Chapter 14: The Man I Buried Twice
I couldn't speak.
The phone pressed against my ear.
My mother stood up so quickly that her chair fell backward.
"Emily?""
The voice came again.
"Sweetheart, please don't hang up.""
I gripped the edge of the kitchen table.
"Who is this?""
"It's Robert.""
My knees weakened.
"Prove it.""
A soft laugh came through the phone.
Then he said something I hadn't heard since childhood.
"Remember the blue bicycle?""
I closed my eyes.
I remembered.
I had fallen off that bicycle when I was seven. I had scraped both knees and refused to get back on.
My father had sat beside me on the pavement.
He had wiped my tears with his handkerchief and said, "Falling isn't the part that matters, sweetheart. It's what you do when you stand up again.""
I began crying.
"Dad?""
"I'm sorry, Emily.""
I couldn't hold back anymore.
I sank into the chair.
"Where are you?""
"At a rehabilitation facility outside Boston.""
"Are you alive?""
He laughed weakly.
"Last time I checked.""
I covered my mouth.
My mother took the phone.
"Robert?""
Silence.
Then a shaky breath.
"Catherine.""
She began sobbing.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then my father whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't come home.""
My mother pressed the phone against her chest.
Mr. Collins quietly stepped away to give us privacy.
I took the phone again.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Victor made sure I couldn't.""
"How?""
"He moved me between facilities. After the fall, I suffered a serious brain injury. I couldn't speak properly for a long time. By the time I recovered enough to communicate, Victor had already convinced everyone I was dead.""
I wiped my face.
"Daniel knew?""
"Yes.""
The answer hurt.
"Did he visit you?""
"Once.""
I closed my eyes.
"What did he say?""
My father's voice became quieter.
"He told me he was going to marry you. He said he would take care of you.""
I felt sick.
"And you believed him?""
"No.""
My father sighed.
"I told him to stay away from my daughter.""
A tear rolled down my cheek.
"What happened after that?""
"He left. I never saw him again.""
"How did you contact me now?""
"Dr. Hayes found the original medical records. He tracked down Catherine's address through an old legal document. When he told me you were alive and had found the trust certificate, I knew it was time.""
I looked at Mr. Collins.
He nodded slowly.
"We'll arrange a meeting," he said.
My father spoke again.
"Emily, listen carefully. The trust isn't the only thing you need to recover.""
"What else?""
"The original Harrington Global incorporation agreement. The one with the handwritten amendment.""
I remembered the document from the ballroom.
"Why?""
"Because it contains the clause that protects the company from being sold without the trust beneficiary's consent.""
I frowned.
"Daniel tried to sell the company?""
"Not just Daniel. Victor has been negotiating with an overseas investment group. He wants to sell both companies, transfer the proceeds into private accounts, and disappear.""
Mr. Collins leaned forward.
"Do you know the buyer?""
My father paused.
"Yes.""
"Who?""
"Whitmore Capital.""
Mr. Collins looked at me.
The same investment group that had planned to inject $25 million into Daniel's company.
The same group whose representatives had attended the launch.
"Then the launch wasn't just a celebration," I said.
"No," my father answered.
"It was the final stage of the takeover.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Where is the original agreement?""
"In a safe deposit box. The key is with Dr. Hayes.""
Mr. Collins immediately began arranging a meeting.
But before we could end the call, my father said something else.
"Emily?""
"Yes?""
"There's one more thing.""
I waited.
"Daniel isn't Victor's only son.""
I looked at my mother.
"What?""
"Victor had another child. A daughter. She was born before Daniel. Her name is Elizabeth.""
I frowned.
"Why does that matter?""
"Because she owns the remaining voting shares in Harrington Industries.""
Mr. Collins sat upright.
"Is she alive?""
"Yes. And she has been trying to contact you.""
I stared at the phone.
"Why?""
My father hesitated.
"Because she believes Daniel was involved in her mother's disappearance.""
The call ended shortly afterward.
Two days later, I met my father.
The rehabilitation facility stood outside Boston, surrounded by pine trees and a narrow walking path.
I entered his room carrying a small bouquet of white flowers.
He was sitting beside the window.
His hair had turned almost completely gray. His hands were thinner, and a scar ran along his temple.
But his eyes were the same.
When he saw me, he tried to stand.
"Emily.""
I dropped the flowers.
"Dad.""
He opened his arms.
I crossed the room and held him.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
I cried against his shoulder.
He held the back of my head the way he had when I was a child.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
I shook my head.
"Don't.""
"I should have found a way to reach you.""
"You were hurt.""
"I was your father.""
I pulled away enough to look at him.
"You still are.""
His eyes filled.
Then he touched my cheek.
His fingers moved carefully along the pale scars.
"Does it hurt?""
"Not anymore.""
He nodded.
"Good.""
I smiled through my tears.
"You're not going to tell me I'm still beautiful?""
He laughed softly.
"You were beautiful when you were seven, when you were seventeen, and when you were lying in that hospital bed. Nothing changed that.""
I rested my forehead against his.
For the first time in two years, I felt like I could breathe.
Then he reached for a folder beside his bed.
"There's something you need to see.""
Inside were the original trust documents, medical records, and a letter addressed to Daniel.
My father explained that the letter had been written shortly before Victor arranged his disappearance.
It contained a confession.
Daniel had been present during the final meeting at the private medical facility. He had agreed to help Victor obtain the trust certificate in exchange for control of Harrington Global.
But there was one sentence that stood out.
Daniel knows the truth about his father's first wife.
I looked up.
"What does that mean?""
My father sighed.
"Victor's first wife didn't disappear voluntarily.""
He opened another document.
It was a police report from twenty-six years earlier.
The name of the missing woman was Margaret Harrington.
I looked at the photograph attached.
Then I noticed the family resemblance.
She had the same eyes as Daniel.
And the same dark hair.
My father explained that Margaret had discovered Victor was using forged signatures to transfer company assets. Shortly afterward, she vanished.
Elizabeth, Victor's daughter, had been told her mother had abandoned the family.
"Daniel helped Victor hide the truth?"" I asked.
"Yes.""
I closed the folder.
"Then why would Elizabeth contact me?""
"Because she has spent years searching for her mother. And she believes the answers are in Victor's private records.""
My father handed me a business card.
*ELIZABETH HARRINGTON — PRESIDENT, HARRINGTON INDUSTRIES.*
I stared at the name.
She was the woman who owned the remaining voting shares.
The woman who could decide whether Victor kept his empire.
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
Emily, my name is Elizabeth. I believe we're sisters.
Another message followed.
I have the original recording of Victor discussing Margaret's disappearance.
Then a third.
But before I give it to you, I need you to know something about Daniel.
I stared at the screen.
The message continued.
He has just been appointed interim CEO of Harrington Industries.
I looked at my father.
May you like
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Then we have very little time.""
