Chương 3
"I was a teenager who needed someone to protect me."
David looked down, overwhelmed by guilt.
"I should have been there."
Emily looked at him.
"You didn't know."
"But I should have known."
The pain in his voice was undeniable.
For years, he had convinced himself that distance was unavoidable.
Now he realized distance had been created for him.
Victoria looked between them.
"You think this is simple."
David looked at her.
"It is simple."
"No, it isn't."
Her voice sharpened.
"You don't know what happened before that night."
Emily froze.
David noticed.
"What happened before that night?"
Victoria hesitated.
The hesitation made Emily nervous.
"Victoria."
The older woman looked at David.
"There was another reason Emily was leaving."
Emily immediately looked away.
David saw the reaction.
"Emily?"
She remained silent.
"Tell me."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
Emily swallowed.
"Of what you would think of me."
David stepped closer.
"Emily, nothing you say could make me stop being your father."
She looked at him.
"You don't know that."
"Try me."
A long silence passed.
Emily looked at the mansion behind them.
The place held memories she had spent years trying to forget.
"I found something."
David waited.
"When I was seventeen, I found documents in Victoria's office."
Victoria's face changed slightly.
Emily continued.
"They were about my mother."
David became still.
His voice lowered.
"My mother?"
Emily nodded.
"I found out there were things you didn't know."
Victoria interrupted.
"Emily, you don't understand what you found."
"No, I understood enough."
David looked at Victoria.
"What documents?"
Victoria did not answer.
That was when David knew.
The truth was much bigger than he expected.
"Victoria."
She finally looked at him.
"Your daughter found information about her mother's death."
The world seemed to stop.
Emily looked at David.
His face lost all color.
"My mother's death?"
David's voice was barely audible.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria looked uncomfortable for the first time.
Emily's hands trembled.
"She found evidence that your wife's story was not complete."
David stared at Victoria.
"My wife?"
Victoria looked away.
The confidence she had carried for years was disappearing.
David took a slow breath.
"Tell me the truth."
Victoria remained silent.
"Now."
The force in his voice echoed across the garden.
Emily moved closer to him.
She had waited years for someone to ask that question.
Finally, someone was asking.
Victoria looked at both of them.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"Your daughter was never supposed to find those papers."
David felt his heart sink.
"Why?"
Victoria's eyes became colder.
"Because some secrets are buried for a reason."
Emily looked terrified.
David reached for her hand.
He held it tightly.
This time, he would not let go.
"Then we are going to uncover every secret."
Victoria stared at them both.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
And inside the mansion behind her, hidden among years of memories and carefully locked rooms, the truth was waiting.
What should the next segment reveal first: Emily’s mother’s secret, Victoria’s hidden plan, or David’s past?
The silence after Victoria's confession felt heavier than the storm that had surrounded the mansion years before.
David stood frozen, holding Emily's hand while memories from the past rushed through his mind.
He remembered the night Emily disappeared from his life.
He remembered Victoria telling him that Emily had chosen to leave.
He remembered believing that his daughter no longer wanted him.
Now every memory looked different.
Every conversation had a missing piece.
Every explanation had been carefully shaped by someone who wanted him to see only one version of the truth.
"Where are those documents?" David asked.
Victoria looked toward the mansion.
"They are gone."
Emily shook her head immediately.
"No."
Victoria turned toward her.
"You don't know what you saw."
"I know exactly what I saw."
Emily's voice was stronger than before.
"I saw my mother's name."
David's expression changed.
His grip on Emily's hand tightened.
"Your mother?"
Emily nodded slowly.
"My mother was investigating something before she died."
David looked at the ground.
For years, he had avoided thinking about the details surrounding his first wife's death.
The pain had been too deep.
The questions had been too painful.
Everyone around him had told him the same thing.
It was an accident.
A tragedy.
Something that could never be changed.
But now, standing in front of his mansion, he realized he had accepted an answer without ever searching for the truth.
"What did the papers say?" David asked.
Emily hesitated.
She looked at Victoria.
Then she looked back at her father.
"They said Mom believed someone inside the family was hiding something from you."
David's face became serious.
"Who?"
Emily whispered one word.
"Victoria."
The accusation hung between them.
Victoria did not react immediately.
That frightened David more than anger would have.
A person who was innocent usually defended themselves.
Victoria looked like someone calculating her next move.
"Emily, you were a child."
"No."
Emily stepped forward.
"I was a child when you convinced me nobody would believe me."
Her voice shook.
"But I was old enough to remember."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"You don't understand the consequences of what you are saying."
David moved between them.
"She understands enough."
Victoria looked at him.
"You are really going to believe her after all these years?"
David's eyes narrowed.
"I am going to believe my daughter when she tells me she was afraid."
The words affected Emily more than he realized.
She looked down, trying to hide her emotions.
For years, she had dreamed of hearing him say those words.
Now that he finally did, it almost hurt.
Because it reminded her how long she had waited.
David turned back to Victoria.
"What happened to my first wife?"
Victoria remained quiet.
The silence was an answer.
"Victoria."
Her face became colder.
"You don't want to open this door."
David took a step closer.
"I already opened it."
May you like
The mansion behind them suddenly felt different.
The beautiful walls.
