Chapter 6 - The Truth Hidden At The Lake House
The name on my phone screen made my hands go numb.
I stared at it.
Then I looked at Daniel.
Because the person who sent the message was not a stranger.
It was someone I had trusted.
Someone who had hugged me after Nathan's funeral.
Someone who had promised me I wasn't alone.
The name appeared again.
Richard Vale.
My father.
I couldn't speak.
For a few seconds, nobody in the hospital room moved.
Daniel looked at my phone.
Then his face changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
"You need to leave," he whispered.
I looked at him.
"You knew?"
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
"Daniel."
He closed his eyes.
"I knew Richard was involved."
The words felt like another betrayal.
"You knew my father was trying to take my house?"
"No."
His voice became desperate.
"Not like this."
I laughed softly.
A painful laugh.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I looked at Samantha.
"Not like this."
I looked back at Daniel.
"Then like what?"
Nobody answered.
Because there was no answer that would make what happened okay.
My father forced me out of my own home.
My husband left behind secret protections.
And now I was discovering that the people around me had been watching it happen.
"I want the truth."
My voice was quiet.
But everyone heard it.
"No more protecting me."
Samantha nodded slowly.
"You're right."
She looked at Daniel.
"It's time."
Daniel sat down.
For the first time since he entered the room, he looked exhausted.
Like he had been carrying something too heavy for too long.
"Nathan started investigating Richard six months before the accident."
I felt my stomach twist.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"Because money disappeared."
"What money?"
"Nathan found unusual transfers connected to a company Richard controlled."
I stared.
"My father?"
Daniel nodded.
"He thought Richard was using family information to manipulate property deals."
I shook my head.
"No."
The word came out automatically.
Because accepting it meant accepting something I had avoided my entire life.
My father was not just difficult.
He had chosen to hurt me.
"He wouldn't do that."
Samantha looked at me gently.
"Elena."
I looked away.
Because I knew.
Deep down, I knew.
Daniel continued.
"Nathan didn't want to believe it either."
That surprised me.
"He didn't?"
"No."
Daniel looked at me.
"That's why he investigated quietly. He wasn't trying to destroy Richard. He was trying to understand why he was doing it."
I looked at Nathan's letter.
My husband had tried to find a reason.
Even for someone who betrayed him.
That was Nathan.
Always looking for the good.
Even when there was none.
"So what did he find?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small key.
The same type of key Nathan had left behind.
My heart started beating faster.
"This opens something at the lake house."
I stared.
"The lake house?"
Daniel nodded.
"The place where Nathan proposed to you."
I remembered that day instantly.
The wooden dock.
The sunset.
Nathan kneeling with a ring in his hand.
The happiest moment of my life.
"Why there?"
Daniel looked at Samantha.
Then at me.
"Because Nathan believed nobody would think to search there."
Samantha picked up her bag.
"We need to go."
I looked at her.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked at my phone.
"Because Richard already knows we have the message."
My blood ran cold.
"How?"
She pointed at the picture.
"Look at the timestamp."
I checked.
My hands shook.
The photo had been taken less than ten minutes ago.
Someone was at the lake house.
Right now.
"Who is there?"
Nobody answered.
But we all knew.
Someone was searching for whatever Nathan had hidden.
The drive to the lake house felt endless.
I sat in the back seat.
My hand rested on my stomach.
My baby moved slightly.
A reminder that no matter what happened, I had to stay strong.
For both of us.
Daniel drove.
Samantha sat beside him.
Nobody spoke much.
Everyone was afraid of what we would find.
After an hour, the trees opened.
The lake appeared.
And there it was.
The small wooden house Nathan and I loved.
The place where we made promises.
The place where he had hidden his final secret.
But something was wrong.
The front door was open.
Daniel immediately stopped the car.
"Stay here."
"No."
I opened the door.
"Elena."
"I'm done staying behind."
Samantha looked at me.
Then nodded.
"Stay close."
We walked toward the house.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The silence was disturbing.
Because Nathan's lake house was never silent.
It always felt warm.
Alive.
Now it felt abandoned.
Daniel unlocked the door.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Almost.
Then I saw it.
The drawer beside the fireplace.
Open.
Someone had already searched.
Daniel walked toward it.
"He was here."
"Who?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Richard."
My heart dropped.
"How do you know?"
Daniel pointed.
A small scratch marked the wooden drawer.
Nathan had taught us all a trick.
He marked things nobody else would notice.
A tiny line.
A hidden signal.
"He found something."
Samantha searched the room.
"What?"
Daniel opened another compartment.
Empty.
"He took the first piece."
"What first piece?"
Daniel looked at me.
"The evidence Nathan collected."
My breathing changed.
"There's more?"
Daniel nodded.
"Nathan split everything into different places."
"Why?"
"Because he didn't know who he could trust."
The words hurt.
Because Nathan had been surrounded by people who loved him.
Or at least claimed to.
Then I noticed something.
A photograph on the fireplace.
Nathan and me.
Standing at this lake.
Smiling.
I picked it up.
Something was written behind it.
My heart stopped.
Because it was Nathan's handwriting.
"Elena."
I turned the photo over.
The message was short.
If you found this, it means they found the house first.
I swallowed.
Samantha moved closer.
"What else?"
I read the next line.
The truth is not inside the house.
My eyes moved downward.
The final sentence was barely visible.
Because Nathan had written it like a warning.
Look beneath the place where we said forever.
I looked toward the lake.
The dock.
The exact place where he proposed.
Daniel suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Wait."
I looked at him.
"What?"
His face had gone pale.
"Someone else is here."
We all froze.
A sound came from outside.
A footstep.
Then another.
Someone was walking toward the house.
Samantha reached for her phone.
Daniel moved in front of me.
The door handle slowly turned.
Nobody spoke.
The door opened.
May you like
And standing outside was the person we never expected to find at the lake house...
Nathan.
