Chapter 2 - THE MAN DANIEL BLAMED
By seven in the morning, my father had security surrounding the house.
I hadn't slept again.
Ethan Cole had been missing for four years.
Daniel had blamed him for everything.
The company collapse.
The lost investors.
The missing funds.
The lawsuits.
Now Ethan had called me.
My father sat across from me at breakfast.
“Do you remember what Daniel told you about Ethan?”
I nodded.
“He said Ethan stole money.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I trusted my husband.”
My father looked down.
“That was his greatest advantage.”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Daniel knew you would believe him.”
My chest tightened.
“You think Daniel lied about everything?”
“Not everything.”
He paused.
“Only the parts that benefited him.”
At eight thirty, Rachel, my father's attorney, arrived.
She placed a thick folder on the table.
“We found Ethan.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
“He contacted us.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did everyone say he disappeared?”
Rachel looked at my father.
“Because someone paid him to disappear.”
“Who?”
“Daniel.”
Silence.
I stared at her.
“Why?”
Rachel opened the folder.
Inside were old emails.
Messages between Daniel and Ethan.
The first was dated three years before the collapse.
You will take the blame.
The second:
Emily must never know she owns the controlling shares.
The third:
When the stock falls, we transfer the debt.
My hands went cold.
“Daniel planned the collapse?”
Rachel nodded.
“He intentionally pushed the company toward bankruptcy.”
“Why?”
“To trigger the emergency investment clause.”
My father continued.
“That clause allowed Emily's trust to purchase the company shares at a fraction of their original value.”
I stared.
“So Daniel knew I was the investor?”
“No.”
Rachel shook her head.
“He knew the investor existed.”
“But not me.”
“Exactly.”
My father looked at me.
“Your trust bought the shares anonymously.”
I understood.
Daniel thought he had rescued his company.
He thought he was CEO because he was brilliant.
He didn't know that the woman he called a parasite had quietly become his majority shareholder.
Rachel continued.
“Then Daniel began moving company funds.”
“To Madison?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he intended to buy back the company after stripping it of debt.”
I stared.
“So the collapse was planned.”
“Yes.”
“And Madison was part of it.”
“Yes.”
“And Ethan?”
Rachel sighed.
“Ethan was supposed to help them.”
“Then why did he call me?”
“Because he changed his mind.”
My father stood.
“Where is he?”
“He wants to meet Emily.”
I looked at my father.
“When?”
“Now.”
We met Ethan in an empty office downtown.
He looked older than the photographs.
Tired.
Nervous.
He stood when I entered.
“Emily.”
I studied his face.
“You helped my husband.”
“Yes.”
“You stole from the company.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
I stopped.
He looked at me.
“But you need to hear what happened.”
He explained everything.
Daniel had approached him when Carter Technologies was struggling.
He offered him money.
In exchange, Ethan would take the blame for several questionable transactions.
The plan was to create a temporary collapse.
Then a private investor would purchase the company's distressed shares.
That investor was my trust.
Daniel intended to manipulate the market afterward.
He would buy back the shares.
But he made one mistake.
He underestimated how much my trust would invest.
My father had quietly doubled the investment.
The trust ended up controlling fifty-one percent.
Daniel never knew.
Ethan continued.
“Then Daniel asked me to do something else.”
“What?”
“Forge documents.”
“Which documents?”
“Documents transferring your voting rights.”
My stomach tightened.
“He tried to steal my shares?”
“Yes.”
“Did he succeed?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at me.
“Because someone stopped me.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She knew?”
“She found out what Daniel was doing.”
My father stepped forward.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
I looked at him.
“My mother knew Daniel was dangerous?”
Ethan nodded.
“She contacted me.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me to protect Emily.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“But my mother died when I was a child.”
Ethan looked confused.
“No.”
He reached into his coat.
He pulled out an envelope.
“This was given to me by her.”
I stared.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother's handwriting.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was one sentence.
Emily must never know who her father really is.
I looked at my father.
He went completely still.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
Ethan looked at him.
“You should tell her.”
My father closed his eyes.
I stood.
“Tell me what?”
Silence.
“Dad?”
He looked at me.
“My daughter…”
“Who is my father?”
He swallowed.
Then said:
May you like
“Not me.”
Everything inside me stopped.
