Chapter 6 - The Voice From The Darkness
The voice said my father's name.
And everyone froze.
Not because they didn't understand.
Because they did.
"Richard."
The name escaped Daniel's mouth.
A name filled with fear.
The darkness inside the archive room felt heavier.
My daughter was crying softly in my arms.
I pressed her against me.
Trying to stay calm.
Trying not to let her feel how terrified I was.
But my own hands were shaking.
"Who is Richard?"
I asked.
Nobody answered.
The chairman slowly turned on his phone flashlight.
The weak light moved across the room.
Across the shelves.
Across the documents.
Across the faces of people who had spent years hiding things from me.
Then the light stopped.
On the person standing behind us.
A man.
Older.
Wearing a dark coat.
His face was partially hidden.
But I saw his eyes.
And I understood why everyone looked afraid.
Because this man wasn't a stranger.
Daniel knew him.
My mother knew him.
The chairman knew him.
Even Ethan looked like he had seen a ghost.
The man smiled.
Not warmly.
Like someone who knew he had already won.
"Hello, Olivia."
My blood ran cold.
"How do you know my name?"
The man tilted his head.
"Because I have been watching you for a very long time."
Daniel stepped in front of me.
"You stay away from her."
The man's smile disappeared.
"Still pretending to be her protector?"
Daniel's face tightened.
"You were supposed to be gone."
The man laughed quietly.
"And you were supposed to stay hidden."
The words hit the room like a warning.
I looked at Daniel.
"What is happening?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped around him.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"I want the truth."
My voice was louder this time.
"I want all of it."
The man looked at me.
And for the first time, his expression changed.
Not fear.
Interest.
"You really are your father's daughter."
I hated that sentence.
Because everyone kept saying it.
Like my identity belonged to someone else.
Like I was only important because of the blood in my veins.
"I am not a name on a document."
I stared at him.
"I am not a company."
"I am not an inheritance."
"I am a person."
The room became silent.
The chairman looked at me.
And I saw something in his eyes.
Pride.
The man smiled slightly.
"Your father would have been proud."
I felt anger rise inside me.
"Don't talk about my father."
His expression changed.
"You have no idea what your father did."
Daniel immediately reacted.
"Stop."
The man looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because she doesn't need to hear it from you."
"Then who should tell her?"
His eyes moved around the room.
"Her mother, who lied for decades?"
My mother looked down.
"Her husband, who married her for access?"
Ethan's face changed.
"Or you?"
Daniel didn't respond.
The man stepped closer.
"Tell her what happened the night her father disappeared."
My heart stopped.
I looked at Daniel.
"What happened?"
Silence.
That was becoming the answer I hated most.
The chairman spoke.
"Richard was involved."
The man smiled.
"Finally."
I looked at him.
"You are Richard?"
He nodded.
"Richard Hart."
My stomach dropped.
Hart.
My family name.
The chairman looked at me.
"He is your father's brother."
The room became silent again.
I stared at Richard.
"My uncle?"
He smiled.
"Yes."
I couldn't understand.
My entire life, I thought my family was small.
My mother.
Me.
A father who left.
Now suddenly there were secrets.
Companies.
Archives.
People who disappeared.
A family I never knew existed.
"Why were you hiding?"
I asked.
Richard looked at the files around him.
"Because your father made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"Trusting the wrong people."
His eyes moved toward Ethan.
Ethan immediately stepped back.
"No."
Richard laughed.
"You really thought she would never find out?"
My heart started racing.
"What does Ethan have to do with this?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Richard answered.
"Everything."
I looked at Ethan.
He looked terrified.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Terrified.
And that was the moment I realized.
For the first time since I met him...
Ethan was afraid of someone else.
Richard walked toward the shelves.
"Your husband was not chosen randomly."
My voice became quiet.
"Chosen?"
Richard nodded.
"Your father knew someone would try to get close to you."
I looked at Ethan.
"No..."
Richard continued.
"He watched for years."
He picked up a folder.
"Then he found Ethan."
Ethan's face went pale.
"I didn't know."
Richard smiled.
"You knew enough."
"I didn't know who she was."
"You knew she was connected to the Hart family."
Ethan said nothing.
That silence destroyed the last piece of doubt I had.
I looked at him.
"Was our entire marriage a lie?"
His eyes met mine.
For a moment, I saw something human.
Regret.
Then it disappeared.
"I loved you."
The words sounded empty.
Because love shouldn't come with secrets.
Love shouldn't come with plans.
Love shouldn't leave a newborn baby's crib broken on a lawn.
"You loved what I represented."
I whispered.
Ethan looked away.
Richard watched us.
Satisfied.
But I noticed something.
He wasn't telling me everything.
People who tell the truth don't enjoy watching others suffer.
Richard did.
He was enjoying this.
"Why are you here now?"
I asked.
The question changed his expression.
"Because the archive was opened."
"And?"
"And because someone else is coming."
Daniel immediately looked at him.
"Who?"
Richard smiled.
"The person who started this."
The chairman stepped forward.
"That's impossible."
Richard looked at him.
"Is it?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Richard walked toward the old file with my name.
He touched it.
"Your father didn't hide this archive because he was afraid of losing his company."
He looked at me.
"He hid it because he discovered someone in his own family was willing to destroy everything."
My mother covered her mouth.
"No..."
I turned toward her.
"You knew."
She started crying.
"I suspected."
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Richard did.
"Someone you trusted."
A chill moved through me.
My mind raced through every person I knew.
Everyone who had been part of my life.
Everyone who had smiled at me.
Everyone who had told me they cared.
Then Richard opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph.
He held it up.
The image was old.
Black and white.
A family gathering.
My father.
My mother.
The chairman.
Daniel.
Richard.
And one more person.
Someone standing behind them.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who should not have been there.
Because I had seen that face my entire life.
In my own childhood photographs.
In my mother's house.
In memories I thought were harmless.
My hands went cold.
Richard looked at me.
"You know who that is."
I couldn't breathe.
Because the person in the photograph was the reason my father disappeared.
And the person who had been protecting me from the truth was the last person I expected.
My mother whispered:
May you like
"Olivia..."
Then the archive door behind us slowly began to close by itself.
