Chapter 4 - THE HOUSE WITH THE HIDDEN ROOM
My father's old house stood at the edge of the lake.
It had been abandoned for nearly two decades.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
When I arrived, the front door was open.
Rebecca's security team was already there.
“No one inside,” one of them said.
I walked into the study.
Dust covered the furniture.
Old photographs hung on the walls.
My father smiled from one of them.
My mother stood beside him.
I touched the frame.
Then I noticed something.
The photograph was crooked.
I straightened it.
Behind it was a small metal panel.
I pressed it.
Nothing happened.
Rebecca arrived.
“Move.”
She examined it.
“It's mechanical.”
She removed a small tool.
A click sounded.
Part of the wall opened.
Behind it was a narrow staircase.
My heart pounded.
We went downstairs.
At the bottom was a room filled with documents.
Banks.
Companies.
Photographs.
Recordings.
Everything.
My father's secret archive.
And sitting on the desk was a single envelope.
FOR DANIEL — WHEN CHARLES FALLS.
I opened it.
Inside was a recording.
My father's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, Charles has finally reached the point where he believes he owns everything.”
He paused.
“He doesn't.”
A second voice appeared.
Charles Whitmore.
Younger.
Angrier.
“You're going to sign the transfer.”
My father's voice replied.
“No.”
“You don't have a choice.”
“I always have a choice.”
Then came a sound.
A crash.
My mother gasped.
I stopped the recording.
She had followed us into the room.
“Mom.”
She stared at the speakers.
“That night…”
“What happened?”
She covered her mouth.
“I heard them arguing.”
“What happened to Dad?”
She began crying.
“I thought he died in the accident.”
Thomas walked into the room.
“He didn't.”
Everyone turned.
Thomas looked at me.
“Your father survived the crash.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He was alive for eleven days.”
My mother collapsed into a chair.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Thomas lowered his head.
“Because Charles threatened to kill Daniel.”
Silence.
I stared at him.
“My father was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And Charles knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Thomas handed me another file.
“Charles visited him in the hospital.”
I opened it.
Security footage.
A hospital room.
My father lying unconscious.
Charles standing beside him.
And Charles speaking.
“You should have given me the company.”
My fists tightened.
The recording continued.
“You chose your family.”
Charles leaned closer.
“Now your family will pay.”
The footage ended.
I couldn't breathe.
For twenty-two years, I had believed my father died in an accident.
It wasn't an accident.
It had been an attack.
Rebecca looked at me.
“Daniel…”
I closed the file.
“Get the police.”
“Already done.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“There is one final piece.”
“What?”
He pointed to the back wall.
“Your father recorded the man who ordered the attack.”
I stared at him.
“Charles?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
He pressed a button.
A hidden monitor turned on.
The screen showed Charles.
But beside him stood another man.
Victor Hale.
And then Victor said three words.
“Do it tonight.”
I stared at the screen.
Victor wasn't helping Charles.
Victor had ordered him.
And Charles had spent twenty-two years protecting him.
Then another image appeared.
Vanessa.
She was standing beside Victor.
The room became silent.
My former fiancée had known everything.
I whispered:
“She never wanted me.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“She wanted Northbridge.”
I looked at the screen.
“No.”
I smiled coldly.
“She wanted more than that.”
I pointed at Victor.
“She wanted his protection.”
And suddenly the entire puzzle made sense.
Victor had been planning something far bigger than stealing an inheritance.
He wanted control of Northbridge.
And Vanessa was his way inside.
But there was one thing neither of them knew.
My father had left me one final weapon.
May you like
A controlling vote.
Hidden inside the company they thought they had already stolen.