Chapter 6: The House Full Of Lies
The phone went silent.
But Charles Sterling could still hear Richard’s voice.
This time, I’m going to finish what I started.
Those words followed him like a shadow.
For twenty years, Charles had believed his greatest tragedy was losing Amelia.
Now he understood something far worse.
He had been living inside a lie.
His home.
His family.
His marriage.
Everything he trusted had been touched by someone else’s hands.
And Richard Sterling had been standing beside him the entire time.
“Dad.””
Amelia’s voice pulled him back.
Charles looked at her.
She was no longer the frightened woman from the doorway.
She was the little girl he remembered.
The one who used to run into his office after school.
The one who believed her father could solve anything.
But now she was older.
And tired.
She had spent twenty years carrying a secret that should never have belonged to her.
“Is she okay?”” Amelia asked.
Charles didn’t answer immediately.
He didn’t want to lie.
“I don’t know.””
Amelia closed her eyes.
For a moment, Charles saw the fear she had been hiding.
Not for herself.
For Victoria.
“I have to go back.””
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
“No.””
Charles looked at him.
“No?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Richard wants you there.””
“I know.””
“That means it’s a trap.””
Charles stared at him.
“My wife is trapped in my house.””
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“And your daughter was trapped for twenty years.””
The words landed.
Charles looked away.
Daniel wasn’t trying to challenge him.
He was trying to remind him.
Richard had always controlled the battlefield.
Emotionally.
Strategically.
Every time Charles reacted, Richard gained an advantage.
Charles took a slow breath.
“Then we don’t go there like victims.””
Daniel studied him.
“What are you thinking?””
Charles looked at Amelia.
For the first time in twenty years, his daughter was standing in front of him.
He wasn’t going to lose her again.
“We go home.””
Amelia looked alarmed.
“Dad—”
“But not alone.””
Charles turned toward Marcus.
“Get every piece of information you have on Sterling Manor.””
Marcus nodded.
“Already pulling it.””
“Every camera.””
“Done.””
“Every employee.””
“Understood.””
Charles looked at the photograph of Amelia and Ella.
“Tonight ends.””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
This was no longer about finding the truth.
It was about surviving it.
The drive to Sterling Manor felt longer than it should have.
The old mansion sat on the edge of the city, surrounded by dark trees and iron gates.
It had been Charles’s home for thirty years.
A place filled with memories.
Birthdays.
Christmas mornings.
Family dinners.
And now it looked different.
Like a beautiful building hiding something rotten underneath.
Rain slid down the windows as the car approached.
Amelia sat beside Charles in silence.
Neither of them knew what to say.
Twenty years separated them.
Twenty years of conversations that never happened.
Twenty years of moments they could never get back.
Finally, Charles spoke.
“When you were little, you hated storms.””
Amelia looked at him.
A small smile appeared.
“I wasn’t scared of storms.””
Charles raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, you were.””
“No.””
“You slept outside my bedroom door every time it rained.””
“That was because you snored.””
For the first time that night, Charles almost smiled.
Almost.
“You remember that?””
“I remember everything.””
The answer was quiet.
Charles looked at her.
“I thought you were gone.””
Amelia looked down.
“I know.””
“I looked everywhere.””
“I know.””
“I never stopped.””
She swallowed.
“I know.””
Charles’s voice broke slightly.
“Then why didn’t you come home?””
Amelia stared out the window.
“Because I was afraid you would look at me and see the reason you lost everything.””
Charles frowned.
“You were never the reason.””
She didn’t answer.
Because some wounds didn’t disappear just because someone finally said the right words.
The car stopped.
Sterling Manor waited ahead.
The lights were on.
Every window glowed warmly.
A perfect picture.
A perfect lie.
Marcus’s voice came through the communication device.
“Sir.””
Charles answered.
“Yes?””
“Something is wrong.””
“What?””
“We checked the house security system.””
“And?””
“Every camera was disabled exactly two minutes before we arrived.””
Charles looked at the mansion.
Richard was waiting.
“Of course.””
Amelia whispered:
“He wants us inside.””
Charles opened the door.
“Then we go inside.””
The front door opened before they reached it.
A servant stood there.
An elderly woman named Martha.
She had worked for the Sterling family for thirty years.
Her face changed when she saw Amelia.
The tray in her hands almost fell.
“Miss Amelia?””
Amelia looked at her.
“Martha.””
The older woman covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I knew it.””
Charles turned.
“You knew?””
Martha looked terrified.
“I…”
She stopped.
Footsteps echoed from inside.
Slow.
Confident.
Richard appeared in the hallway.
Perfect suit.
Calm expression.
Like he was welcoming guests to a dinner party.
“Welcome home, brother.””
Charles stepped forward.
“What did you do to Victoria?””
Richard smiled slightly.
“Still no hello?””
“What did you do?””
Richard looked at Amelia.
For a brief second, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“I’m surprised.””
“By what?””
“That you brought her back.””
Charles’s anger rose.
“You threatened my wife.””
Richard laughed softly.
“No.””
He walked closer.
“Your wife finally chose a side.””
Amelia’s face hardened.
“You’re lying.””
Richard looked at her.
“You always were your father’s daughter.””
“And you always were a coward.””
Charles almost looked surprised.
Amelia had spent twenty years hiding.
But standing in front of Richard, she was fearless.
Richard smiled.
“I wondered when that would return.””
“What?””
“Your anger.””
He looked at Charles.
“She was always dangerous when she knew the truth.””
Charles stepped between them.
“Where is Victoria?””
Richard gestured toward the staircase.
“Safe.””
Charles stared.
“Take me to her.””
“Not yet.””
“Then we have nothing to discuss.””
Richard smiled.
“You really think you’re in control.””
Charles didn’t answer.
Richard walked toward the fireplace.
“You know what the funny thing is?””
Nobody responded.
“You spent twenty years believing I stole your daughter.””
Richard picked up a glass of whiskey.
“But I didn’t.””
Charles frowned.
“What?””
Richard looked at Amelia.
“I saved her.””
The room went silent.
Amelia’s expression changed.
“No.””
Richard turned.
“Yes.””
“You ruined my life.””
“No.””
He took a sip.
“I kept you alive.””
Charles stared.
“Explain.””
Richard smiled.
“Ask your daughter what she found.””
Charles looked at Amelia.
She went quiet.
That scared him.
“What is he talking about?””
Amelia looked at the floor.
“Dad…”
“What did you find?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The reason Richard wanted me gone.””
Charles waited.
“Tell me.””
Amelia looked up.
“When I found the documents, I thought Richard was stealing from the company.””
She swallowed.
“But I was wrong.””
Richard smiled.
“Finally.””
Charles looked between them.
“What was it?””
Amelia’s voice became barely audible.
“It wasn’t money.””
A pause.
“It was murder.””
The room became completely still.
Charles felt the air disappear.
Richard’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Because for the first time tonight…
He looked afraid.
Charles noticed.
“What murder?””
Amelia looked at Richard.
“Twenty-five years ago.””
Richard’s face hardened.
“Don’t.””
Amelia continued.
“Before I was born.””
Charles looked confused.
“Before you were born?””
Amelia nodded.
“Grandfather knew.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Stop talking.””
Charles’s eyes narrowed.
“What happened twenty-five years ago?””
Amelia looked at him.
And said the words that changed everything.
“Dad…”
“Your father didn’t build Sterling Holdings alone.””
A pause.
“He stole it.””
Charles stared.
“What?””
Amelia looked toward Richard.
“And Richard wasn’t trying to inherit the company.””
She took a breath.
“He was trying to hide what our family did to get it.””
A sudden crash came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
A security alarm started blaring.
Marcus touched his earpiece.
“Sir.””
“What?””
His face went pale.
“We found Victoria.””
Charles immediately moved.
“Where?””
Marcus looked toward the staircase.
“In Amelia’s old bedroom.””
Charles ran.
The others followed.
The door was open.
Inside, everything was exactly as he remembered.
The pink curtains.
The old bookshelf.
The childhood drawings.
A room frozen in time.
And sitting on the floor was Victoria.
Alive.
But holding something in her hands.
A blood-stained envelope.
Charles rushed to her.
“Victoria.””
She looked up.
Relief filled her face.
Then fear returned.
“Charles…”
“What happened?””
She looked past him.
At Richard.
Then whispered:
“He knows you found the real file.””
Charles looked at the envelope.
“What is inside?””
Victoria’s hand trembled.
“The truth about the night Amelia disappeared.””
Charles took it.
The envelope was sealed.
But before he opened it, he noticed one thing.
Written across the front were five words.
Words that made Amelia gasp.
Because she recognized the handwriting.
May you like
It belonged to her grandfather.
*The daughter was never the target.*
