Chapter 8: The Person Behind Martha’s Plan
I stared at the picture until my vision blurred.
Your father’s killer.
Those words repeated in my head.
Again.
Again.
Again.
“Emma?””
Nick’s voice sounded far away.
I looked up.
Everyone was watching me.
“What happened?””
I couldn’t answer.
I handed him the phone.
The second he saw the image, his expression changed.
“Martha.””
His mother looked at him.
“What?””
Nick walked toward her.
“Who is this?””
Martha glanced at the screen.
For the first time all night, she looked genuinely shocked.
“I don’t know.””
Nobody believed her.
Not even her son.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“It’s true.””
“You’re lying.””
Martha looked hurt.
Actually hurt.
“I have never lied to you.””
The room became completely silent.
I almost laughed.
Because the statement was so impossible.
Nick stared at her.
“You lied about Emma.””
Martha looked at me.
“That was different.””
“No, Mom.””
His voice cracked.
“That was everything.””
She looked away.
The confidence disappeared from her face.
Evelyn took my phone and examined the picture.
“This was taken tonight?””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
She zoomed in.
The man standing with Martha was older.
Gray suit.
Silver watch.
A scar near his eyebrow.
Evelyn went completely still.
“You know him?””
I asked.
She didn’t answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
“Richard Vale.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“What?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“He’s alive?””
The question made my skin crawl.
“Who is Richard Vale?””
Nobody answered.
Finally, Thomas spoke.
“Your father’s business partner.””
I frowned.
“My father had a business partner?””
Thomas nodded.
“Before everything fell apart.””
“What happened?””
Thomas looked at Martha.
“That’s the part nobody wanted you to know.””
Martha shook her head.
“Stop.””
But nobody listened.
Not anymore.
Thomas continued.
“Daniel Reed built his company from nothing. He trusted Richard with everything.””
“What company?””
“A financial investment firm.””
I looked at the newspaper clipping.
The fortune.
The inheritance.
The missing years.
“How did my father die?””
Thomas looked down.
“His car went off a bridge.””
My breath caught.
“An accident?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“We never believed it was.””
Martha suddenly stepped forward.
“You have no proof.””
Thomas looked at her.
“Neither did you when you destroyed my family.””
Her face tightened.
Nick looked between them.
“You all knew?””
Nobody answered.
“You all knew something happened to Emma’s father?””
Evelyn looked at him sadly.
“We knew pieces.””
“And my mother?””
Silence.
Nick laughed bitterly.
“All these years, I thought I was the only one living with secrets.””
I looked at Martha.
“You met Richard tonight.””
She didn’t deny it.
“When?””
Martha looked at the floor.
“Before the ceremony.””
My heart sank.
“Why?””
“He wanted to talk.””
“About what?””
Her eyes lifted to mine.
“About you.””
The room went cold.
I stepped back.
“Why would he care about me?””
Martha didn’t answer.
Nick did.
“Because your father left something behind.””
“What?””
“A company.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
“But I don’t own a company.””
“You do.””
My heart raced.
Thomas stepped closer.
“Your father created a trust. If anything happened to him, everything would belong to his daughter when she turned twenty-five.””
I looked at Nick.
“I’m twenty-eight.””
“Yes.””
“And Martha controlled it.””
Nobody spoke.
The truth was becoming clearer.
The money.
The secrets.
The wedding.
Everything connected.
Then Martha said something that changed the entire room.
“I didn’t meet Richard because I wanted to hurt Emma.””
Everyone turned.
Martha looked at me.
“I met him because he threatened to expose the truth.””
“What truth?””
Her eyes filled with fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“Your father wasn’t killed because of money.””
A chill moved through me.
“Then why?””
Martha looked toward the entrance.
The same entrance where Thomas had appeared.
And quietly said:
“Because he found out who was really behind the entire thing.””
The doors opened.
A man stood there.
The same man from the photograph.
Richard Vale.
He smiled.
May you like
And said:
“Looks like we’re finally having this conversation.””
