My Childhood Crush Knocked on My Door After 15 Years… She Was Holding a Letter With My Name On It.
Chapter 7
The envelope contained a house key.
Nothing else.
Ethan stared at it in confusion.
“That’s it?”
Michael nodded.
“That’s all Daniel gave me.”
“What does it open?”
“I don’t know.”
Claire examined the key.
A small number was stamped into the metal.
112.
Ethan remembered an old address.
His grandfather had owned a vacation house near Lake Geneva.
House number 112.
It had been sold shortly after Daniel’s death.
Ethan hadn’t thought about it in years.
They drove there.
The house was smaller than Ethan remembered.
The new owners had renovated it completely.
Ethan explained that his family had once owned it.
The homeowner, an older man named George, listened quietly.
Then he said,
“There’s something you should see.”
He led them to the basement.
Behind a row of shelves was an old wooden panel.
George moved it aside.
A narrow metal door appeared.
The key fit.
Inside was a hidden room.
There were shelves filled with documents.
A computer.
And several boxes.
Ethan realized his brother had been preparing for this.
Claire opened the first box.
Inside were letters from Ethan’s father.
They described everything.
Robert Bennett had threatened him.
Victor Shaw had offered him money.
When he refused, they fabricated evidence against him.
But Ethan’s father had secretly copied the Northstar research.
He hid it in the basement.
Daniel later discovered it.
Then the accident happened.
Ethan sat on the floor.
“My whole childhood was a lie.”
Claire sat beside him.
“Not everything.”
He looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“You weren’t a lie.”
She took his hand.
“Whatever they did, what we had was real.”
Ethan looked away.
The words hurt because they were exactly what he needed to hear.
Then the computer screen turned on.
Both of them froze.
A timer appeared.
03:00.
“What is that?”
Michael stepped backward.
“I don’t know.”
The timer began counting down.
2:59.
2:58.
Then a message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT BURIED.
Claire whispered,
“Ethan…”
The computer began uploading files.
Michael rushed forward.
“Disconnect it.”
Ethan pulled the power cable.
Nothing happened.
The timer continued.
2:11.
A second message appeared.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO DANIEL, LOOK UNDER THE FLOOR.
They searched.
Beneath an old wooden board was a metal case.
Inside was a digital recorder.
Ethan pressed play.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“I don’t have much time.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“If you’re hearing this, Ethan, I’m sorry.”
Daniel explained that he had discovered the Northstar technology could be used to manipulate structural inspections.
Someone could make a building appear safe when it wasn’t.
Then cause a controlled failure.
It could be used for insurance fraud, corporate takeovers, even murder.
Robert and Victor planned to use it to destroy several properties and buy them cheaply afterward.
Daniel had collected evidence.
But someone inside the organization had betrayed him.
“I trusted someone I shouldn’t have.”
His voice shook.
“I think it’s someone close to Claire.”
Claire’s face went pale.
“Who?”
The recording continued.
“His name is Thomas.”
Claire froze.
“My father’s attorney.”
Daniel said Thomas had been secretly working with Victor.
Then came the final words.
“Ethan, don’t trust anyone who says they want to protect you.”
The recording ended.
Claire stood.
“Thomas was my father’s attorney for twenty years.”
Michael looked at her.
“He may still be involved.”
Ethan suddenly noticed something.
The computer timer had stopped.
But a new file had appeared.
DANIEL_FINAL.mp4
He clicked it.
The video showed Daniel sitting inside a parked car.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Ethan, if you ever meet Claire again, tell her something.”
Ethan leaned closer.
Daniel smiled sadly.
“Tell her I was never angry with her father because he separated you.”
He paused.
“I was afraid because I knew he would eventually realize you two were the key.”
The video ended.
Ethan looked at Claire.
“The key to what?”
Neither of them knew.
Then Claire’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her face changed instantly.
“What?”
She listened.
Then whispered,
“My father’s old office just burned down.”
Ethan stood.
“What?”
Claire looked at him.
“Someone is destroying the evidence.”
