Single Mom Warned Him Three Times to Stop — 5 Seconds Later, She Shocked Everyone Watching
Chapter 6
Daniel didn’t have a sister.
At least, that’s what he had always believed.
His father had two children.
Daniel.
And his older brother, Andrew.
Andrew had died at nineteen in a boating accident.
There was no sister.
Marcus insisted otherwise.
“Her name is Emily.”
Daniel stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Your father had another child.”
“With whom?”
Marcus looked away.
“I don’t know.”
“Marcus.”
“I only know your father paid someone every month.”
“For what?”
“To keep Emily hidden.”
Olivia watched Daniel’s expression.
He looked like someone had punched him.
“Where is she?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Then why did you say she was there?”
“I saw her.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Daniel looked toward the burning factory.
“You’re sure?”
Marcus nodded.
“She was standing upstairs.”
Olivia interrupted.
“Why would she want you dead?”
Marcus looked at her.
“She doesn’t.”
“Then what does she want?”
“The company.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“That makes no sense.”
Marcus whispered:
“Ask your mother.”
Daniel went silent.
His mother had been dead for seven years.
But Marcus’s words forced open memories he had buried.
His mother had always avoided questions about the past.
She had never spoken about Andrew.
Never discussed the years before Daniel’s father became wealthy.
Daniel suddenly remembered something.
A photograph.
He had seen it as a child.
His father standing beside a young woman.
A baby in his arms.
His mother had taken the photograph away.
Daniel had forgotten about it.
Or thought he had.
He looked at Olivia.
“I need to go home.”
His father’s old house stood outside Lake Forest.
Daniel hadn’t lived there since college.
The property had remained mostly untouched.
They entered through the study.
Daniel opened a locked cabinet.
Inside were old family documents.
Birth certificates.
Marriage records.
Insurance policies.
He searched for hours.
Then Olivia found something.
A small envelope.
No name.
Inside was a photograph.
A little girl.
About five years old.
Standing beside Daniel’s father.
On the back:
Emily Reed — 1998.
Daniel stared.
He turned the photograph over.
Another note.
If anything happens to me, she must never know who she is.
Olivia looked at him.
“Why hide her?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Then he found another document.
A trust.
Established twenty-eight years earlier.
Beneficiary:
Emily Grace Reed.
Daniel’s hands trembled.
The trust was worth $180 million.
Olivia stared.
“Your father left her a fortune.”
Daniel nodded.
“But why?”
They kept searching.
Then Olivia found a letter.
It was written by Daniel’s mother.
She explained everything.
Emily was Daniel’s half-sister.
She had been born after his father had an affair with an employee.
When Daniel’s mother discovered the truth, she demanded the child be placed into another family.
Robert Reed refused.
He secretly created a trust for Emily.
But there was more.
Emily’s mother had discovered something about Project Horizon.
She knew the technology was dangerous.
She had threatened to expose the company.
Then she disappeared.
Officially, she had left the country.
Unofficially…
she had been paid to remain silent.
Daniel stared at the letter.
“My father destroyed her life.”
Olivia shook her head.
“Maybe.”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t know the whole story.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“Refuse to assume.”
“Because assumptions get people killed.”
He almost smiled.
Then a noise came from upstairs.
Both froze.
Daniel whispered:
“Someone’s here.”
They searched the house.
Nothing.
But in Daniel’s bedroom, they found the window open.
On the bed was a piece of paper.
Three words.
SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Olivia picked it up.
Daniel stared.
“Who?”
Then his phone rang.
A woman spoke.
“Daniel.”
He froze.
“Emily?”
The voice laughed softly.
“You’ve finally found me.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
“Why are you doing this?”
Silence.
Then:
“I’m not the one doing it.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Then who is?”
Emily answered:
“The person your father trusted most.”
The call ended.
Olivia looked at Daniel.
“Who did your father trust?”
Daniel whispered:
“His chief financial officer.”
“Marcus?”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“My father’s CFO.”
He searched an old photograph.
The man standing beside Robert Reed was smiling.
Olivia looked at the photograph.
Then at Daniel.
“Who is he?”
Daniel’s face went pale.
“Thomas Vance.”
