Chapter 4 - The File That Should Never Exist
A man opened an old storage box and whispered: "Emily found the truth before you did." When I followed the hidden address inside Victor's message, I discovered my father's missing investigation file. But one page inside had a date written in red ink: "Three days before your wedding." I finally understood Emily's secret started before we ever said "I do."
I stood frozen in the hospital hallway.
The elevator doors remained open.
Waiting.
Inviting me inside.
But I couldn't move.
Because I knew that voice.
I knew who was standing there.
"Daniel."
My heart sank.
Victor stepped out of the elevator.
Alone.
No security.
No explanation.
Just him.
The same calm expression he always wore when he thought he had control.
Three months ago, that expression made me trust him.
Tonight, it made me afraid.
"You shouldn't be here," I said.
Victor looked past me toward Emily's room.
"Neither should you."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
He looked exhausted.
For the first time, he didn't look like the confident businessman everyone respected.
He looked like someone who had been running from something for a long time.
"Daniel, we need to talk somewhere private."
I laughed quietly.
"Private?"
My voice became sharper.
"You mean somewhere you can lie to me without anyone hearing?"
His face tightened.
"I never lied about everything."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
Victor looked away.
And that small movement confirmed something.
There were still things he wasn't telling me.
"You said my father betrayed me."
He stayed silent.
"Explain."
Victor looked around the hallway.
Then lowered his voice.
"Not here."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You wanted me to find the footage. You wanted me to know you were there the night Emily left."
His eyes changed.
"You found it."
"Yes."
"Then you know enough to understand why I couldn't tell you."
I stared at him.
"No, Victor."
I shook my head.
"I know enough to understand that you were standing between me and my wife."
His jaw tightened.
"Emily wasn't your wife anymore."
The moment he said it, I almost hit him.
Not because of anger.
Because of the cruelty.
Because he knew exactly where to hurt me.
"You don't get to say that."
"I know."
His voice became quieter.
"But you need to understand something."
"What?"
"Emily left because she thought staying would destroy you."
I froze.
"What are you talking about?"
Victor reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Folded.
Worn.
I looked at it.
"What is that?"
"Something Emily wanted you to have."
My eyes moved back to him.
"Why do you have it?"
He didn't answer.
Again.
That silence.
The same silence that had destroyed everything.
I grabbed the envelope.
"How long have you had this?"
Victor looked down.
"Since the night she left."
My hands tightened around the paper.
"You kept it for three months?"
"I was trying to protect you."
I almost smiled.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I looked at him.
"Protect me from what?"
Victor didn't respond.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single page.
Emily's handwriting.
I knew it instantly.
My chest tightened.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, then something happened that I hoped would never happen.
I stopped.
The words blurred.
Because I already knew.
This wasn't a goodbye letter.
It was a warning.
I continued.
You need to know the truth about what happened before our wedding.
Before I met you, I discovered something about your family.
Something your father spent years hiding.
I looked at Victor.
"My father?"
He nodded.
I read the next line.
He wasn't the man you believed he was.
My fingers trembled.
My father had died five years earlier.
Everyone thought he was a successful businessman.
A respected man.
A man who built everything from nothing.
But Emily was saying there was something else.
Something hidden.
The letter continued.
I tried to tell you.
But every time I got close, someone stopped me.
Someone who knew exactly what would happen if you found out.
I stopped reading.
Because one thought entered my mind.
"Who?"
Victor looked away.
"You already know the answer."
My blood ran cold.
"No."
I looked at him.
"No, I don't."
Victor stared at me.
Then said:
"Your father trusted me."
I felt my stomach drop.
"What?"
"He asked me to watch over you."
I stepped back.
"You knew my father?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Because I was there the night he died."
The hallway disappeared.
Everything became quiet.
"What did you just say?"
Victor looked at me.
"I never told you the truth about that night."
My breathing became heavier.
"My father died in a car accident."
Victor nodded.
"That's what everyone was told."
I stared at him.
"What really happened?"
Before he could answer, a nurse rushed out of Emily's room.
"Mr. Carter."
I turned.
"Yes?"
"Your ex-wife woke up again."
My heart jumped.
"Is she okay?"
The nurse hesitated.
"She asked for you."
I immediately moved.
But the nurse grabbed my arm.
"There is something else."
"What?"
"She asked us not to let anyone else into the room."
I looked back at Victor.
He heard it too.
His face changed.
"Anyone else?"
I repeated.
The nurse nodded.
"She specifically said one name."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Who?"
The nurse looked at Victor.
Then whispered:
"She said... don't let Victor come near me."
Silence.
Victor's face went pale.
For the first time since I knew him, he looked truly afraid.
I walked into Emily's room.
She was awake.
Barely.
But awake.
Her eyes found mine.
And tears immediately filled them.
"I'm here."
She looked at the door.
Then back at me.
"Daniel..."
I sat beside her.
"Tell me."
Her breathing shook.
"I tried to tell you."
"I know."
"No."
She grabbed my hand.
"You don't know."
Her voice became weaker.
"The divorce..."
She swallowed.
"The divorce was never because I stopped loving you."
My eyes burned.
"Then why?"
She looked toward the hallway.
Like she was afraid someone could hear.
"Because I found out what your father did."
I froze.
"What did my father do?"
She closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"He didn't die because of an accident."
My entire body went cold.
"Emily..."
She opened her eyes.
"He was killed because he found out who was stealing from him."
"Who?"
Her fingers tightened around mine.
Then she looked past me.
At the small table beside the bed.
There was a phone sitting there.
Not hers.
Not mine.
A phone that had not been there before.
Emily saw it.
And all color disappeared from her face.
"Daniel..."
I turned.
"Where did that come from?"
She couldn't answer.
The phone suddenly lit up.
One new message appeared on the screen.
A name.
A name that made Emily start crying.
Because it belonged to the person she had been trying to warn me about.
The message opened by itself.
May you like
And the first line read:
"I know you finally found the file..."
