Chương 6
Because Emma was not afraid of the unknown.
She was afraid of what they would discover.
Daniel walked slowly through the hallway.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
The old wooden floor creaked beneath his feet.
The walls were covered with family photographs.
Pictures of birthdays.
Pictures of vacations.
Pictures of a family that looked happy from the outside.
But behind every picture was a secret nobody wanted to reveal.
The phone rang again.
Daniel reached the small table near the living room.
An old black telephone sat there.
He remembered it from childhood.
His father refused to replace it, even when newer phones became common.
He always said some things were better left unchanged.
Daniel now understood that his father liked things that reminded people of the past.
Things he could control.
Daniel picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a voice answered.
"Daniel."
His blood turned cold.
It was his father's voice.
Not a recording.
Not a memory.
A real voice.
"Who is this?"
The voice remained calm.
"You know who this is."
Daniel's hand tightened around the phone.
"No."
His eyes moved toward the others standing behind him.
"This isn't possible."
A quiet laugh came through the line.
"That is what people always say when the truth finally reaches them."
Daniel felt anger rise inside him.
"You are dead."
"Yes."
A pause.
"But the truth is not."
Daniel said nothing.
His father continued.
"I knew this day would come."
Daniel looked toward Emma.
She was watching him carefully.
"What did you do to my sister?"
The voice became colder.
"I did what was necessary."
Daniel felt his entire body tense.
"Necessary?"
He almost shouted.
"You buried your own daughter."
"I protected the family."
Emma stepped closer.
Her face showed pain.
"Daniel."
She knew that voice.
She had heard it before.
The recording.
The threats.
The man who had controlled her life even from beyond the grave.
Daniel covered the phone speaker with his hand.
"How do you know this is him?"
Emma whispered.
"Because that is exactly how he talks."
Daniel looked at the phone again.
"What do you want?"
The voice answered immediately.
"I want you to understand before you destroy everything."
Daniel laughed quietly.
"You already destroyed everything."
"No."
His father replied.
"You are about to."
The line went silent for a moment.
Then another voice appeared.
A woman's voice.
Daniel froze.
It was his mother's voice.
From a recording.
"Please stop."
The sound was weak.
Afraid.
His father's voice followed.
"You should have listened to me."
Daniel looked at Linda.
She covered her mouth.
She recognized it.
"Mom?"
Linda looked away.
The recording continued.
"I gave you a chance to protect this family."
His father's voice said.
"You chose her."
Daniel felt confused.
"Her?"
Emma looked at Linda.
Linda's eyes filled with tears.
The recording continued.
"Everything that happened after that was your fault."
Then the phone went silent.
Daniel slowly lowered it.
Nobody spoke.
"What was that?"
Linda looked broken.
"I tried to help Emma."
Daniel stared at her.
"When?"
"Before she disappeared."
Emma looked surprised.
"You never told me."
Linda shook her head.
"I thought I could fix it."
Daniel looked between them.
"Fix what?"
Linda sat down on the couch.
Her hands trembled.
"The night your father found out Emma had the files, I tried to take them."
Daniel listened.
"I wanted to go to the police."
Emma looked at her.
"Why didn't you?"
Linda cried softly.
"Because your father found me first."
The room became silent.
"He told me if I exposed him, he would make sure both of my children suffered."
Daniel felt sick.
"He threatened me with you."
Linda looked at him.
"With both of you."
Daniel looked down.
His entire childhood suddenly looked different.
His father was not just controlling.
He was dangerous.
"Where are the files now?" Daniel asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Emma spoke.
"They are not files anymore."
Daniel looked at her.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"Your father knew physical evidence could be found."
She looked toward the hallway.
"So he copied everything."
"Where?"
Emma hesitated.
"He created a backup."
Daniel waited.
"He hid it inside something nobody would ever question."
Rachel whispered.
"The family Bible."
Everyone looked at her.
Daniel turned.
"What did you say?"
Rachel looked terrified.
"Your father kept a Bible in his office."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Everyone knew that."
Rachel shook her head.
"Not that one."
She looked toward the upstairs hallway.
"The real one."
Daniel felt a chill.
"The one he kept hidden?"
Rachel nodded.
"Yes."
Emma looked at her.
"You knew."
Rachel looked down.
"I saw it once."
Daniel stepped closer.
"When?"
Rachel's voice became quiet.
"After your father died."
The anger returned to Daniel's face.
"You went through his things."
Rachel nodded.
"I was looking for something."
"What?"
She looked at Emma.
"Proof."
Daniel stared.
"Proof of what?"
Rachel took a breath.
"That he had planned everything."
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
"Someone is in the house."
Michael immediately moved toward the stairs.
Daniel stopped him.
"No."
Michael looked back.
"What?"
Daniel picked up a heavy lamp from the table.
"Nobody goes alone."
For the first time that night, they moved together.
Not as a family.
Not as people who trusted each other.
But as people trapped inside the same nightmare.
Daniel led them upstairs.
The hallway was dark.
The old family portraits watched them as they passed.
At the end of the hall was his father's office.
The door was slightly open.
Daniel stopped.
He remembered that door from childhood.
He remembered being told never to enter.
He remembered his father saying some rooms were not meant for children.
Now Daniel understood.
Some rooms were not meant to hide childhood.
They were meant to hide sins.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
The desk.
The shelves.
May you like
The old chair behind the desk.
And on the center of the table sat a single object.
