Chapter 5: I Finally Learned Why My Father Knew Victor
Chapter 5: I Finally Learned Why My Father Knew Victor
For several seconds, I couldn’t look away from the photograph.
My father stood behind me.
Victor was beside him.
And the unidentified man stood on my other side.
All three were looking directly at the camera.
I was the only one smiling.
I had no memory of that day.
None.
“What is this?” I finally asked.
Victor didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked toward the table and placed another photograph beside the first.
“This one.”
I looked down.
It showed my father entering the same Richmond warehouse.
The date was printed in the corner.
Seven years ago.
The same year I supposedly had no connection to Victor.
I looked at Victor.
“Why was my father there?”
“That’s the question you should have asked years ago.”
“My father died six years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then he can’t explain any of this.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“He already did.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Victor reached into his jacket and pulled out a small envelope.
He placed it on the table.
“Your father left this for you.”
I stared at it.
My name was written across the front.
Not typed.
Handwritten.
In my father’s handwriting.
My hands began to shake.
“Where did you get this?”
“From him.”
“That’s impossible.”
Victor looked at me.
“You keep saying that.”
He pushed the envelope toward me.
“Open it.”
I didn’t move.
Madison stepped closer.
“Daniel…”
I looked at her.
“What if this is another trap?”
Victor answered before I could.
“Then don’t open it.”
He turned toward the door.
“But if you want to know why Ryan has been using your identity, you’ll need to.”
He walked away.
Claire stopped him.
“Victor.”
He turned.
“Why did you disappear for seven years?”
His expression changed.
For the first time, he looked tired.
“Because your husband wasn’t the only person who wanted me dead.”
Claire froze.
“Who else?”
Victor looked at me.
“His father.”
Silence filled the room.
I stared at him.
“My father?”
Victor nodded.
“Your father discovered what Ryan was doing.”
“What was he doing?”
“Moving money.”
“From where?”
“Companies that didn’t know they were being used.”
Claire stepped forward.
“And Daniel?”
Victor’s eyes remained on me.
“Daniel was useful.”
My stomach tightened.
“Useful how?”
“He had a clean identity. No criminal record. No financial problems. No reason for anyone to suspect him.”
Madison looked horrified.
“So they used him.”
Victor shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
Victor looked at the envelope.
“Ask him.”
Then he walked out.
I immediately picked up the envelope.
My fingers struggled with the seal.
Inside was a single letter.
I unfolded it.
The first line made my heart stop.
Daniel, if you’re reading this, I failed to protect you.
I swallowed.
Claire moved closer.
“Read it.”
I continued.
There are things about your twenty-second year that I never told you. I believed I was protecting you. I was wrong.
My breathing became shallow.
You were involved in the Richmond operation. Not because you wanted to be. Because I needed you there.
I looked up.
Madison covered her mouth.
Claire whispered:
“Keep reading.”
I did.
You met Ryan before you remember meeting Ryan.
My eyes moved across the page.
You met Victor too.
The room seemed to tilt.
The man in the photographs is not a stranger. His name is Ethan Vale.
Claire suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Ethan?”
I looked at her.
“You know him?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
But her expression said otherwise.
“Claire.”
She stared at the photograph.
“I’ve heard that name.”
“Where?”
“Ryan mentioned him once.”
“What did he say?”
“That Ethan was dead.”
I looked back at the letter.
My father’s handwriting continued.
Ethan was the person who created the financial network Ryan later tried to control. He wasn’t the mastermind. He was the accountant.
I stopped.
“The accountant?”
Madison nodded slowly.
“That’s why Ryan needed the account.”
I continued reading.
Your identity was used to create one of the first accounts. I discovered it too late. By then, several transactions had already been completed.
My hands trembled.
I tried to shut everything down. Ethan helped me. Victor helped me. Ryan did not.
I looked at Claire.
“So Ryan was already involved.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he pretend he barely knew me?”
Victor’s voice came from the doorway.
“Because you weren’t supposed to remember.”
I turned.
He had stopped outside.
“What happened to my memory?”
Victor hesitated.
“You were in an accident.”
My blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why wasn’t that in the records?”
“Because your father paid to keep it out.”
I stared at him.
“My father covered up my accident?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor looked at the letter.
“Because someone tried to kill you.”
Madison stepped backward.
“Who?”
Victor looked at her.
“We don’t know.”
“But you have a guess.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“Ryan.”
I shook my head.
“Then why is he still alive?”
“Because we never had proof.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“And now?”
Victor looked toward the window.
“Now someone is trying to recreate the same operation.”
The words hit me.
“The account.”
“Yes.”
“The forged signatures.”
“Yes.”
“The Richmond warehouse.”
“Yes.”
“And Madison?”
Victor’s eyes moved to my wife.
“She was never supposed to find out.”
Madison’s face hardened.
“Then why did Ryan involve me?”
“Because you became suspicious.”
She looked at me.
“He thought I was going to expose him.”
Victor nodded.
“So he gave you a different story.”
“The story about Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Madison’s voice cracked.
“He told me Daniel was part of it.”
“He needed you to believe that.”
“Why?”
“Because if you trusted your husband, you’d come to him.”
She went silent.
Victor continued.
“And when you did, they would have evidence that you knowingly participated.”
Madison’s eyes widened.
“You mean the forged documents.”
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“They were building a case against both of us.”
I felt sick.
Ryan hadn’t simply wanted to destroy our marriage.
He had wanted us legally trapped.
Then Claire suddenly looked at the letter.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“There’s something written on the back.”
I turned the paper over.
There was a second message.
Only four words.
Trust no one inside.
Claire looked at me.
“Inside what?”
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
The caller ID displayed my father’s name.
Nobody moved.
My father had been dead for six years.
The phone continued ringing.
Madison whispered:
“Don’t answer.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Answer it.”
Claire stared at him.
“Are you insane?”
Victor looked at me.
“If they’re calling from his number, there’s only one reason.”
“What?”
“They want you to remember.”
I stared at the screen.
Then I answered.
“Hello?”
Static.
Then breathing.
A man’s voice finally came through.
“Daniel.”
I couldn’t move.
The voice was older.
Rougher.
But unmistakable.
It was my father.
“You found the letter.”
My knees almost gave out.
“Dad?”
A pause.
Then he said:
“I need you to listen carefully.”
I gripped the phone.
“What happened to me seven years ago?”
Silence.
Then my father’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“You didn’t have an accident.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“You were shot.”
The call suddenly crackled.
Someone else spoke in the background.
A woman.
I recognized her voice immediately.
Madison.
But Madison was standing right beside me.
The voice on the phone whispered:
“Daniel, get away from your wife.”
I slowly turned toward Madison.
She was staring at me.
Terrified.
And then my father’s voice said one final sentence.
“The woman standing beside you is the reason you survived.”
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Madison’s eyes filled with tears.
I stared at her.
“Why?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Victor suddenly looked toward the front window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
The same one from the photograph.
But this time, someone was sitting inside.
Victor’s expression changed.
“Too late.”
Claire looked at him.
“What?”
He pointed toward the SUV.
“They found us.”
The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
Then another.
And between them walked a woman.
Claire went completely pale.
“That’s impossible.”
I looked at her.
“Who is she?”
Claire whispered:
“Ryan’s mother.”
Then the woman lifted her eyes toward our house.
And smiled.