Chapter 4: The Hidden Investigation
I read the message until the words stopped looking real.
You were never supposed to survive.
A normal person would have felt fear first.
I felt anger.
Because for three years, I had woken up every morning wondering if I had missed something.
A phone call.
A warning.
A sign.
Something that could have saved Claire.
Now I knew there had been something.
Someone had been watching us.
Someone had planned this.
“Daniel,” Mara said quietly.
I looked up.
“What?””
“Give me the photograph.””
“No.””
She paused.
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with.””
I held it tighter.
“That’s exactly the problem.””
Thomas stepped between us.
“Daniel is right.””
Mara looked at him.
“You have no idea what happens when people start digging into this.””
Thomas gave a bitter laugh.
“Claire knew.””
The mention of her name changed the room.
Mara looked away.
That was the first time I saw guilt on her face.
Not suspicion.
Not concern.
Guilt.
“What happened the night Claire died?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
I looked at both of them.
“I want the truth.””
Finally, Thomas spoke.
“Claire called me that night.””
My chest tightened.
“You talked to her?””
“Yes.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
Thomas looked broken.
“She told me not to.””
“Why?””
“Because she believed your phone was being monitored.””
The room went silent.
I remembered every conversation.
Every argument.
Every moment Claire had looked distracted.
I had assumed she was overwhelmed.
I had assumed work was exhausting her.
But she had been afraid.
“What did she say?””
Thomas looked down.
“She said she found the person behind the financial scheme.””
“Who?””
“She didn’t say.””
“Why?””
“Because someone was with her.””
My stomach turned.
“Someone was there?””
Thomas nodded.
“She whispered one sentence before the call ended.””
“What sentence?””
Thomas closed his eyes.
“She said, ‘If Daniel finds out, they’ll use him next.’”
I couldn’t breathe.
Claire hadn’t hidden the truth because she didn’t trust me.
She had hidden it because she was trying to protect me.
Then why had she left behind a message telling me to trust nobody?
A sound interrupted us.
A security alarm.
Mara immediately looked toward the archive door.
“That’s impossible.””
“What?””
“This room has a separate security system.””
Thomas checked his phone.
His face went pale.
“The cameras are offline.””
Mara moved quickly.
Not like an old woman.
Like someone who had spent her life surviving threats.
We followed her through the hallway.
When we reached the main office, the door was already open.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Except one thing.
The flash drive from Claire’s envelope was gone.
I searched the desk.
Nothing.
“Someone took it.””
Thomas looked around.
“No.””
He pointed.
“They didn’t take it.””
On the computer screen was a message.
Black background.
White letters.
A warning.
*Thank you for bringing Claire’s evidence back home.*
My blood ran cold.
Because underneath the message was another line.
*Ask Daniel why Claire stopped trusting him.*
I stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody answered.
Then Mara’s phone rang.
She picked it up.
Listened.
And slowly looked at me.
“What?””
Her face had lost all color.
“Who is it?””
She lowered the phone.
“It’s Vincent.””
The name alone changed the air.
Thomas stepped forward.
“That’s impossible.””
Mara looked at him.
“He wants to speak to Daniel.””
My heart pounded.
I took the phone.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a man’s voice whispered.
“Daniel Carver.””
I froze.
The voice sounded older.
Tired.
But unmistakably real.
“You have something that belongs to me.””
I gripped the phone.
“You’re supposed to be dead.””
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
“Claire said you would say that.””
My entire body went still.
“What did you say?””
The man paused.
Then he spoke the words that changed everything.
“Your wife didn’t die trying to expose Bellandi Holdings.””
May you like
A silence followed.
“She died trying to expose you.””
