Chapter 8 - The Choice Between Revenge And Forgiveness
The voice behind me made my entire body freeze.
“Emily… you finally found out who I am.”
I slowly turned around.
My mother was standing there.
But this time, there was no fear on her face.
No confusion.
No attempt to hide.
Only sadness.
A sadness that looked like she had been carrying it for twelve years.
“Mom?”
She looked at me.
“I wanted you to find out another way.”
I stared at her.
Another way.
That was the phrase everyone used when they didn’t want to admit the truth.
“How long?”
My voice barely came out.
“How long have you known?”
She looked down.
“Since the beginning.”
The answer hurt more than I expected.
Not because she knew.
Because she let me believe a lie.
“You knew Dad didn’t leave.”
A tear moved down her face.
“Yes.”
“You knew Tyler was involved.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Vincent had the evidence.”
“Yes.”
Every answer felt like another piece of my life collapsing.
I stepped back.
“I don’t understand.”
My mother looked at Vincent.
Then at the journal.
“Your father found out Tyler’s family was trying to take control of everything he built.”
“Everything?”
“The company. The property. The accounts.”
She looked at me.
“But most importantly…”
She paused.
“You.”
I frowned.
“Me?”
My mother nodded.
“Your father knew they would come after you because you were the legal heir.”
I looked at the documents.
The fake contracts.
The signatures.
The money transfers.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Tyler didn’t choose me because he loved me.
He chose me because I was the final door standing between him and everything he wanted.
“I was never his girlfriend.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“You were his target.”
The words hurt.
But somehow, hearing them made me stronger.
Because for the first time, I stopped blaming myself.
I stopped wondering what I did wrong.
Tyler had never been trying to love me.
He had been trying to own me.
Tyler stepped forward.
“You’re really going to believe them?”
Nobody answered.
He looked at me.
“Emily, think about it.”
His voice changed.
Softer.
The same voice he used when he wanted me to forgive him.
“You know me.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
His expression shifted.
“You do.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I knew the person you pretended to be.”
The room became silent.
Tyler looked away.
And that was the first time I saw him lose control.
Vincent walked toward the table.
He placed a folder beside the journal.
“This is everything your father collected.”
I looked at it.
“What is it?”
“Original contracts.”
He opened it.
“Bank records.”
Another page.
“Evidence showing Tyler’s involvement.”
I looked at Vincent.
“Why didn’t you give this to me before?”
His expression softened.
“Because your father made me promise.”
“What promise?”
Vincent looked at the journal.
“He wanted you to have a normal life.”
I almost laughed.
“Normal?”
My voice cracked.
“My entire life was built on a lie.”
“I know.”
“Then why protect me from the truth?”
Vincent was quiet.
Then he said:
“Because your father knew something.”
“What?”
“He knew if you learned everything too early, you would run toward revenge.”
I looked away.
Because he was right.
The old version of me would have wanted Tyler destroyed.
I would have wanted him to feel the same pain.
But now…
I just wanted answers.
A notification appeared on my phone.
Another message.
From the same unknown number.
A photo.
I opened it.
My heart stopped.
It was a picture of my father.
Alive.
Standing somewhere outside.
The date was two weeks after he supposedly disappeared.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
My fingers shook.
“He was alive.”
My mother covered her mouth.
Vincent stared at the screen.
“That’s impossible.”
I looked at him.
“You didn’t know?”
For the first time, Vincent looked shocked.
“No.”
The picture changed.
A second image appeared.
My father sitting at a table.
Across from someone.
The person’s face was hidden.
But the message below was clear.
"Ask Vincent why he never told you where your father went."
I looked at Vincent.
And something inside me changed.
Because now there was a question I couldn’t ignore.
“You said you protected my father.”
Vincent didn’t answer.
“Where did he go?”
Silence.
“Vincent.”
He looked at me.
“I thought he was dead.”
My breath stopped.
“What?”
“He disappeared after sending me the final evidence.”
He looked at the photo.
“I searched for him for years.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought the person who took him would come after you.”
I looked at my mother.
Then at Tyler.
Then back at Vincent.
Everyone had been protecting something.
But nobody had protected the truth.
A sound came from outside.
Car doors closing.
Several of them.
Vincent immediately looked toward the window.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He moved quickly toward the curtain.
Then stopped.
“Everyone get away from the windows.”
My heart started racing.
“What’s happening?”
He didn’t answer.
That scared me more.
The powerful man who always seemed prepared was suddenly worried.
The lights flickered.
My phone buzzed again.
One final message.
Unknown number.
"Your father is closer than you think."
Then another message appeared.
A location.
An address.
My father’s old office.
The place that had been abandoned for twelve years.
Vincent saw the screen.
His face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“That address…”
“What?”
His voice became almost a whisper.
“That’s where your father disappeared.”
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
The apartment door shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
Tyler stepped back.
“What did you do?”
Nobody answered.
The door slowly opened.
And standing outside was a man holding a photograph of my father.
A man Vincent recognized immediately.
May you like
Because Vincent whispered his name.
“Richard Carter…”
