“Can You Be The Father Of My Baby For One Day?” She Asked… And I Said, “Only If You Tell Me Why”
Chapter 8
Olivia couldn’t breathe.
Her mother had always been quiet.
Gentle.
Almost invisible beside Richard.
Now she stood at the center of the room with tears in her eyes.
“I didn’t kill Noah,” she said.
Olivia stared.
“Then what does he mean?”
Her mother looked at Daniel.
“Ask him what Sarah knew.”
Daniel froze.
“Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know my wife?”
“Because she came to me.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Daniel’s heart pounded.
The night before Sarah died.
His wife had told him she needed to speak to someone.
He had thought it was about her health.
It wasn’t.
She had gone to Bennett Medical Systems.
She had met Olivia’s mother.
“What did she know?” Daniel asked.
“She knew your name was being used.”
“To do what?”
“To build a false trail.”
The security accounts.
The shell companies.
The payments.
Someone had deliberately created evidence connecting Daniel to the criminal network.
“Why?”
“So when Noah disappeared, investigators would eventually blame you.”
Daniel stared.
“Why me?”
“Because Sarah refused to cooperate.”
“She was protecting you?”
“She was protecting Olivia.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“My mother?”
Her mother nodded.
“Your father wanted the trust.”
“And Noah?”
“He wanted to stop him.”
“Then who killed him?”
Her mother looked toward Richard.
“Not your father.”
Everyone turned.
Richard stared at her.
“You said—”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“Of whom?”
She whispered,
“Your brother.”
Nathan.
He stepped back.
“No.”
She pointed at him.
“He knew about the trust.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You’re insane.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“No.”
Olivia looked at her uncle.
“You took Noah.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“He found the account.”
“What account?”
“The one your grandfather created.”
“The billion-dollar trust?”
Nathan nodded.
“I needed it.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was going to lose the company.”
Richard looked at him.
“You promised to save us.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“I promised to save myself.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Where is Noah?”
Nathan looked at him.
“Alive.”
Olivia gasped.
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Tell me.”
“Not yet.”
Daniel grabbed his collar.
“You don’t have the right.”
Nathan smiled.
“He isn’t the only one.”
“What does that mean?”
“There are people who want the trust.”
“Who?”
Nathan looked at Daniel.
“People using your name.”
Daniel froze.
The private security network wasn’t controlled by the Bennett family.
Someone above them had built it.
Nathan had been working for them.
But he didn’t know who.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot echoed.
Everyone dropped.
When the emergency lights came on, Nathan was gone.
So was Olivia’s mother.
Olivia screamed,
“Mom!”
Daniel grabbed her hand.
“Stay with me.”
“She knows where Noah is.”
“We’ll find her.”
“But my baby—”
“I know.”
A message appeared on Daniel’s phone.
MEET ME AT THE LIGHTHOUSE. ALONE.
Below it:
BRING THE KEY.
He looked at Olivia.
The message hadn’t been sent to her.
It had been sent to him.
Someone wanted Daniel.
Not Olivia.
Not the trust.
Him.
And suddenly Daniel understood why Noah had chosen him.
The entire operation had been built around a man who had never asked to be involved.
A man whose identity had been stolen.
A man whose wife had died protecting the truth.
A man who had just been told his name was the key to exposing everyone.
Daniel looked at Olivia.
“You stay here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“I said stay.”
“And I said no.”
He stared.
She held his gaze.
“This started with my baby.”
She touched his hand.
“So it ends with me too.”
