Chapter 10 - The Man Who Called Himself My FatherMichael contacted me three days later.
He didn't call.
He sent a letter.
“Emily.”
Just my name.
Nothing else.
The letter asked me to meet him.
Alone.
I showed it to Arthur.
He immediately said no.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I'm going.”
“I won't let you.”
“You can't stop me.”
His face softened.
“I know.”
A pause.
“That is what scares me.”
I met Michael in an old private club outside the city.
He looked nothing like the monster I had imagined.
He was elderly.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
Walking cane.
He looked fragile.
But his eyes were sharp.
“You look like your mother.”
I remained standing.
“You don't get to say that.”
He smiled.
“I deserve that.”
“You ordered my accident?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then why were you involved?”
“Because I wanted to meet you.”
I laughed.
“You could have simply called.”
“I didn't know how.”
“Try the truth.”
He looked down.
“I was ashamed.”
Michael admitted everything.
He had spent decades regretting the way he treated my mother.
But regret didn't make him innocent.
He had built businesses through intimidation.
He had made enemies.
He had used people.
And when he discovered I existed…
He wanted to repair the relationship.
But instead of approaching me honestly…
He used money.
Lawyers.
Intermediaries.
He tried to buy access to my life.
When I rejected him…
He became desperate.
That desperation brought him into contact with Victor.
“I didn't order the accident,” he said.
“But you knew?”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“You could have stopped it.”
His eyes filled with regret.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you?”
He looked at me.
“Because I was a coward.”
For the first time…
I believed him.
Then he gave me something.
A flash drive.
“Everything is there.”
“What?”
“Every payment.”
“Every conversation.”
“Every person involved.”
I took it.
“Why give it to me?”
He answered:
“Because you deserve to decide what happens to them.”
I returned home.
Arthur was waiting.
I gave him the flash drive.
He looked at me.
“You trust him?”
“No.”
A pause.
“But I trust the evidence.”
We opened it.
There were hundreds of files.
Emails.
Audio recordings.
Bank transfers.
And then…
We found one recording.
Daniel.
Victor.
Evelyn.
Marcus.
And Michael.
All together.
The recording was dated six months before my accident.
Michael's voice said:
“Once Emily loses control of the company, everything goes to the trust.”
Victor asked:
“And Daniel?”
Michael answered:
“Daniel will take care of the emotional part.”
Evelyn laughed.
“He thinks he's the mastermind.”
Michael responded:
“Let him.”
Then Daniel asked:
“What happens if she refuses?”
Michael's voice became cold.
“Then we make her afraid.”
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel had not been the mastermind.
Victor hadn't either.
Evelyn hadn't.
They were all pieces.
The real architect had been Michael.
But then another file appeared.
A document titled:
FINAL BENEFICIARY TRANSFER.
I opened it.
The beneficiary wasn't Michael.
It wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't Victor.
It was me.
Michael had been trying to regain control of the trust…
But he had secretly placed everything in my name.
He had spent years building the very protection he once tried to steal.
Then the doorbell rang.
My father answered.
A police officer stood outside.
“Mr. Hayes?”
“Yes?”
“We need to speak with Emily.”
I walked toward the door.
“Why?”
The officer looked at me.
“Michael Carter was found dead tonight.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
The officer continued:
“And before he died…”
“He left a statement naming the person who ordered the accident.”
I looked at Arthur.
The officer handed me an envelope.
The name inside wasn't Michael.
It wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't Victor.
It wasn't Evelyn.
May you like
It was someone still living.
Someone still close to me.
