Chapter 6 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The photograph fell from Adrian's hand.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that apartment understood what they were looking at.
The man standing between Claire and Rebecca was not supposed to exist.
Adrian knew that face.
He had seen it in newspapers.
He had seen it in old family portraits.
He had seen it one final time inside a coffin.
His father.
Richard Cross.
The man who had died eight years ago.
The man whose funeral Adrian attended.
The man whose death had changed the entire direction of his life.
"No."
Adrian picked up the photograph again.
His hands were shaking.
"This is impossible."
Claire looked at him carefully.
"You said he was dead."
Adrian looked at her.
"Because he was."
Rebecca remained silent.
And that silence told him everything.
"You knew."
Rebecca looked down.
"I knew something."
Adrian's anger rose.
"No. You knew everything."
His voice filled the apartment.
"You worked beside me for twelve years. You knew about Claire. You knew about Emma. You knew about this."
He held up the photograph.
"And you never said anything."
Rebecca looked at him.
"I was trying to protect you."
Adrian laughed.
A short, empty laugh.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
He stepped closer.
"Everyone keeps claiming they were protecting me while destroying my entire life."
Emma stood quietly behind Claire.
Claire noticed.
She immediately moved closer to her daughter.
Adrian saw the fear in her eyes.
Not fear of him.
Fear of the truth.
"What happened to my father?"
Nobody answered.
The silence was worse.
"Tell me."
Rebecca looked at Claire.
Claire looked away.
Finally, Rebecca spoke.
"Your father didn't die."
Adrian felt like the ground moved beneath him.
"Then whose funeral did I attend?"
Rebecca's face became serious.
"Someone else's."
The room went silent.
Adrian stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because Richard Cross wanted the world to believe he was gone."
"Why would he do that?"
Rebecca hesitated.
And Adrian noticed.
That hesitation was becoming a pattern.
Everyone knew pieces of his life except him.
"Because your father was afraid."
Adrian almost smiled.
"My father?"
He shook his head.
"The man who controlled everything was afraid?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
"Of what?"
She looked at the photograph.
"Of losing control."
Adrian looked at Claire.
"What does she know?"
Claire looked uncomfortable.
"I know what my mother found."
Adrian turned.
"Your mother?"
Claire nodded.
"Before she died, she discovered something about Richard."
"What?"
Claire looked at Emma.
Then lowered her voice.
"Your father had been moving money through secret companies for years."
Adrian frowned.
"He was wealthy."
"This wasn't about money."
Claire paused.
"It was about power."
Adrian looked at the documents on the table.
The same documents Rebecca had shown him.
The hidden accounts.
The transfers.
The stolen money.
Everything was connected.
"My father used my company."
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
Adrian looked at her.
"And you knew."
"I discovered it after you hired me."
"Then why stay?"
Rebecca's expression changed.
For the first time, she looked vulnerable.
"Because I was trying to find proof."
Adrian studied her.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
She looked at him.
"But it is the truth."
The apartment became quiet again.
Adrian wanted to hate her.
It would have been easier.
But the truth was more complicated.
Rebecca had lied.
She had manipulated him.
She had hidden things.
But maybe she had also been searching for answers.
"Why did you let me believe Claire left me?"
Rebecca looked away.
That question hurt more than all the others.
"Because when I found out what your father was planning..."
She stopped.
Adrian waited.
"What?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"I realized anyone close to you could become a target."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Claire."
Rebecca nodded.
"Emma."
Another pause.
"And you."
Adrian looked at his daughter.
Seven years.
Someone had been protecting Emma.
Someone had been hiding her.
But someone had also been hunting for her.
"Who else knows?"
Rebecca didn't answer.
That worried him.
"Who else knows about Emma?"
A sound suddenly came from outside.
A car door closing.
Claire immediately looked toward the window.
Her face changed.
Adrian noticed.
"What?"
She whispered:
"They found us."
The words were quiet.
But they changed everything.
Rebecca moved toward the window.
Slowly.
Carefully.
She looked outside.
Then stepped back.
"They shouldn't know this address."
Adrian's heart started beating faster.
"Who is outside?"
Rebecca didn't answer.
She reached into her purse.
Not for a weapon.
For her phone.
She unlocked it.
There were several missed calls.
All from the same number.
A number Adrian recognized.
His father's old private office.
Impossible.
Richard Cross had been dead for eight years.
Rebecca's hands shook as she opened the newest message.
Adrian watched her face change.
"What does it say?"
Rebecca looked at him.
For the first time since he met her, she looked truly afraid.
"It says..."
She stopped.
"Read it."
Rebecca turned the phone around.
One sentence appeared on the screen.
I know where Emma is.
Adrian felt cold.
Because the message wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the name underneath.
The sender.
Richard Cross.
Adrian stared at the phone.
His dead father had just contacted them.
Claire grabbed Emma and pulled her closer.
Rebecca whispered:
"He knows."
Adrian looked toward the apartment door.
The hallway outside was silent.
Too silent.
Then came a sound.
A slow knock.
Three times.
Everyone froze.
Another knock.
Slower.
Closer.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Stay back."
Rebecca grabbed his arm.
"No."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Because if it is him..."
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Rebecca looked at Adrian.
And whispered:
"Your father never came here to take Emma."
May you like
The lock clicked.
"He came here to take you."
