Chương 4
Daniel remained standing.
"Then do it."
Victoria looked at Lily.
"Maybe she should not hear all of it."
Daniel considered that for a moment.
Then he looked at his daughter.
"Lily deserves honesty."
Victoria nodded.
"The night Lily was born, there was an emergency at the hospital."
Her voice shook.
"Another mother was there too."
Daniel listened carefully.
"The hospital was crowded, and there was confusion during the emergency procedures."
She looked at Lily.
"Two babies were affected by a mistake."
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
"Are you saying..."
Victoria nodded slowly.
"The hospital discovered the mistake."
She paused.
"But before they could correct everything, someone changed the records."
Daniel's face hardened.
"Why?"
Victoria looked down.
"Because the other family was involved in a legal battle with someone powerful."
Daniel understood the seriousness.
Someone had chosen to hide the truth to protect themselves.
"And Michael found out."
Victoria nodded.
"Yes."
The room became quiet.
Daniel walked toward the window.
Outside, the lights of the city continued shining as if nothing had changed.
But inside the mansion, his entire understanding of the past had shifted.
He thought about Lily's first steps.
Her first words.
Her first day of school.
Every memory.
Every laugh.
Every moment.
None of those memories belonged to paperwork.
They belonged to love.
But he also knew a missing truth could hurt people.
Especially when it involved a child's identity.
"Where is the other family?" Daniel asked.
Victoria looked nervous.
"I don't know."
"Someone must know."
"The hospital records were sealed."
Daniel turned around.
"But Michael knew."
Victoria nodded.
"That's why someone wanted him quiet."
A cold feeling moved through Daniel.
"What are you saying?"
Victoria looked at the smartwatch.
"I'm saying Michael didn't disappear because he wanted to leave."
Daniel stared at her.
"He was running from someone."
The room felt colder.
The recording device suddenly lit up again.
A third notification appeared.
Neither of them touched it at first.
The screen displayed a message.
"Final message unlocked."
Lily looked at it.
"Was he waiting for us to find that?"
Daniel slowly picked up the smartwatch.
"Maybe."
Victoria stood up.
"Daniel, before you play that..."
He looked at her.
"What?"
She struggled to speak.
"I need you to know something."
Daniel waited.
"I never wanted to hurt you."
His expression remained serious.
"But you did."
Victoria nodded.
"I know."
The honesty was painful, but it was the first honest moment they had shared in years.
Daniel pressed the screen.
The final recording began.
Michael's voice filled the room.
"Daniel, if you are hearing this, then I know you finally discovered what happened."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Hearing his old friend's voice after twelve years felt impossible.
Michael continued.
"I need you to listen carefully because the truth is bigger than the hospital mistake."
Daniel opened his eyes.
Victoria looked frightened.
Michael's voice became quieter.
"The person who changed those records was not trying to protect a secret."
A pause followed.
"They were trying to hide a crime."
Daniel and Victoria both froze.
Lily held onto her father's hand.
Michael continued.
"And the person responsible is someone you have trusted for a very long time."
The recording stopped for a second.
Then the next words came.
"Daniel, the person who stole the truth from your family is still close to you."
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Because suddenly the secret was no longer only about the past.
It was about someone standing in their lives right now.
Daniel felt the air leave his lungs.
For a moment, he wondered if he had misunderstood the recording.
He looked at Victoria.
Then he looked around the dining room that had always been filled with family dinners, celebrations, and carefully created memories.
Someone close to him had hidden the truth.
Someone he trusted had changed the course of his family's life.
"Play it again," Daniel said.
His voice was quiet, but everyone heard the pain behind it.
The smartwatch repeated Michael's message.
"The person who stole the truth from your family is still close to you."
The words echoed through the room.
Lily pressed against her father's side.
Daniel placed an arm around her.
He wanted to protect her from the confusion, but he knew she was already part of the truth.
Victoria looked away.
Daniel noticed.
That small movement told him more than any explanation.
"You know who it is," he said.
Victoria did not answer.
"Victoria."
Her shoulders lowered.
"I suspected."
Daniel stared at her.
"Suspected?"
She nodded slowly.
"I never had proof."
"Who?"
Victoria looked toward the hallway.
The mansion suddenly felt different.
Every room seemed filled with memories that might not be real.
"Your father," she whispered.
Daniel froze.
His father, Richard Carter, had passed away three years earlier.
Richard had been a powerful businessman who built the Carter family name long before Daniel took over the company.
He was respected by everyone.
He was also the person Daniel spent his entire childhood trying to impress.
"No," Daniel said immediately.
Victoria looked at him.
"I know what you think."
"I know my father."
She shook her head.
"You knew the man he wanted people to see."
Daniel stepped back.
His face showed disbelief.
"My father would never do something like this."
Victoria looked at the smartwatch.
"Then why did Michael spend years trying to expose him?"
Daniel had no answer.
Because deep inside, there were memories he had ignored.
Small moments.
Strange conversations.
Times when his father became unusually angry whenever Michael asked questions.
Times when documents disappeared from the company.
Times when people who challenged Richard suddenly left.
Daniel had always explained those things away.
He had believed his father was strict.
Ambitious.
Difficult.
But not cruel.
"Dad was gone before Michael disappeared," Daniel said.
Victoria nodded.
"Yes."
"Then how could he be responsible?"
Victoria walked toward the dining table and sat down.
"Because people can hide things long before anyone discovers them."
Daniel looked at the smartwatch.
May you like
"What else did Michael record?"
Victoria looked nervous.
