He Came Home Early and Heard His Mother Threatening His Wife—Then a Hidden Secret Was Revealed
Chapter 6
They reached the farmhouse shortly after midnight.
It stood alone at the end of a dirt road, surrounded by tall trees and empty fields.
No lights were visible.
Thomas stopped the vehicle.
“Wait here.”
Michael shook his head.
“I’m going in.”
Thomas grabbed his arm.
“If Daniel doesn’t trust you, he’ll disappear.”
Michael looked at him.
“Then tell him who I am.”
Thomas sighed.
They approached the house.
Thomas knocked three times.
Nothing happened.
He knocked twice more.
A light appeared behind the curtains.
Then the door opened.
A man stood there holding a gun.
Michael recognized him immediately.
Daniel Reed.
Older than the photograph.
Thinner.
But alive.
Daniel stared at Michael.
His expression was impossible to read.
Then he looked at Margaret.
“Why did you bring him?”
Margaret stepped forward.
“He knows.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“How much?”
“Everything we found.”
Daniel lowered the gun.
Michael stepped inside.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Michael asked:
“Did my father try to kill you?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.”
Michael swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because I discovered what he had done.”
“Northstar?”
Daniel nodded.
Michael showed him the notebook.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“Where did you get that?”
“My mother kept it.”
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“You kept the notebook?”
“I couldn’t destroy it.”
Daniel sighed.
“That notebook is why your father wanted you dead.”
Michael froze.
“What?”
Daniel explained that Richard Carter had secretly placed several assets in Michael’s name.
Properties.
Accounts.
Companies.
Michael had inherited them without knowing.
The assets were connected to Project Northstar.
“They used you as a legal shield,” Daniel said.
Michael felt sick.
“My father put illegal assets in my name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if the government ever investigated, the evidence would point toward you.”
Michael stared.
“So I was supposed to take the blame.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father planned everything.”
Michael looked at his mother.
“And you knew?”
“I discovered it after your father’s death.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because by then Victor Blackwell was watching you.”
Michael sat down.
His entire life felt like a carefully constructed lie.
Then Daniel placed another folder on the table.
“There’s something you need to see.”
Inside was a list of people.
Many were dead.
Some had disappeared.
Several had been found guilty of crimes they hadn’t committed.
At the bottom was one name.
Richard Carter.
Michael stared.
“What is this?”
“Your father’s confession.”
Michael looked up.
“My father confessed?”
“Before he died.”
Daniel explained that Richard had eventually realized Victor intended to eliminate everyone who knew about Northstar.
Richard tried to cooperate with investigators.
But before he could testify, he was poisoned.
The supposed heart attack had been staged.
Michael felt tears fall.
“My father was murdered.”
Daniel nodded.
“He was.”
Michael looked at the document.
There was a handwritten message.
I failed my family.
Michael closed his eyes.
For years, he had mourned his father.
Now he had to mourn the man he thought his father had been.
Daniel continued.
“Your father left one final instruction.”
“What?”
“Protect Michael.”
Michael looked up.
Daniel’s eyes softened.
“That’s why your mother has been afraid all these years.”
Suddenly, a vehicle approached outside.
Everyone froze.
Daniel looked through the window.
Two black SUVs stopped near the gate.
He whispered:
“They found us.”
