Chapter 14: The Friend My Father Feared
Nobody looked at me.
That was the moment I knew.
They all knew something.
Something about Ryan.
I turned toward him slowly.
“Why are you quiet?””
Ryan didn’t answer.
“Ryan.””
He looked at me.
His eyes were filled with something I couldn’t understand.
Regret.
“I didn’t want you to hear it like this.””
My stomach dropped.
“Hear what?””
Thomas answered.
“Your father believed Ryan was involved.””
I stared.
“No.””
Ryan closed his eyes.
I looked at him.
“Tell me he’s lying.””
He didn’t.
That hurt more than anything.
“Ryan.””
His voice was barely audible.
“I wasn’t involved in hurting you.””
“But my father suspected you.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Ryan sat down.
For the first time, he looked defeated.
“Because I lied to him.””
The room went silent.
“About what?””
He looked at the floor.
“Your father asked me to investigate the financial problems.””
I frowned.
“You investigated?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he trusted me.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps using that word.””
Ryan ignored it.
“I found something.””
“What?””
“I found transfers connected to someone inside the company.””
“Who?””
He looked at David.
Then at my mother.
Then at me.
“I thought it was your father.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“I thought he was moving money himself.””
“That makes no sense.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
Ryan looked ashamed.
“Because someone made it look that way.””
Thomas nodded.
“That was the plan.””
I looked at him.
“The plan?””
“To make everyone suspicious of each other.””
The room went quiet.
A horrible realization slowly formed.
This wasn’t just one betrayal.
Someone had been creating chaos.
Making my mother look guilty.
Making Ryan look guilty.
Making David look guilty.
Making everyone fight while the real person stayed hidden.
“Who was controlling this?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This time there was a picture.
An old picture.
My father.
Ryan.
And another man.
A man standing beside them.
I recognized him immediately.
My father’s old business partner.
The man who had supposedly disappeared years ago.
Thomas.
But the message wasn’t about Thomas.
It was about the person standing behind them.
A person whose face had been cut out.
The caption read:
*Your father knew the person destroying him before anyone else did.*
I looked at Thomas.
“Who is missing from this photo?””
His expression changed.
“I don’t know.””
“You do.””
“I don’t.””
“Then why are you afraid?””
He looked away.
That was enough.
I zoomed in.
The missing person’s hand was visible.
A watch.
A ring.
A familiar jacket.
Then I noticed something.
The same ring appeared in another photo on the wall.
A family photo.
A photo taken years ago.
My father.
My mother.
Me.
And one other person.
I walked toward the wall.
Slowly.
My fingers touched the frame.
“No.””
Ryan stood.
“What?””
I pointed.
“The person in the picture.””
Everyone looked.
My mother gasped.
David whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
Because the person hidden from the old photo wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t a business partner.
It wasn’t someone from my father’s past.
It was someone who had been at every family gathering.
Someone who knew my entire life.
Someone who had watched me grow up.
My voice shook.
“Why is my aunt in this picture?””
Nobody answered.
May you like
And then my phone received one final message.
*Now ask her why she helped your mother cover up the accident.*
