Chapter 4 - The Secret Hidden In My Father’s Files
The footsteps stopped.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The darkness inside the house felt heavier than before.
I stood in the kitchen with one hand over my belly and my phone clenched tightly in the other.
My entire life had changed in less than an hour.
My husband was not the man I thought he was.
My marriage was not what I believed.
And now someone was inside my house.
Rachel moved closer to me.
"Stay behind me."
I looked at her.
A few hours earlier, I would have thought that was impossible.
A stranger standing in my kitchen was telling me she would protect me.
The man I loved was the person I needed protection from.
But somehow, I believed Rachel more.
Daniel quietly moved toward the hallway.
"Daniel, stop."
Rachel's voice was sharp.
He looked back.
"You don't know who you're dealing with."
Rachel laughed bitterly.
"No. You don't."
The lights flickered again.
For one second, the kitchen became bright.
And I saw something that made my blood run cold.
A shadow moved across the upstairs hallway.
Someone was there.
Watching us.
Then the lights went out again.
I grabbed the counter.
"My baby..."
Rachel immediately turned toward me.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded, even though I wasn't.
The truth was, I had never felt less okay in my entire life.
Daniel walked toward the stairs.
"Stay here."
I looked at him.
The old version of me would have listened.
The old version of me would have trusted his confidence.
But that woman was gone.
"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."
Daniel stopped.
For a moment, something flashed across his face.
Pain.
Maybe guilt.
Maybe anger.
I couldn't tell.
"Emily."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You don't get to say my name like everything is normal."
The silence afterward hurt.
Because there was a part of me that still wanted him to explain.
I wanted him to say Rachel was lying.
I wanted him to say there was a misunderstanding.
I wanted him to become the man I married.
But he didn't.
He just stood there.
And that was worse.
Rachel reached into her bag and pulled out a small flashlight.
"We need to get out."
Daniel looked at her.
"You brought her here."
Rachel stared at him.
"No."
She pointed toward the upstairs floor.
"They followed me."
I looked at her.
"Who are they?"
Rachel hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
She knew.
She knew exactly who was coming.
And she was afraid.
"They're the same people your father was investigating."
My father's name again.
The person who had been dead for thirteen years.
The person who somehow connected all of this.
I looked at the folder still sitting on the counter.
The papers.
The photographs.
The handwriting.
Everything was telling me the same thing.
My father had left behind a secret.
And somehow, Daniel had found it before I did.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Victoria screamed.
Everyone froze.
Then Daniel moved.
Not toward the sound.
Toward the folder.
Rachel saw him.
"Don't."
His hand stopped inches away.
I stared at him.
"You were going to take it."
He looked at me.
"I was trying to protect you."
I almost laughed.
"Protect me?"
My voice shook.
"You hurt me tonight."
His face changed.
"I lost control."
"No."
I looked directly into his eyes.
"You chose."
That word hit him.
Because it was true.
People always wanted to call things like that mistakes.
Accidents.
Moments of anger.
But there was always a choice.
And Daniel made his.
Rachel opened the folder.
Inside were more documents.
Old reports.
Pictures.
Names.
One name caught my attention.
I grabbed the paper.
"Who is Michael Voss?"
Rachel looked at the page.
Her expression changed.
That scared me.
"How do you know that name?"
I looked at her.
"It's written here."
She took the paper from my hand.
"Your father found him."
"Found who?"
Rachel lowered her voice.
"The man behind everything."
The kitchen suddenly felt smaller.
"What everything?"
Rachel looked at Daniel.
Then back at me.
"The reason Daniel came into your life."
I stared at my husband.
He didn't deny it.
That was the worst part.
"Daniel?"
His silence answered.
My chest tightened.
All those years.
All those memories.
Were they real?
Or was I just a mission?
Rachel pulled another photograph from the folder.
"This was taken six months before you met Daniel."
She placed it on the counter.
I looked down.
It was my father.
Standing outside a building.
Beside him was Daniel.
My stomach dropped.
"No."
I picked up the picture.
Daniel was younger.
But it was him.
Standing beside my father.
"You knew him."
Daniel finally spoke.
"Yes."
My hands started shaking.
"How?"
Daniel looked away.
"Your father hired me."
The answer made no sense.
"Why?"
Before he could respond, Rachel interrupted.
"Because your father trusted him."
I looked at Daniel.
The irony almost made me sick.
The man who betrayed me had once been trusted by my father.
"Then why marry me?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
And for a second, he looked exhausted.
"Because I was trying to find something your father hid."
I whispered.
"Something?"
He nodded.
"A file."
Rachel looked at him.
"You found it."
Daniel didn't answer.
That was enough.
My heart sank.
"You found my father's file."
Rachel stepped closer.
"And he never told you."
I looked at Daniel.
"Where is it?"
Silence.
Then a loud bang came from the front door.
Someone was trying to get inside.
Victoria gasped.
Daniel immediately moved toward the entrance.
Rachel grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
He pulled away.
"You don't understand."
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
"No. I understand perfectly."
She looked at me.
"Emily, the file isn't just evidence."
"What is it?"
Rachel swallowed.
"It's a list."
"A list of what?"
She didn't answer.
Another bang hit the front door.
Harder.
The entire house shook.
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
This time, there was a video.
My finger hovered over the screen.
Then I pressed play.
The video showed my bedroom.
My actual bedroom.
The camera angle was from inside my closet.
Someone had been recording me while I slept.
Then the camera moved.
A hand appeared.
A man's hand.
Holding something.
A small black notebook.
My father's notebook.
I stopped breathing.
Because I knew that notebook.
It disappeared after his funeral.
The video ended.
A final message appeared.
"Ask Daniel why your father died."
I looked up slowly.
Daniel was staring at my phone.
And his face told me one thing.
He knew exactly who sent it.
"Daniel..."
My voice barely came out.
"Tell me the truth."
He looked toward the locked front door.
Then toward the stairs.
Then back at me.
And finally he whispered:
May you like
"They're here for the notebook."
A second later, the front door handle began to turn from the outside.
