Chapter 5: The Man From My Father’s Past
The next morning, I woke up feeling like my entire life had been rewritten overnight.
The mansion looked the same.
The ocean still crashed against the cliffs.
The sunlight still poured through the enormous windows.
But everything felt different.
Because now I knew the walls around me were hiding secrets.
And my mother was one of them.
I sat at the kitchen table with my father’s old photograph in front of me.
The same photograph Alexander had recognized.
Thomas Carter.
My father.
A name connected to a billion-dollar company.
A man everyone remembered except his own daughter.
I touched the corner of the photo.
“How much did I never know?”” I whispered.
“More than you should have.””
I looked up.
My mother stood in the doorway.
Victoria Carter looked exhausted.
For the first time in my life, she didn’t look powerful.
She looked scared.
I quickly covered the photograph.
“What do you want?””
She walked inside slowly.
“Emma…”
I almost laughed.
She rarely said my name like that.
Usually, it was an order.
Emma, clean this.
Emma, fix that.
Emma, don’t embarrass me.
But now there was hesitation.
“What?””
She sat across from me.
“I need you to understand something.””
I crossed my arms.
“Like you understood me all these years?””
Her expression tightened.
“I made mistakes.””
“Mistakes?””
My voice rose.
“You lied about my father.””
She looked down.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Everyone says that when they’re hiding something.””
She didn’t respond.
The silence between us felt heavier than any argument we had ever had.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your father was not the man you think he was.””
I stared at her.
“Then tell me who he was.””
She looked toward the window.
“He was ambitious.””
“That’s not a crime.””
“No.””
She paused.
“But ambition destroys people.””
I wanted to believe she was giving me a warning.
But after everything she had done, I didn’t know if she was protecting me or protecting herself.
“What happened the night he disappeared?””
Her fingers tightened around her coffee cup.
“He left.””
“That’s it?””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Her eyes met mine.
“You don’t get to decide what I know anymore.””
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then my mother stood.
“You should leave this alone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Why?””
“Because some truths destroy families.””
I looked at her.
“Maybe families should stop building themselves on lies.””
She left without another word.
An hour later, Alexander arrived.
He found me in my father’s old office.
A room I had rarely entered because my mother always said it was too important.
Now I understood why.
The shelves were filled with architectural drawings.
Old notebooks.
Blueprints.
A lifetime of someone’s work.
Alexander stood at the doorway.
“You found his office.””
I nodded.
“There are hundreds of designs here.””
He walked inside.
“He was brilliant.””
“You knew him?””
“My father knew him.””
Alexander picked up one of the notebooks.
“He used to tell me Thomas Carter could look at an empty piece of land and imagine an entire city.””
I smiled faintly.
“That sounds like him.””
Alexander looked at me.
“You remember him?””
“Some things.””
I touched an old wooden ruler on the desk.
“He used to draw with me.””
“What did he teach you?””
I thought about it.
“That buildings weren’t about money.””
Alexander smiled slightly.
“What were they about?””
“People.””
The smile disappeared.
Because we both understood.
That was why my father’s name mattered.
He cared about people.
And someone had taken everything from him.
My phone buzzed.
The same unknown number.
My stomach tightened.
Alexander noticed.
“Is that him?””
I nodded.
“Answer it.””
I hesitated.
Then pressed the button.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then the same voice.
“Good. You answered.””
“Who are you?””
“My name is Daniel Brooks.””
Alexander’s expression changed immediately.
I noticed.
“You know him?””
Alexander stepped closer.
“Put it on speaker.””
I did.
Daniel continued.
“I worked with your father.””
“Why are you calling me?””
A long pause.
“Because your father didn’t disappear.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
“He was forced out.””
Alexander’s face hardened.
“Daniel, choose your next words carefully.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Alexander Hayes. Just like your father. Always protecting the truth after it’s already buried.””
I gripped the phone.
“What happened to my father?””
Daniel’s voice lowered.
“Your mother knows.””
I looked toward the door.
“She told me he left.””
“She lied.””
The room became silent.
“Why?””
“Because Thomas Carter discovered something.””
“What?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then said:
“Your father discovered that the company he built was stolen from him.””
Alexander froze.
“My father would never—”
“Your father wasn’t the only one involved.””
A chill moved through me.
“Who else?””
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“Your mother.””
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Alexander looked at me.
“I’m sorry.””
I swallowed.
“No.””
I looked toward the hallway.
“I want the truth.””
Because for the first time in my life, I wasn’t running from my family’s secrets.
I was chasing them.
May you like
And whoever buried my father’s story was about to discover something.
I was no longer the girl hiding by the sink.
