Chương 7
The elevator doors opened.
Nobody moved.
They stood in front of the office where Daniel's entire childhood had been shaped.
A place holding answers.
A place holding pain.
Victor stepped forward and unlocked the door.
The room was dark.
But as the lights turned on, Daniel saw something sitting on his father's old desk.
A photograph.
A photograph that had not been there for years.
Daniel walked toward it slowly.
He picked it up.
His hands began shaking.
It was a picture of his father.
His mother.
Richard.
Michael.
And Victor.
All standing together.
But behind them was another person.
Someone Daniel recognized immediately.
Someone who should never have been there.
Someone who changed the meaning of everything.
Daniel whispered the name.
"No."
Emily looked at the photograph.
"Who is that?"
Daniel could barely speak.
Because the person in the picture was the one person he believed had nothing to do with his family's secrets.
The one person he had trusted without question.
The person who had comforted him after every loss.
The person who had always called him family.
Daniel slowly turned the photograph around.
Written on the back were five words.
The truth lived with him.
The truth lived with him.
Daniel stared at those five words until they blurred together.
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
The answer was already beginning to form in his mind, and he desperately wanted to reject it.
Emily looked at him.
"Daniel, who is it?"
He did not answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the person standing in the background of the photograph.
The person who had been there during every important moment of his life.
The person who had held his hand when he cried after his father's funeral.
The person who had told him that family was built on trust.
Daniel slowly turned toward Victor.
"You knew."
Victor's expression became heavy.
"Yes."
The word felt like a betrayal.
Daniel placed the photograph on the desk.
"You knew this entire time."
"I knew there was a possibility."
"A possibility?"
Daniel's voice rose.
"You saw this picture."
Victor nodded.
"Years ago."
"And you said nothing?"
Victor looked away.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Why?"
Victor took a deep breath.
"Because your father asked me not to."
Daniel froze.
"My father?"
Victor nodded.
"Your father knew what would happen if the truth came out too early."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Too early?"
He pointed around the room.
"Look at what happened because nobody told me anything."
Victor accepted the anger.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Daniel's voice became quieter.
"You all made decisions about my life without me."
Emily moved closer.
"Daniel."
He looked at her.
The anger in his eyes softened slightly.
"I'm sorry."
She looked confused.
"For what?"
"For making you feel like you were the only person who betrayed me."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
Daniel looked back at Victor.
"Who is he?"
Victor remained silent.
Daniel's patience disappeared.
"Who is the person in this picture?"
Victor finally answered.
"Your guardian."
Daniel's expression changed.
"My guardian?"
Victor nodded.
"The man who took care of you after your father died."
Daniel stared at the photograph again.
He already knew the answer.
But he needed to hear it.
"Say his name."
Victor looked at him.
"Thomas."
The room became silent.
Daniel felt like he had been hit.
Thomas was not just someone from his childhood.
Thomas was the man who had managed the family estate.
The man who had prepared Daniel for adulthood.
The man who had always stood beside him.
The man Daniel considered an uncle.
"No."
Victor watched him.
"Daniel."
"No."
He picked up the photograph again.
"Thomas was the only person who stayed."
Victor nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
Daniel looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means he was the closest person to the truth."
Daniel walked away from the desk.
His thoughts were moving faster than he could control.
Thomas had access to everything.
The company.
The family records.
The house.
His father's private documents.
Everything.
"Why would he do this?"
Victor looked toward the window.
"Because he believed your father betrayed him."
Daniel turned around.
"What?"
Victor continued.
"Before your father died, he discovered that Thomas had been moving information outside the company."
Daniel shook his head.
"Thomas loved my father."
"Yes."
"Then why?"
Victor looked at him.
"Because people can love someone and still feel betrayed by them."
Daniel looked confused.
"What did my father do?"
Victor hesitated.
"He removed Thomas from control of the company."
"Why?"
"Because he found proof that Thomas was involved with Michael."
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
"So Michael was not the mastermind."
Victor shook his head.
"No."
"Then who was?"
Victor looked at the photograph.
"Thomas."
The name hung in the air.
Daniel walked to the desk and placed both hands against it.
For years, he had trusted Thomas more than anyone.
When Daniel struggled after his father's death, Thomas was the person who guided him.
When Daniel doubted himself, Thomas encouraged him.
When Daniel became CEO, Thomas told him he was proud.
Every memory was now poisoned by a question.
Was any of it real?
Emily touched his shoulder.
"You don't have to decide everything tonight."
Daniel looked at her.
"That is the problem."
He pointed at the room.
"Everyone else decided everything for me."
The pain in his voice was stronger than the anger.
Emily understood.
She stepped back.
Victor walked toward the desk.
"There is something else your father left behind."
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
Victor opened a hidden compartment beneath the desk.
Daniel watched as he removed a small metal box.
"I have never opened this."
Daniel frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because your father told me only you could open it."
Victor placed the box on the desk.
Daniel stared at it.
A small lock was attached to the front.
But there was no key.
Emily noticed something.
"Daniel."
May you like
She pointed to the side.
There was a small indentation shaped like a fingerprint.
