Chapter 4 - The Man Who Buried The Truth
A woman stood in front of a frozen video screen, whispering: "Why did you lie to me?"
When Alex Carter watched her father's final recording, she found a hidden envelope inside the old archive box. But one sentence was written on the front: "Do not trust the man beside you." Alex suddenly realized someone in the room had been hiding the truth.
The video continued playing.
My father's face remained frozen on the screen.
For eight years, I had remembered him as a man who left too suddenly.
A man who never got the chance to say goodbye.
A man whose final moments were explained by a police report, a funeral, and a thousand unanswered questions.
But now he was looking directly at me.
Alive.
Afraid.
Trying to warn me.
I pressed play again.
The image shook slightly.
My father's voice returned.
"Alex, if you are seeing this, it means they failed to stop you from finding the truth."
I felt my chest tighten.
They.
Not someone.
Not one person.
They.
"Your mother believed the accident was real. The police believed the evidence they were given. But I discovered something much bigger than stolen artifacts."
The screen flickered.
My father's eyes moved away from the camera.
Like he was checking whether someone was watching him.
"The people involved are not criminals hiding in dark places. They are people everyone trusts."
Roman stood beside me silently.
Too silently.
I looked at him.
He was watching the screen.
Not me.
That bothered me.
Because Roman Costa looked like a man who already knew how the story ended.
My father's voice continued.
"Alex, there is one person you cannot trust."
The video paused again.
A loading symbol appeared.
Then the screen went black.
"No."
I hit the keyboard.
Nothing happened.
The file disappeared.
Roman immediately moved toward the laptop.
"Someone remotely shut it down."
I stared at him.
"Someone?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"You knew this video existed."
Roman stopped.
"No."
"Then why do you look like you expected this?"
For the first time, he looked frustrated.
Not with me.
With himself.
"Because I have spent eight years trying to find the person who sent that recording."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
Roman looked toward the open door.
"Because your father saved my life."
That was not what I expected.
I waited.
Roman rarely explained anything.
But now his voice changed.
Eight years disappeared from his expression.
"I met your father before you knew about any of this."
"When?"
"The night he disappeared."
My heart dropped.
"You were there?"
Roman nodded slowly.
"I was."
Everything inside me went cold.
The man who sent me a photo of my father alive.
The man who knew about the investigation.
The man standing beside me now.
He had been there on the night my father supposedly died.
"Tell me what happened."
Roman looked at the floor.
"I can't."
My anger replaced my fear.
"You can't?"
"Not yet."
I laughed once.
A bitter sound.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Preston.
My father's records.
The people around me.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone protected something.
And I was always the last person to find out.
"I deserve the truth."
Roman looked at me.
"You do."
"Then give it to me."
A long silence followed.
Finally, he said:
"Your father discovered a network connecting wealthy investors, auction houses, and international collectors."
"The same network Preston works with?"
Roman nodded.
"But there was something else."
"What?"
"He discovered someone inside his own family was involved."
I froze.
"My family?"
Roman didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I thought about my childhood.
My father's friends.
Family gatherings.
People who smiled at me.
People who told me everything would be okay after his death.
Someone close to me knew.
Someone close to me helped bury the truth.
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
I looked down.
This time, it wasn't an unknown number.
It was Preston.
"Where are you?"
I stared at the screen.
A second message appeared.
"Alex, I know you heard something."
My blood ran cold.
Roman noticed.
"He knows."
"How?"
"Because he expected you to follow him."
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Roman walked to the folder.
He pulled out another document.
A hotel security report.
My name was highlighted.
The date was tonight.
My arrival.
My movements.
Everything.
Someone had been tracking me before I discovered anything.
"This was prepared before the gala."
I stared at the paper.
"Preston planned for me to find out."
Roman shook his head.
"No."
His expression became serious.
"He planned for you to disappear after finding out."
The words stayed in the air.
I looked at the ballroom through the glass doors.
Hundreds of people.
Champagne.
Music.
Laughter.
A perfect world hiding something rotten underneath.
Preston was probably still there.
Still smiling.
Still pretending.
I wanted to confront him.
I wanted answers.
But Roman stopped me.
"Not yet."
I turned.
"Why?"
"Because you don't walk into a room with someone who already prepared the evidence against you."
He opened the folder again.
Inside was a copy of a legal document.
A transfer agreement.
My name was on it.
But this time, I noticed something different.
The date.
It was tomorrow.
My signature had already been placed on a document that didn't exist yet.
Someone planned to use it.
After the gala.
After tonight.
I felt sick.
"They were going to make me sign this."
"No."
Roman looked at me.
"They were going to make everyone believe you signed this."
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Controlled.
Someone was approaching.
Roman immediately closed the folder.
"Stay behind me."
I wanted to argue.
But then I heard the voice.
A familiar voice.
One I had trusted for three years.
"Alex?"
My entire body froze.
Preston stood outside the conference room.
Perfect tuxedo.
Perfect smile.
Like nothing happened.
Like he hadn't destroyed my life an hour earlier.
"Why did you leave the party?"
I stared at him.
Trying to recognize the man I thought I loved.
He looked at Roman.
Then back at me.
His smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Because he wasn't surprised to see Roman.
He was surprised to see what Roman was holding.
Preston slowly stepped closer.
"Alex, we need to talk."
Roman moved between us.
Preston's eyes narrowed.
Then he said something that made my blood freeze.
"Roman..."
He looked at him.
"You still haven't told her what happened to her father, have you?"
The hallway became silent.
And behind Preston, another person stepped out of the shadows.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who should not have been there.
My father's old business partner.
The man who attended his funeral.
The man who told me the accident was unavoidable.
May you like
He looked directly at me and whispered:
"Alex, your father never died..."
