Chapter 15: The Betrayal Inside the Safe House
I arrived at Daniel’s office ten minutes later.
But something felt wrong before I even entered.
The door was open.
Daniel was always careful.
Always.
He had spent months hiding from Ellis.
He would never leave a door unlocked.
I stepped inside slowly.
“Daniel?””
No answer.
The office was dark.
Papers were scattered everywhere.
A chair was overturned.
My heart started racing.
“Noah?””
A sound came from the back room.
I grabbed the nearest object I could find.
A metal lamp.
Then I heard:
“Mom?””
I dropped it.
Noah ran toward me.
I hugged him immediately.
“Are you okay?””
He nodded.
“But Daniel…”
I turned.
Daniel was sitting on the floor.
His face was pale.
A cut above his eyebrow.
“What happened?””
He looked at me.
“Sabrina…”
His voice was weak.
“He came here.””
“Who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
I already knew.
“Ellis?””
Daniel nodded.
Noah looked terrified.
“He found us.””
I helped Daniel stand.
“What did he want?””
Daniel looked at the flash drive.
“He wanted the original files.””
“Did he get them?””
Daniel looked at Noah.
“No.””
Relief came for one second.
Then disappeared.
Because Daniel looked scared.
“Then what?””
“He knows about the account.””
I frowned.
“He already knew.””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“He knows about the second account.””
My blood went cold.
“Second account?””
Noah looked at me.
“Grandpa had another one.””
I stared at both of them.
“How much?””
Daniel answered quietly.
“More than six million.””
The room became silent.
“How much?””
Daniel looked away.
“Thirty-eight million dollars.””
I felt dizzy.
Thirty-eight million.
My father had hidden a fortune.
But why?
Noah picked up a document from the desk.
“Because Grandpa knew Ellis would never stop.””
I looked at the paper.
It was another trust agreement.
And the beneficiary name wasn’t mine.
It wasn’t Noah’s.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been close to us.
Someone I never suspected.
I read the name.
And my entire body froze.
Claire.
“No.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Sabrina.””
“No.””
I dropped the paper.
“That’s impossible.””
Noah picked it up.
“Mom…”
I looked at him.
His face told me he already knew.
The person who betrayed me.
The person who helped Ellis.
The person who claimed she wanted revenge.
Was also someone my father had protected.
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From Claire.
Only one sentence.
*I’m sorry you found out this way.*
Then another message appeared.
*But your father never told you the whole truth.*
My hands shook.
A third message.
*Noah isn’t Ellis’s only secret child.*
I stared at the screen.
Unable to understand the words.
Noah read them.
And whispered:
“Mom…”
May you like
Then the final message appeared.
*Ask your father why he really chose you.*
