Chương 6
Now he finally had a path leading back to the truth.
Lily watched him from the bed.
"You are thinking too much again," she whispered.
Daniel looked at her and smiled faintly.
"How do you know that?"
"Because you make the same face."
"What face?"
"The face where you are trying to fix everything by yourself."
Daniel looked down.
The fact that she knew him at all felt impossible.
Nine years had disappeared, yet somehow his daughter still understood him.
"I spent so much time trying to find you," he said.
"I thought if I ever got another chance, I would know exactly what to say."
Lily waited.
"But I do not."
She smiled a little.
"Maybe you don't have to say the perfect thing."
"What do I have to do?"
"Just stay."
The words were simple.
But to Daniel, they meant everything.
Across the room, Margaret quietly watched them.
She had spent years believing she was protecting Lily.
Now she realized protection without truth could become another kind of prison.
The next morning, Lily's doctor approved a short trip outside the hospital with medical supervision.
She still needed treatment, but her condition had improved enough for her to leave the room briefly.
Daniel packed her things carefully.
He folded her clothes slowly, almost as if every small action was proof that he was finally allowed to be her father.
Margaret approached him.
"I want to apologize."
Daniel stopped.
He did not turn around immediately.
"I know."
"No," Margaret said.
"You know what I did."
"But you do not know how sorry I am."
Daniel looked at her.
Her eyes were tired.
Not from one sleepless night.
From years of carrying a secret.
"I am still angry."
"I know."
"I do not know if I can forgive you yet."
Margaret nodded.
"I understand."
"But I need you to know something."
Daniel waited.
"I never stopped loving her."
His expression softened slightly.
"I know you didn't."
"That is why this hurts."
Margaret looked at Lily.
"Because I loved her enough to make the wrong choice."
Daniel looked away.
For the first time, he saw Margaret not as the person who took Lily away from him, but as another person who had been manipulated by someone else.
It did not erase the damage.
But it explained the wound.
Thomas waited outside the hospital entrance.
He looked nervous when Daniel and Lily walked toward him.
Lily held Daniel's hand.
She did not trust Thomas yet.
But she wanted to understand.
"The old house is outside the city," Thomas said.
"Nobody goes there anymore."
Daniel looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because your father made sure everyone believed it was abandoned."
Margaret stopped.
"Why hide a house?"
Thomas looked toward the road.
"Because he hid things there."
They drove for nearly an hour.
The city slowly disappeared behind them.
Tall buildings became quiet streets.
Quiet streets became empty roads.
Finally, they arrived at a large house surrounded by overgrown trees.
Lily looked out the window.
"Did I live here?"
Daniel stared at the building.
"No."
Then he paused.
"Maybe you were supposed to."
The house looked frozen in time.
Dust covered the windows.
The front door was locked.
Daniel held up the key.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The weight of the past stood between them and the door.
Then Daniel unlocked it.
The door opened with a long creak.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Old furniture covered with sheets.
Family photographs hanging on the walls.
A clock that had stopped years ago.
Lily walked slowly beside Daniel.
She looked at the pictures.
There was one of Daniel as a child.
One of his parents.
One of a family she never knew.
"This feels strange," she said.
"Why?"
"Because everyone here knows my story except me."
Daniel looked at her.
"That changes today."
They searched the rooms one by one.
Thomas led them toward the basement.
At the bottom of the stairs was a locked metal cabinet.
Daniel looked at the key in his hand.
"Is this it?"
Thomas nodded.
"Your father kept his most important documents there."
Daniel opened the cabinet.
Inside were boxes filled with papers.
Financial records.
Letters.
Photographs.
And a small recording device.
Margaret stepped closer.
"What is that?"
Thomas looked worried.
"I have never seen that before."
Daniel picked it up.
There was a label attached.
For Daniel.
His hands tightened.
He pressed the button.
The room filled with an old recording.
Daniel heard his father's voice.
"Daniel, if you are listening to this, then things did not happen the way I planned."
Everyone became silent.
The voice continued.
"I know you believe I tried to hurt you."
Daniel looked down.
"I know you believe I destroyed your family."
The recording paused.
"But I want you to understand that I did what I thought was necessary."
Daniel's face hardened.
Margaret whispered.
"He is still making excuses."
The recording continued.
"You were always too emotional."
"You cared too much."
"You chose love over power."
Daniel closed his eyes.
His father's words felt like another wound.
"But I underestimated one thing."
The voice became quieter.
"I underestimated how much you loved your daughter."
Lily looked at Daniel.
The recording continued.
"That is why I created distance."
"Because I believed if you lost Lily, you would finally become the person I wanted you to be."
Nobody spoke.
The cruelty of the confession was almost impossible to understand.
Daniel stared at the device.
"He did this because he wanted me to change."
Thomas lowered his head.
"Yes."
The recording continued.
"But there is something you need to know."
A long pause followed.
"The accident was never supposed to happen."
Daniel looked up.
"What?"
His father's voice continued.
"Someone acted without my permission."
The room became tense.
"I wanted separation."
"I did not want permanent destruction."
Daniel looked at Thomas.
Everyone was listening now.
The recording continued.
"Someone close to us took my plan further than I intended."
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Daniel felt a chill.
His father had not been the only person involved.
