Chapter 4: The Password He Never Forgot
The message stayed on my phone screen for several seconds.
Seven words.
That was all.
But they felt heavier than a thousand accusations.
*Ask your father why your mother disappeared.*
I read it again, hoping the meaning would change.
It didn’t.
The room that had been filled with music, laughter, and celebration suddenly felt unbearably cold.
I looked at my father.
He was staring at the floor.
Not confused.
Not angry.
Afraid.
“Dad,” I said quietly.
He didn’t answer.
“Look at me.””
Slowly, he raised his eyes.
And in that moment, I knew.
There was something he had spent years trying to bury.
Something connected to my mother.
Something connected to me.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Maya, maybe we should leave this room.””
“No.””
My voice came out sharper than I expected.
“I spent my entire life leaving rooms whenever my father wanted me to.””
Nobody spoke.
I walked toward the center of the lounge.
The same place where Olivia had been sitting comfortably less than an hour ago, pretending she belonged.
Now nobody dared sit.
“Dad, you said Mom left instructions I wasn’t supposed to know about.””
He swallowed.
“I didn’t say that exactly.””
“You said she left something.””
“Yes.””
“What?””
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, he looked like the man I remembered from childhood.
The father who carried me on his shoulders.
The father who clapped during my first piano recital.
The father who promised my mother he would protect me.
Then he looked away.
“I can’t explain everything here.””
I laughed quietly.
“Why?””
“Because—”
“Because people might hear?””
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“Dad, my entire company is built around protecting artists from people like that. People who take what doesn’t belong to them.””
His face changed.
“Maya…”
“You took Mom’s money.””
His eyes dropped.
“You gave away my ticket.””
Silence.
“And now I find out you know a password connected to her private files.””
I held up my phone.
“Someone is trying to sell her unfinished music.””
My voice broke slightly.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t think it was you.””
My father looked genuinely hurt.
“I would never steal from your mother.””
“Then explain.””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was worse.
Olivia suddenly interrupted.
“Maybe we’re making this bigger than it is.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked nervous.
“I mean, Dad could have just remembered the password. That doesn’t mean he did anything.””
I looked at her.
“Why are you defending him?””
She crossed her arms.
“Because he’s my father too.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You’re defending him because you know something.””
Her expression hardened.
“I don’t.””
“You’re a terrible liar.””
Her face flushed.
“Excuse me?””
“Your whole life is built on pretending.””
My father stepped forward.
“Maya, stop.””
“No.””
I pointed at Olivia.
“She walked into this room wearing my pass. She sat here telling people she had connections she didn’t have. She took credit for a world she never built.””
Olivia’s eyes narrowed.
“You think you’re better because you have money now?””
“No.””
I looked directly at her.
“I think I’m better because I didn’t have to steal someone else’s place to feel important.””
Her mouth opened.
But no words came out.
Then Claire’s tablet made a sound.
A notification.
She looked down.
“Maya…”
“What now?””
Her face was pale.
“The security system just flagged another access attempt.””
“From where?””
She hesitated.
“From inside the building.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Claire turned the tablet toward me.
The access log appeared.
A name was highlighted.
I felt the world become quiet.
Because the person trying to open my mother’s files wasn’t outside.
They weren’t some anonymous hacker.
They were standing in the room with me.
The name on the screen was:
May you like
*Robert Carter.*
My father.
