stopped.
Daniel stared at the frozen image.
For years, Michael had been part of his family.
He had called Daniel like a son.
He had told him that his father would have been proud.
Now every memory felt different.
"He knew," Daniel whispered.
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
His voice became softer.
"He was there when my father died."
Victor looked at him carefully.
"That is why this is difficult for you."
Daniel turned toward him.
"Was my father's death connected to this?"
Victor did not answer immediately.
The silence was enough.
Daniel felt his entire body become cold.
"Tell me."
Victor looked at Emily.
She closed her eyes.
Then Victor spoke.
"Your father was going to expose Michael."
Daniel grabbed the edge of the table.
"How do you know?"
"Because I was helping him."
The room became silent again.
Victor looked older suddenly.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he had carried this secret for years.
"The night your father died, he called me."
Daniel looked at him.
"He said he had proof."
"What happened?"
Victor looked down.
"He never made it to the meeting."
Daniel swallowed.
"Because of Michael?"
Victor did not answer directly.
"Your father trusted the wrong person."
Daniel felt tears building in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
He had spent years believing his father's death was an accident.
Now he was discovering that everything he knew might have been a lie.
Emily reached for him.
This time, he held her hand immediately.
"I should have told you everything," she whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
"You were trying to protect me."
She nodded.
"But I made you feel alone."
Daniel squeezed her hand.
"Yes."
The honesty hurt, but it was necessary.
They could not rebuild anything with more lies.
Victor looked at the hospital door.
"We need to move before they come back."
Daniel looked at him.
"Where?"
"Somewhere safe."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Victor looked surprised.
Daniel continued.
"We don't hide anymore."
A small silence followed.
Then Victor gave a slight nod.
"Your father said something similar."
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
"He said the truth only loses when good people are too afraid to stand for it."
Those words stayed with Daniel.
They sounded exactly like something his father would have said.
The three of them prepared to leave the room.
Emily slowly stood with Daniel's help.
She was still weak.
Still scared.
But she was no longer alone.
As they reached the hallway, Daniel looked back at the hospital room.
A place where he had entered searching for someone to blame.
A place where he had found the truth instead.
Then he saw something on the floor.
A small piece of paper left behind by the attacker.
Daniel picked it up.
There was only one sentence written on it.
Your father never knew the whole truth.
Daniel looked at Victor.
"What does this mean?"
Victor's face changed.
For the first time that night, he looked genuinely afraid.
"Because there was someone else."
The hallway lights flickered above them.
And somewhere inside the hospital, another phone began ringing.
The ringing phone echoed through the empty hospital hallway.
Nobody moved.
Daniel looked toward the sound, trying to understand where it was coming from.
The hallway was quiet except for the distant voices of nurses and the steady rhythm of machines behind closed doors.
Victor slowly reached into his pocket.
His face changed when he realized the sound was coming from his own phone.
He looked at the screen.
There was no name.
No number.
Only a blocked call.
"Do not answer it," Victor said.
Daniel looked at him.
"Why?"
Victor stared at the phone.
"Because whoever is calling wants us to know they can reach us."
The phone continued ringing.
Emily held Daniel's arm tighter.
The fear in her eyes was different now.
It was not just fear of being discovered.
It was fear of something she already knew.
"Victor," she whispered.
"What?"
"Maybe we should listen."
Victor looked at her.
"Emily, you know what happens when we listen to them."
Daniel looked between them.
"What are you not telling me?"
Emily lowered her eyes.
Before she could answer, the ringing stopped.
A few seconds later, a message appeared on the screen.
Victor looked at it.
Then he handed the phone to Daniel.
Daniel read the message.
You have five minutes to learn the truth before they erase it.
His expression tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Victor looked down the hallway.
"It means they know we found the evidence."
Daniel stared at the phone.
"They?"
Victor nodded.
"The people who have been protecting Michael."
Daniel looked at Emily.
"How many people are involved?"
Nobody answered.
May you like
That silence told him more than words could.
Victor motioned toward a quiet stairwell nearby.
