Chapter 16: The Memory He Tried to Erase
I read my father’s message again.
“You just don’t know where it is.””
My hands went cold.
He wasn’t guessing.
He knew.
Somehow, my father knew we were searching for the letter before we even found out it existed.
I looked around the old house.
The walls.
The shelves.
The photographs.
Everything suddenly felt like it was hiding something.
“Clara.””
She looked at me.
“I swear I don’t remember.””
Her voice was shaking.
I wanted to believe her.
More than anything, I wanted to believe her.
But too many secrets had already broken open.
“What did Vanessa mean when she said he made you forget?””
Clara pressed her lips together.
“I don’t know.””
“Think.””
She closed her eyes.
The room became silent.
Then she whispered:
“After we got engaged…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“There was an accident.””
My heart tightened.
“What accident?””
“I fell down the stairs.””
I frowned.
“You never told me that.””
“Because I didn’t remember.””
The words made no sense.
“What do you mean you didn’t remember?””
Clara looked at Vanessa.
My sister looked away.
That reaction told me she knew more.
“Vanessa?””
She swallowed.
“I saw it.””
My eyes moved to her.
“You saw Clara fall?””
“Yes.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
“I tried.””
Her voice cracked.
“Dad stopped me.””
The anger returned instantly.
“What did he do?””
Vanessa looked terrified.
“He told me Clara had been drinking. He said she was embarrassed and didn’t want anyone to know.””
Clara shook her head.
“I wasn’t drinking.””
“I know that now.””
Vanessa wiped her face.
“But back then, I believed him.””
I looked at Clara.
“What happened after the fall?””
She touched her temple.
“I woke up in the hospital.””
“Was I there?””
“Yes.””
“Did the doctors say anything?””
She hesitated.
“There was something strange.””
“What?””
“They said someone had asked them not to contact you.””
My stomach dropped.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
I already knew.
My father.
The person who always decided what information I was allowed to receive.
Clara continued.
“After that, I had trouble remembering certain things.””
“What things?””
She looked at me.
“Conversations.””
My chest tightened.
“With who?””
“With your father.””
The room went quiet.
I felt sick.
“What did he say to you?””
“I don’t know.””
“Clara.””
“I’m serious.””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I remember being afraid. I remember him sitting beside my hospital bed. But I don’t remember the words.””
Vanessa whispered:
“Because he drugged her.””
Everyone turned.
“What?””
Vanessa looked horrified at herself for finally saying it.
“I didn’t know at the time.””
She walked toward the table.
“Dad told me he gave her medication to calm her down.””
My fists tightened.
“He gave my wife something without permission?””
“I think so.””
Clara covered her mouth.
“Why?””
Vanessa looked at her.
“Because he wanted something.””
“What?””
“The letter.””
I froze.
My father wasn’t just hiding evidence.
He was searching for it.
“What letter?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“The one Daniel wrote before he disappeared.””
Clara suddenly stood.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
She walked toward an old cabinet near the hallway.
“I remember something.””
She opened a drawer.
Inside were old photographs.
She searched through them.
Then she pulled out one picture.
Her face changed.
“What?””
She turned the photograph around.
It showed Clara and me at our engagement party.
But behind us was my father.
Holding something.
A small envelope.
I looked closer.
“That’s it.””
Vanessa nodded.
“The letter.””
My breathing stopped.
The picture had been taken three years ago.
My father had found it.
But he didn’t know where it was.
Because Clara had hidden it.
“Where would you hide something important?”” I asked.
She stared at the picture.
Then suddenly touched her necklace.
I noticed.
“You wear that every day.””
She looked down.
Her fingers trembled.
“This.””
She removed the necklace.
A small silver pendant hung from the chain.
“I thought it was just a gift.””
She opened it.
Inside was a tiny folded piece of paper.
Nobody moved.
Clara unfolded it carefully.
Her eyes scanned the first line.
Then she covered her mouth.
“What does it say?””
She looked at me.
“It’s from Daniel.””
I stepped closer.
“What did he write?””
Her hands shook.
Then she read the sentence aloud.
“Your father didn’t destroy my company.””
She looked up.
“He destroyed someone else.””
My phone rang.
My father.
I answered.
His voice was calm.
“You found it.””
I said nothing.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“But you still don’t know who the real victim was.””
