At Her Sister’s Wedding, My Best Friend Caught the Bouquet… Then Walked Straight to My Table!
Chapter 6
The old construction site had been abandoned for twenty years.
Tomorrow, a demolition crew would tear down the remaining warehouse.
Emily remembered the place.
She had passed it thousands of times without thinking.
Now it was the center of a secret that had followed her family for decades.
She, Sophie, and Claire arrived that night.
The warehouse was dark.
The gate was unlocked.
They entered.
Inside were old machines covered in dust.
Sophie found a room filled with boxes.
Emily opened one.
Construction records.
Inspection reports.
Photographs.
Then she found something shocking.
A handwritten list.
Workers who had complained about safety violations before the accident.
Beside several names was a red mark.
One belonged to the worker who died.
Another belonged to Michael Reed.
Then another.
Her father.
Emily’s hands shook.
“My dad knew.”
Sophie nodded.
“He was trying to fix it.”
A sound came from behind them.
A door slammed.
They turned.
Victor Hale stood at the entrance.
Claire stepped backward.
“You.”
Victor smiled.
“You were always curious, Claire.”
Emily stared.
“You knew my father.”
“Of course.”
“What happened here?”
Victor slowly walked inside.
“Your parents made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“They thought the truth mattered more than their families.”
Sophie stepped forward.
“You threatened them.”
Victor looked at her.
“Your father threatened me first.”
“With what?”
“The evidence.”
Emily felt cold.
“What evidence?”
Victor smiled.
“The thing you’re standing on.”
She looked down.
The concrete floor.
Victor continued.
“There was a hidden room.”
“Where?”
“Under this warehouse.”
Claire shook her head.
“You’re lying.”
Victor laughed.
“Am I?”
Then he pulled out an old key.
The same symbol.
Triangle.
4-7-12.
He dropped it on the floor.
“That belonged to Michael.”
Emily picked it up.
Victor said:
“Your mother hid the evidence before she died.”
“What evidence?”
“The reason the worker died.”
Sophie whispered:
“Who caused the accident?”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“You don’t want to know.”
Emily stepped toward him.
“Tell me.”
Victor looked at her.
“Your father did.”
Silence.
Emily froze.
“No.”
“Your father signed the order.”
“That isn’t true.”
Victor held up a document.
A signature.
Emily recognized it.
Her father’s.
“It was an unsafe instruction.”
Sophie stared at the document.
“But Michael tried to stop it.”
Victor nodded.
“And that is where your families became enemies.”
Emily shook her head.
“My father would never.”
Victor smiled.
“You’ve spent twelve years believing he was innocent.”
He stepped closer.
“Maybe he wasn’t.”
A noise came from beneath the floor.
Emily froze.
Sophie looked down.
The concrete vibrated.
A hidden mechanism clicked.
A section of the floor opened.
Behind it was a staircase.
Victor smiled.
“Your mother left something below.”
Then he walked away.
Emily grabbed his arm.
“Where are you going?”
He looked at her.
“To give you enough time to find out what your father really did.”
He left.
The three women stared at the staircase.
Claire whispered:
“Are we really doing this?”
Emily looked at Sophie.
Sophie nodded.
Together, they descended.
At the bottom was a small room.
A metal box sat in the center.
Emily opened it.
Inside was another photograph.
Her father.
Sophie’s father.
Michael.
And Victor.
All four men were standing around a newborn baby.
Emily stared.
There was a handwritten note.
This is the child we all swore to protect.
Sophie looked at her.
“Who is the baby?”
Emily turned the photograph over.
The answer was written on the back.
Claire.
Claire went completely still.
