My Wife Took A Phone Call During Dinner And Forgot I Speak Spanish
Chapter 5
Daniel stared at her.
“My brother?”
Sophia nodded.
“Michael.”
Daniel laughed in disbelief.
“Michael died when I was twenty.”
“I know.”
“He’s been dead for fifteen years.”
Sophia looked away.
“He isn’t.”
Daniel stood.
“No.”
“He changed his identity.”
“Why?”
“Because of your father.”
Daniel shook his head.
“This is insane.”
Sophia reached for him.
“Please.”
He stepped away.
“You lied to me for six years.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“From the same people who killed Victor.”
Daniel froze.
“Who killed him?”
Sophia swallowed.
“We don’t know.”
“You just said your call was about Victor.”
“No.”
“What then?”
“He contacted me.”
“From where?”
“Mexico.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants Isabella.”
Daniel stared.
“She’s my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was I never told?”
Sophia began crying.
“Because your brother made sure you wouldn’t know.”
“Why?”
“He believed you would be used against him.”
Daniel looked confused.
Sophia continued.
“Six years ago, your father was investigating a company called Meridian.”
“Meridian?”
“An investment group.”
Daniel remembered.
His father had died in a supposed accident.
Michael had disappeared shortly afterward.
Sophia took out a folder.
“Your father discovered Meridian was laundering money through multiple companies.”
Daniel opened it.
Inside were financial records.
Names.
Accounts.
Transfers.
Then he saw his own name.
“Why am I here?”
Sophia said:
“Because you inherited the company.”
Daniel looked up.
“What company?”
“The family trust.”
He shook his head.
“My father left me nothing.”
“He did.”
“Then why don’t I know?”
“Because the trust was hidden.”
Sophia handed him another document.
The trust had been created in Daniel’s name.
But control was transferred to Michael.
Until Daniel turned forty.
He was thirty-nine.
Daniel stared.
“One year.”
“Yes.”
“Michael has been controlling my inheritance?”
“Yes.”
“And Isabella?”
Sophia nodded.
“She was the leverage.”
Daniel suddenly understood the phone call.
He still thinks she’s his.
Not because they were talking about Daniel.
They were talking about Michael.
Michael believed Victor was Isabella’s father.
But Victor had known the truth.
Daniel was Isabella’s biological father.
The child was the key to the inheritance.
Sophia explained what happened six years ago.
Mia had been working for Victor.
Victor had discovered Meridian’s fraud.
Mia was pregnant.
Daniel had been unknowingly used for a paternity sample during a company medical screening.
Michael discovered the pregnancy.
He feared that once Daniel turned forty, the trust would transfer.
He arranged for Isabella to disappear.
Sophia intervened.
She took responsibility for the child.
She paid Mia monthly.
She became Isabella’s guardian.
And she never told Daniel.
“Why not?”
Sophia cried.
“Because Michael threatened to kill you.”
Daniel stared.
“So you married me?”
She nodded.
“Did you love me?”
“Yes.”
“Or was I part of the plan?”
Sophia shook her head.
“I loved you before I knew.”
“Then why keep this from me?”
“Because every time I tried to tell you, someone came closer.”
She reached for his hand.
“I wanted to wait until I could protect you.”
Daniel pulled away.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
He walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my daughter.”
Sophia grabbed his arm.
“Daniel, wait.”
He turned.
“Where is she?”
Sophia finally answered.
“With me.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I’ve already seen her.”
Sophia froze.
“When?”
“Last week.”
She stared.
“You followed me?”
“Yes.”
Daniel whispered:
“She called you Mom.”
Sophia cried harder.
“She doesn’t know you’re her father.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t risk her asking questions.”
Daniel looked at her.
“She deserves to know.”
Sophia nodded.
“She does.”
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
Her face became pale.
“Hello?”
A voice spoke.
Sophia slowly lowered the phone.
Daniel asked:
“What happened?”
She looked at him.
“They have Isabella.”
