Chapter 5 - The Truth Hidden Inside My Father's Last Message
The screen went black.
The file disappeared.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The only sound inside the mansion was the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock near the fireplace.
I stared at the USB drive in my hand.
"The person who really owns the mansion."
Those words kept repeating inside my head.
Not because I didn't understand them.
Because I did.
And I hated what they meant.
Carter was watching me.
His face was pale.
Not the face of a man who had been falsely accused.
The face of a man who had just realized something buried for years was finally coming back.
"Evelyn."
I looked at him.
"How did you know about this?"
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
Rachel slowly stepped closer.
"He knew."
I looked at her.
"He knew your father left something behind."
My fingers tightened around the USB drive.
"What are you saying?"
Rachel looked at Carter.
"I'm saying Carter spent years trying to find this."
Carter immediately shook his head.
"She's lying."
Victoria's expression changed.
"Carter..."
"No."
His voice became louder.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Rachel laughed softly.
"That hasn't changed."
She looked at me.
"He always gets louder when he is scared."
The room went silent.
Because that was exactly what was happening.
Carter was not angry.
He was afraid.
I walked toward him.
"Tell me."
He looked at me.
"Tell you what?"
"The truth."
He looked away.
A small movement.
But I saw it.
"You knew my father."
Silence.
"Carter."
His jaw tightened.
"I met him once."
Rachel immediately interrupted.
"Three times."
Carter looked at her.
"Stop."
But Rachel didn't.
"Your father never trusted him."
My heart sank.
Because my father trusted almost nobody.
But when he did...
He was usually right.
I remembered the last conversation I had with him before he died.
He had held my hand.
He had looked at me with serious eyes.
"Evelyn, love is important. But trust your instincts more."
At the time, I thought he was giving me ordinary life advice.
Now I wondered if he was trying to warn me.
I looked at Carter.
"What did my father know?"
He remained silent.
And suddenly...
I understood.
The silence was the confession.
"You knew."
My voice was barely a whisper.
"You knew something about my father."
Carter stepped forward.
"Evelyn, listen to me."
"No."
I moved back.
"Every time you say that, you make me believe there is something worse coming."
His face changed.
Because there was.
Victoria walked toward the table.
"We need to watch the file."
She looked at the USB drive.
"Whatever your father recorded, it was meant to be found."
Rachel nodded.
"That's why Carter never found it."
Carter looked at her.
"You don't know that."
Rachel smiled sadly.
"I know more than you think."
Victoria connected the USB drive to her laptop.
Everyone gathered around.
Even Carter.
Maybe because he wanted to stop it.
Maybe because he wanted to know what my father left behind.
The screen showed one video file.
No title.
No date.
Only:
EVELYN_FINAL.
My breathing stopped.
My father's handwriting.
I knew it immediately.
Victoria clicked.
The screen went black.
Then a familiar face appeared.
My father.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
A recording.
Not a memory.
A message.
"Evelyn."
I covered my mouth.
Hearing his voice again after years felt impossible.
"If you are watching this, then something happened that I hoped would never happen."
The room became silent.
My father's eyes looked directly into the camera.
"I need you to listen carefully."
He paused.
"Do not trust someone just because they say they love you."
My eyes moved toward Carter.
He looked uncomfortable.
My father continued.
"When people want something from you, they don't always attack you."
A pause.
"Sometimes they marry you."
My heart broke.
Because my father had recorded this before my wedding.
Before Carter became my husband.
Before I knew anything.
"I spent months investigating someone close to you."
The video glitched slightly.
Then my father's voice became clearer.
"His name is Carter Vale."
The room froze.
Carter immediately stepped toward the laptop.
"Turn it off."
Nobody moved.
Victoria looked at him.
"Don't."
Carter stared at her.
"You don't understand."
"No."
I looked at him.
"I understand perfectly."
My father continued.
"Carter is not interested in Evelyn's heart."
A painful silence.
"He is interested in her access."
My hands began shaking.
Not because I didn't believe it.
Because some part of me still hoped he was wrong.
My father looked directly into the camera.
"Evelyn, if Carter has convinced you he loves you, then I am sorry."
A tear escaped before I could stop it.
"Because that means he was very good at pretending."
Carter looked away.
Rachel closed her eyes.
Victoria looked down.
Then my father's expression changed.
More serious.
"There is one more thing."
The video paused.
Then resumed.
"The mansion."
Everyone looked up.
My father continued.
"The mansion was never just a gift."
I frowned.
"What?"
My father looked directly at me.
"It was protection."
My heart started racing.
"When you were born, I created a legal structure to protect your future."
Victoria looked shocked.
Even she didn't know.
"The property was transferred into a private trust."
My eyes widened.
A trust.
My father continued.
"No husband. No family member. No outside person can claim ownership."
I looked at Carter.
His face had lost all color.
Then my father said:
"But there is someone who knows the complete truth."
The video stopped.
A message appeared.
"Enter the name of the person who helped me create the trust."
I stared at the screen.
"What?"
Victoria looked confused.
"I didn't know about this."
Rachel whispered:
"Neither did I."
Everyone looked at the laptop.
A password screen.
One chance.
Then suddenly...
Carter laughed.
Quietly.
Everyone turned.
"You really think you understand everything now?"
I looked at him.
"What are you talking about?"
He stepped closer.
"You think your father was protecting you?"
His expression changed.
"Your father was hiding something from you."
The room became silent.
Rachel looked shocked.
"Carter..."
"No."
He looked at me.
"You deserve to know."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
He reached into his jacket.
And pulled out an old envelope.
One I had never seen before.
My name was written on it.
But underneath my name...
Was another name.
My mother's.
Carter placed it on the table.
"Your father didn't leave this message because he wanted to protect you."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"He left it because he was afraid you would discover what your mother did."
I froze.
Because my mother had died when I was young.
And Carter should never have had anything belonging to her.
Then my phone suddenly vibrated.
A new message appeared.
From the same unknown number.
One sentence.
"Ask Carter why your mother disappeared."
I looked at Carter.
He was already looking at me.
May you like
Then the envelope on the table slowly opened by itself...
And a photograph slipped out.
