He Came Home Early and Heard His Mother Threatening His Wife—Then a Hidden Secret Was Revealed
Chapter 10
Michael returned to the house with federal agents.
The basement was sealed.
The hidden room had been photographed and cataloged.
But one thing remained unexplained.
Why had Eleanor Black owned the property before Michael’s family?
An agent found the original deed.
It showed that Eleanor had purchased the land forty-two years earlier.
She later transferred it to Richard Carter.
But the transfer had never been recorded publicly.
Michael stared at the document.
“Why would she give my father the house?”
Daniel answered:
“Because the house was built over something.”
They searched the basement.
Behind the hidden office, they discovered another wall.
This one had no hatch.
No lock.
But there were electrical cables running through it.
An agent scanned the wall.
There was a hollow space behind it.
They opened it.
Inside was a small server room.
Michael stared.
“This was here the whole time?”
Daniel nodded.
The equipment was old.
But one machine still had power.
A screen displayed a login prompt.
Michael looked at the keyboard.
A password was required.
Then he noticed something.
A photograph of himself as a child was taped beside the screen.
On the back was a date.
The day he was born.
Michael’s heart pounded.
“Why would Eleanor have this?”
Daniel looked at the machine.
“Try your birthday.”
Michael entered it.
The system unlocked.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Michael stared at the screen.
The files weren’t financial.
They were surveillance records.
His family.
His mother.
His father.
Michael himself.
Photos from childhood.
School records.
Medical records.
Even private conversations.
Someone had been watching them for decades.
Emily covered her mouth.
“That’s horrifying.”
Michael scrolled.
Then he found a folder labeled:
MICHAEL — SUCCESSION
Inside was a document.
It explained that Michael had been designated as the future legal owner of several Northstar properties.
He wasn’t simply an innocent heir.
He had been deliberately positioned as the successor.
Michael’s father had tried to remove him from the plan.
That’s when the network turned against Richard.
Michael read further.
A final line caught his attention.
If Richard refuses, eliminate him and continue through the son.
Michael felt numb.
“My father tried to protect me.”
Daniel nodded.
“At the end, yes.”
The federal agents copied the server.
But before they could finish, the screen suddenly changed.
A video began playing.
Eleanor Black appeared.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Michael.”
Everyone froze.
“I knew you would eventually find this.”
Michael stared.
Eleanor continued.
“Your father believed he could save you by destroying Northstar.”
She smiled faintly.
“He was wrong.”
The video ended.
Then another file opened automatically.
It contained a location.
A remote estate.
And a message:
Come alone if you want to know why your father really died.
Michael stared at the screen.
Daniel shook his head.
“It’s a trap.”
Michael nodded.
“I know.”
“But you’re going anyway.”
Michael looked at him.
“I need answers.”
Daniel sighed.
“Then you’re not going alone.”
