Chương 6
"Your mother discovered something about him before he died."
Daniel looked at the letter.
The final pages were folded.
There was more.
Much more.
"What did she discover?"
Emma looked at the baby.
"Something connected to why your father wanted the necklace protected."
Daniel unfolded the remaining pages.
The ink was lighter.
As if his father had written them in a moment of exhaustion.
"My son, there is one final truth you must know."
"Your mother was right to be afraid."
Daniel held his breath.
"Because the greatest threat to our family was never the person trying to take our wealth."
"It was the secret your father and I both carried."
Daniel's eyes widened.
The sentence below made his heart stop.
"The child you believe is connected to Lily is not the only child who was hidden from you."
Daniel slowly looked at Emma.
The baby slept peacefully.
The city lights flickered outside.
And for the first time that night, Daniel realized the mystery was far bigger than he imagined.
His family had not hidden one secret.
They had hidden generations of them.
Emma reached for his hand.
"Daniel."
He looked at her.
"What else don't I know?"
Emma's voice trembled.
"There is something I was afraid to tell you."
His expression hardened.
"What?"
She looked at the baby.
Then back at him.
"The reason your mother wanted you to trust me."
Daniel waited.
"Because she knew this baby was connected to you in a way no one else could understand."
Daniel's face changed.
The question he had avoided since the beginning returned.
The question he was afraid to ask.
"Is the baby mine?"
Emma looked at him.
And this time, she did not look away.
"Daniel, there is something you need to know about the night you lost me."
The rain outside stopped.
The apartment became completely silent.
And the answer she was about to give would change the way he saw his entire life.
Daniel stared at Emma, unable to speak.
The question he had carried silently for five years was finally standing in front of him.
Was the baby his?
The possibility felt terrifying because part of him already knew the answer mattered more than anything else.
Emma looked down at the child.
Her fingers gently adjusted the blanket, protecting the newborn from the cold air of the room.
Then she looked back at Daniel.
"I wanted to tell you the truth the moment I found out."
Daniel's voice was quiet.
"Found out what?"
Emma took a deep breath.
"That you were a father."
The words landed harder than any accusation.
Daniel stepped backward.
For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
"You knew?"
Emma nodded.
"Yes."
"How long?"
Her eyes filled with regret.
"Since before you thought I left you."
Daniel looked away.
The pain on his face was impossible to hide.
"You knew I had a child and you disappeared?"
Emma shook her head quickly.
"No."
Her voice broke slightly.
"I disappeared because I knew you had a child and someone was trying to take her away from you."
Daniel looked confused.
"Someone?"
Emma nodded.
"Your uncle."
Daniel's expression hardened again.
"He knew?"
"He knew before I did."
Daniel walked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against his face.
Every answer seemed to create another question.
"How did he know?"
Emma looked at the baby.
"Because he was watching us."
Daniel turned around.
"What does that mean?"
Emma swallowed.
"It means the night I left was not a coincidence."
Daniel remembered that night.
The argument.
The missed calls.
The empty apartment.
The note Emma left behind saying only that she needed to go.
He had spent years believing she made that choice.
Now he realized someone else might have created that moment.
"Tell me everything."
Emma nodded slowly.
"The night before I left, I found out I was pregnant."
Daniel became still.
"I was going to tell you."
Her voice became softer.
"I planned everything."
"I bought a small gift."
"I wanted it to be a happy memory."
Daniel closed his eyes.
He imagined that moment.
A moment he never knew existed.
"What happened?"
Emma looked down.
"I received a message."
"From who?"
"Someone pretending to be you."
Daniel frowned.
"What did it say?"
Emma hesitated.
"It said you knew about the baby."
"And it said you wanted nothing to do with us."
Daniel's face changed.
"I would never say that."
"I know."
Emma looked at him.
"Not now."
"Not then."
Daniel felt anger rising again.
"But you believed it?"
Emma shook her head.
"No."
A tear fell from her eye.
"I believed something worse."
"What?"
"That you were in danger."
Daniel stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because the message included a photograph."
Daniel waited.
"It showed your uncle meeting with someone."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Emma looked at him.
"Someone from your father's past."
The answer confused him.
"Who?"
Emma took out her phone.
She unlocked it and showed him an old image.
Daniel looked at the screen.
His expression slowly changed.
The photograph showed his uncle standing beside an older man outside a private building.
Daniel recognized the location immediately.
It was his father's old office.
But the person beside his uncle was someone he had seen only once.
In a family portrait hidden inside his father's study.
The man was his father's closest business partner.
The man who disappeared shortly after his father's death.
"Victor Hale."
Emma nodded.
Daniel felt a chill.
"What does he have to do with this?"
Emma looked at him.
"He helped your uncle hide Lily."
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Another name.
Another person.
Another layer of betrayal.
"But Victor has been gone for years."
Emma shook her head.
"Everyone thought he was."
Daniel looked at her.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying he never left."
The room felt colder.
"Where is he?"
Emma looked toward the door.
"He has been working from the shadows."
Daniel understood.
Someone had been controlling everything.
May you like
Not just his uncle.
Not just his family.
