Chương 5
Claire stepped closer to her grandmother.
Daniel clenched his fists.
"That is not an answer."
Michael closed his eyes.
"Your father discovered everything."
"What everything?"
Daniel demanded.
"The accounts."
Michael swallowed.
"The hidden transfers."
"The people involved."
"The agreements that were never supposed to exist."
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"And you were involved."
Michael nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The honesty shocked everyone more than another lie would have.
For years, Michael had built his identity around control.
He had always been the person with the answers.
The person who remained calm when others panicked.
But now there was nothing left to control.
"I thought I could fix it before anyone found out."
He said.
"I thought I could move the money back."
Daniel looked at him with disgust.
"You stole from us."
Michael looked at him.
"Yes."
The simple admission made the room colder.
Eleanor placed the letter carefully on the table.
"My husband confronted you."
Michael nodded.
"He did."
"What happened after?"
Michael looked down.
"I met him at the old company office."
Daniel's face changed.
"The night he died."
Michael nodded again.
"He had the documents."
Eleanor's breathing became heavier.
"He told me he was going to report everything."
Michael paused.
"And I was scared."
Nobody spoke.
The silence forced every word to become heavier.
"What did you do?"
Eleanor asked.
Michael looked at her.
"I tried to take the documents."
Daniel stepped forward.
"And then?"
Michael's voice became weaker.
"We argued."
He looked away.
"He pushed me away."
Claire shook her head.
"But the accident report said he lost control of the car."
Michael closed his eyes.
"Because that is what everyone believed."
Eleanor felt a chill.
"What are you saying?"
Michael did not answer immediately.
And that hesitation told her enough.
"You were there when it happened."
She whispered.
Michael nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel stepped back.
His face became pale.
"My father trusted you."
Michael looked at him.
"I know."
"No."
Daniel's voice cracked.
"You don't know."
He pointed toward the door.
"You sat at our table after he died."
"You told my mother everything would be okay."
"You stood beside me at his funeral."
His voice grew louder.
"And you knew."
Michael looked away.
"I knew."
Eleanor felt tears forming in her eyes.
Not because she felt weak.
Because she was remembering every moment when she searched for answers.
Every night she wondered if she had missed something.
Every time she questioned why her husband had seemed worried before his death.
All those years of confusion had finally found a face.
"You let me believe I lost him by accident."
Her voice trembled.
Michael could not look at her.
"I was afraid."
Eleanor laughed quietly.
A painful sound.
"You were afraid."
She repeated.
"My husband was gone."
"My son grew up without his father."
"I spent years wondering what I could have done differently."
She stepped closer.
"And you were afraid."
Michael's eyes filled with regret.
"I wanted to tell you."
"But you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Michael had no answer.
Because no answer could justify fifteen years of silence.
Daniel walked away from him.
He placed a hand against the wall and tried to process everything.
The betrayal from the money had already broken something inside him.
But this was different.
This was the foundation of their entire family history.
Claire looked at her father.
"Did you know any of this?"
Daniel turned toward her immediately.
"No."
His voice was firm.
"I swear to you, I did not know."
Claire looked at him for several seconds.
Then she nodded slowly.
For the first time that night, she believed him.
Eleanor picked up the letter again.
There was something else written on the back.
She had not noticed it before.
A small note in her husband's handwriting.
She turned the paper over.
The words were only one sentence.
"If Michael ever confesses, ask him who helped him."
The room went silent.
Michael's face changed instantly.
Eleanor noticed.
"Who helped you?"
Michael said nothing.
Daniel looked at him.
"There was someone else."
Michael remained quiet.
"Who?"
Eleanor asked.
The old man's expression showed exhaustion.
"I was not alone."
The answer was barely audible.
Claire looked frightened.
"Who else was involved?"
Michael looked toward the hallway.
Almost as if he expected someone to appear.
"I cannot tell you."
Eleanor's eyes narrowed.
"Cannot?"
Michael looked back at her.
"If I say the name, everything becomes more dangerous."
Daniel stepped forward.
"You already destroyed our family."
His voice was filled with anger.
"What could possibly be worse?"
Michael looked at him.
"The person who helped me is still protecting their position."
Nobody moved.
The possibility hung over them.
Someone else.
Someone who had spent years hidden.
Someone who might still be close.
Eleanor looked around the room.
The mansion suddenly felt different.
Every person inside it was a question.
Every memory was something that needed to be examined.
Thomas, who had remained silent near the door, spoke carefully.
"Mrs. Whitmore."
Everyone turned toward him.
"There is something you should know."
Eleanor looked at him.
"What?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Before I came here tonight, I received a message from the security team."
Daniel frowned.
"What message?"
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
"Someone accessed the mansion security system."
Claire tightened her grip on the edge of the table.
"When?"
Thomas looked at his phone.
"About twenty minutes before we discovered the documents."
Eleanor felt her heart sink.
Someone had been watching them.
Someone knew they were finding the truth.
Michael looked toward the entrance.
His fear returned.
"They know."
Daniel looked at him.
"Who knows?"
Michael did not answer.
Then the lights in the archive room suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked upward.
The old room fell into darkness for a few seconds.
Claire gasped.
When the lights returned, the door at the end of the hallway was slightly open.
A door that had been closed.
Eleanor slowly walked toward it.
Daniel moved beside her.
"Mother, wait."
May you like
But she continued.
After everything she had lost, after every secret that had been hidden from her, she was done waiting.
