Chapter 3 - The Place Where They Buried The Truth
The old storage room door was covered in dust when I touched the handle and whispered: "Why did my father hide this from me?"
Behind the locked cabinet, I found an envelope with my father's handwriting and a photograph showing Edric standing beside a younger version of himself. On the back of the picture were six words: "She knows what really happened." I suddenly realized my father's death was not the end of the story.
The message on my phone stayed on the screen for several minutes.
"Faye, if you want to know what happened to your father, go to the place where they buried the truth."
I read it again.
Then again.
My first instinct was to ignore it.
Not because I didn't believe it.
Because I believed it too much.
For twelve years, I had forced myself to accept my father's death.
I had accepted the funeral.
The paperwork.
The condolences.
The empty chair at family dinners.
I had accepted that my father was gone because everyone around me told me the same thing.
But now I was staring at evidence that suggested someone had been using his name years after he died.
Someone had moved money.
Someone had signed documents.
Someone had hidden something.
And somehow...
Edric Kaine was connected to all of it.
I looked through the hospital room window.
The hallway was quiet.
Chloe was sleeping.
For the first time in days, her face looked peaceful.
Not happy.
Not completely safe.
But peaceful.
I knew I couldn't leave her.
Not after everything.
So I made arrangements.
A trusted officer from my unit arrived to help coordinate security.
A hospital advocate stayed with Chloe.
And before leaving the room, I sat beside my sister.
Her eyes opened slightly.
"You're leaving?"
I shook my head.
"I'm coming back."
She studied my face.
"You found something."
I didn't lie.
"Yes."
Her fingers tightened around mine.
"Is it about him?"
I knew who she meant.
"Partly."
She looked scared.
Not for herself.
For me.
"Faye..."
"I'm not going alone."
She nodded slowly.
Then she whispered something I almost missed.
"Be careful."
I smiled sadly.
"That's what I always tell you."
She looked away.
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"You don't understand."
I leaned closer.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"He was never afraid of you."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"What do you mean?"
Chloe looked toward the door.
"He was afraid of what you would find."
Those words followed me long after I left the hospital.
The location from the message was an old property outside town.
A place I had never heard of.
The address appeared nowhere in our family records.
But when I entered it into the database...
Something appeared.
A connection.
A property transfer.
A name.
Daniel Morgan.
My father.
The building was abandoned.
At least, that was what the records said.
But when I arrived, I immediately noticed something strange.
The gate was unlocked.
The security camera above it was still active.
Someone had been here recently.
I stepped inside carefully.
The place felt frozen in time.
Old furniture.
Dust-covered shelves.
Documents scattered across a desk.
It wasn't abandoned.
It was emptied.
Someone had removed everything important.
But they had missed something.
A small metal box hidden beneath a loose floorboard.
I lifted it.
Inside were several items.
A photograph.
A key.
And an envelope.
The handwriting on the envelope made my breath stop.
Dad.
I hadn't seen his handwriting in twelve years.
But I knew it instantly.
The way he wrote certain letters.
The pressure of the pen.
The small curve at the end of his signature.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Faye,
If you are reading this, then something happened that I hoped would never happen.
I stopped.
My heart was pounding.
Something happened.
Not "when I die."
Not "after I'm gone."
Something happened.
I continued reading.
You were always the strongest person I knew. That is why I need you to understand something. Strength does not mean fighting every battle immediately. Sometimes strength means knowing when someone is trying to make you fight the wrong enemy.
I looked around the empty room.
Then continued.
Trust Chloe. She sees more than people think.
My breathing changed.
Why would my father mention Chloe?
She was only five years old when he died.
I kept reading.
Do not trust anyone who tells you the story too easily.
The letter ended there.
No explanation.
No name.
No answer.
Only a warning.
I turned the page over.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
A small mark in the corner.
A symbol.
The same symbol appeared on the financial document from the hospital.
I took a picture.
Then I heard something.
A sound behind me.
I turned.
Nothing.
The room was empty.
But the door...
The door was slowly moving.
Someone had opened it.
I reached for my weapon.
Then stopped.
I wasn't in a combat zone.
I wasn't hunting an enemy.
I was trying to understand my own family.
The door closed.
Slowly.
I moved toward it.
Nobody was outside.
Only a small piece of paper lying on the floor.
I picked it up.
Three words.
"YOU FOUND IT."
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
Same unknown number.
"Now ask your mother why she lied."
I stared at the screen.
Because that was the one question I had avoided.
My mother had protected Edric.
She had covered for him.
But maybe...
Maybe she was protecting something else.
I returned to the hospital before sunrise.
My mother was sitting beside Chloe's bed.
When she saw my face, she knew.
"You found something."
I placed the letter on the table.
Her expression changed.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
That was all I needed to see.
"You knew."
She started crying.
"Faye..."
"You knew my father left something."
She looked at Chloe.
Then back at me.
"I was trying to protect you."
The words made me angry.
Because everyone said that.
Every person who failed to act always said the same thing.
"I was protecting you."
"No."
My voice was quiet.
"You were protecting yourself."
She looked down.
"I was scared."
"Of Edric?"
She didn't answer.
"Mom."
Her hands started shaking.
"Not just Edric."
The room became silent.
I stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
She looked at the hospital door.
Then lowered her voice.
"Your father didn't die because of an accident."
My entire body went still.
"What?"
She wiped her tears.
"Before he died, he discovered something."
"What?"
She looked at me.
And for the first time in twelve years...
My mother looked afraid.
"He discovered what Edric was really involved in."
I stared at her.
"Then why did you marry him?"
She closed her eyes.
"Because I thought he was the only person who could keep us alive."
The sentence made no sense.
Until she said the next words.
"Your father left evidence behind."
My heart started racing.
"Where?"
She looked toward Chloe.
Then toward the hallway.
"Faye..."
Her voice dropped.
"If Edric knows you found that letter..."
The lights above us suddenly flickered.
Everyone stopped.
The hospital monitor beside Chloe continued beeping.
Then my phone received another message.
This time...
It wasn't from the unknown number.
It was from Edric.
One sentence.
"Ask your mother who signed your father's death certificate."
I stared at the message.
Because I knew my father's death certificate.
I had seen it.
I had held it.
But I had never looked closely at the signature.
I turned toward my mother.
"Who signed it?"
Her face went completely pale.
Then she whispered a name I had never expected to hear.
"The man who buried your father..."
May you like
She stopped.
And the hospital room door slowly opened behind us.
