Chương 4
"Because every time we got close to exposing it, someone stopped us."
I looked at her.
"Someone?"
She nodded.
"Three years ago, I found evidence connected to your mother's accounts."
I frowned.
"You never told me that."
"I tried."
She looked down.
"That night, someone broke into our house."
My body went cold.
"What?"
"They did not steal jewelry."
"They did not take money."
"They only took the documents."
I remembered that night.
The police report.
The broken office window.
The missing laptop.
I had assumed it was a random burglary.
Claire had never told me what was inside that laptop.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the next morning, you received a message from someone claiming they would hurt you if I spoke again."
My hands clenched.
"Who sent it?"
Claire looked at Richard.
Richard answered.
"Your brother."
The anger returned instantly.
I reached for my phone.
"I am calling him."
Claire grabbed my arm.
"Michael, wait."
"No."
I pulled away.
"I spent my entire life defending him."
My voice cracked.
"I need to hear him say it."
I walked away from the table.
The restaurant suddenly felt too small.
Too many memories surrounded me.
Every celebration.
Every family dinner.
Every moment I thought was real.
I called David.
He answered after one ring.
"I wondered when you would call."
My breathing stopped.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"You knew I found out."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then David sighed.
"Because I was tired."
I stared at the phone.
"Tired of what?"
"Living in your shadow."
The words were quiet.
But they carried years of resentment.
"You had everything, Michael."
"I built everything."
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"You inherited everything."
My face changed.
"What?"
"You think Dad chose you because you were better?"
I looked at Claire.
She was watching me carefully.
"You were his favorite."
David continued.
"You were the son who could do no wrong."
"David."
"I was always the second choice."
My jaw tightened.
"So you destroyed my life?"
"I took back what should have been mine."
I felt sick.
"What should have been yours?"
"The company."
"The respect."
"The future."
I laughed bitterly.
"You had a family."
"I had a brother who treated me like an employee."
I closed my eyes.
The pain was not because David hated me.
The pain was because a small part of me understood where his anger came from.
But understanding was not forgiveness.
"You could have talked to me."
"And you would have listened?"
I had no answer.
Because years ago, maybe I would not have.
I was so focused on winning.
Growing.
Building.
I forgot that people around me were hurting.
But that did not excuse what he did.
"You used our mother."
David became quiet.
Finally, he said, "She made her choice."
My heart sank.
"What does that mean?"
Before he answered, the call disconnected.
I stood frozen.
Then my phone received a message.
One sentence.
From David.
"Ask Claire what happened the night your father died."
I slowly turned toward Claire.
Her face had gone pale.
She knew exactly what he meant.
"Claire."
She looked at me.
And for the first time that night, she looked truly afraid.
"Michael, there is something else you need to know."
The room seemed to stop again.
"What?"
She took a shaky breath.
"The night your father died..."
Her voice became softer.
"I was there."
The words stayed between us like a storm waiting to break.
"I was there."
I stared at Claire.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The woman I had loved for more than a decade was telling me she had been present on the worst night of my life.
The night my father died.
The night that shaped everything I became.
"Where were you?" I asked.
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
Claire looked down.
"At your father's office."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Why?"
She took a slow breath.
"Because he asked me to come."
I shook my head.
"My father never mentioned that."
"I know."
"Why would he hide that?"
Claire's eyes filled with sadness.
"Because he was trying to protect you."
I looked away.
I hated that sentence.
Everyone kept saying they were protecting me.
My mother.
My brother.
Claire.
But every secret they hid had left a scar.
"What happened that night?"
Claire sat down slowly.
Richard remained standing behind us.
The restaurant had become almost empty.
The staff had stopped coming near our table.
Everyone seemed to sense that something private and painful was happening.
Claire folded her hands.
"Your father called me two hours before he died."
"Why?"
"He had discovered the financial records."
I looked at the documents again.
"The ones involving my mother."
She nodded.
"He knew someone inside the family was involved."
"Did he know it was her?"
Claire hesitated.
"Not completely."
That surprised me.
"Then what did he know?"
"He knew David was being manipulated."
My eyes narrowed.
"By my mother?"
"Yes."
I sat across from her.
My anger was still there.
But now it was mixed with confusion.
"Tell me everything."
Claire looked at the candle between us.
"Your father was not sick that night."
The sentence hit me instantly.
I felt like the floor had shifted beneath me.
"What?"
"He did not die from a heart attack."
My hands went cold.
"The doctors said..."
"The doctors were given incomplete information."
I looked at Richard.
He nodded slowly.
"I found out years later."
My voice became quiet.
"Then how did he die?"
Claire looked directly into my eyes.
"He was poisoned."
The world went silent.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
"No."
"I saw him collapse."
Claire's voice shook.
"He was holding a glass."
I remembered that night.
The phone call.
The hospital.
The doctor telling us there was nothing they could do.
I remembered my mother crying.
I remembered David standing beside me.
I remembered feeling like the universe had stolen the person I needed most.
May you like
"You were there," I whispered.
Claire nodded.
