Billionaire CEO Froze as Her Paralyzed Daughter Ran to a Single Dad—A Hidden Navy SEAL
Chapter 10
Claire felt as if the floor had disappeared.
“No.”
Lily’s voice trembled.
“He was angry.”
Daniel remained calm.
“Lily, are you sure?”
She nodded.
“He looked at Daddy.”
Claire swallowed.
Her husband had died years before.
Lily remembered him.
But Richard had been there that day.
Or had he?
Claire asked the investigators to review every available record.
Richard’s vehicle had indeed been near the scene.
But proximity wasn’t proof.
Daniel refused to let emotion replace evidence.
They needed more.
They found it in the old security footage.
Richard’s car appeared behind Claire’s vehicle.
Then another car approached from the opposite direction.
The crash occurred seconds later.
Richard’s vehicle stopped.
He got out.
He walked toward the wreck.
Then he made a phone call.
Afterward, he left.
Claire watched the footage again.
Her hands trembled.
“Why would he do this?”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don’t know.”
They confronted Richard.
He arrived at the secure facility under police escort.
“I never wanted Lily hurt.”
Claire stared.
“Then why were you there?”
“I was following you.”
“Why?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
Richard looked at Daniel.
“About him.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Me?”
Richard nodded.
“Your military operation wasn’t what you think.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Explain.”
Richard said that Black Harbor had discovered Daniel’s unit was investigating financial records.
Someone had placed Daniel under surveillance.
Richard had been sent to monitor him.
But he had refused to participate in the attack.
“When I realized what they planned, I tried to stop it.”
Claire shook her head.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the people behind it had access everywhere.”
“Who?”
Richard looked at her.
“Someone inside your company.”
Claire’s face hardened.
“Who?”
Richard whispered:
“Your father.”
Silence.
Claire stared.
“My father?”
“Your father wasn’t innocent.”
Daniel interrupted.
“That’s not what the documents show.”
Richard shook his head.
“Because the documents were altered.”
He revealed that the archive had been manipulated.
The real records had been hidden elsewhere.
“Where?”
Richard looked at Lily.
“She knows.”
Everyone turned.
Lily looked confused.
“What?”
Richard explained that Lily had once found a small metal device inside her father’s old desk.
She had been playing with it before the accident.
Claire remembered.
A little silver object.
Lily had kept it as a toy.
“Where is it?” Daniel asked.
Lily pointed toward her mother’s handbag.
Claire opened it.
Inside was a tiny metal drive.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“That could be the missing data.”
Richard nodded.
“The original records.”
Claire stared at him.
“Why did you let us keep it?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Protection through secrecy nearly destroyed everyone.”
Richard looked down.
“I know.”
