Chapter 13 - THE COUNTDOWN
The countdown began.
09:58.
09:57.
I stared at the screen.
“What did you do?”
Richard smiled.
“I built the system.”
My father stepped forward.
“You're bluffing.”
Richard laughed.
“You know better.”
The detective examined the computer.
“It's encrypted.”
“Can you stop it?”
“Maybe.”
“How long?”
“Not enough.”
I looked at my father.
“What do we do?”
He looked at Lily.
“Use her access.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“If the archive is destroyed, thousands of files could be lost.”
“Then let it disappear.”
My father looked at me.
“It contains evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“Everything.”
He pointed to the screen.
“Your wife's murder.”
I froze.
The archive contained the original surveillance.
The accident records.
The payments.
The names.
Everything.
I looked at Lily.
“Can you open it?”
She nodded.
My father helped her.
She placed her hand on the scanner.
The countdown stopped.
The archive opened.
Files appeared.
Videos.
Bank records.
Medical documents.
Messages.
Then one folder appeared:
MOTHER.
I opened it.
My late wife's final recording appeared.
She looked directly at the camera.
“Ryan.”
I sat down.
“If you're watching this, I'm gone.”
My heart broke.
She continued:
“Vanessa did not kill me.”
I looked at Richard.
“Margaret didn't either.”
Then she said:
“The person responsible is someone you trusted.”
My blood froze.
A video appeared.
My mother.
Meeting someone.
Michael.
My mother looked terrified.
She handed him an envelope.
Michael said:
“Are you sure?”
She replied:
“I have no choice.”
The video ended.
I looked at my mother.
“What did you do?”
She cried.
“I gave him the information.”
“You helped him?”
“I thought he would only take the money.”
My heart broke.
“You knew?”
“I knew he was planning something.”
“Did you know about the crash?”
“No.”
“Did you know about Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
I stepped back.
My mother collapsed into tears.
“I tried to stop them.”
My father walked toward her.
“She was trapped.”
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knew except me.”
My wife appeared again on the screen.
“Ryan, listen.”
Her voice was shaking.
“If something happens to me, do not blame your mother.”
I stared.
“She was threatened.”
“She was protecting our daughters.”
My wife continued:
“The person who ordered everything is not Vanessa.”
A name appeared.
Richard Carter.
My grandfather.
He had manipulated everyone.
Vanessa.
Michael.
Margaret.
Even my mother.
He wanted the archive.
He wanted control.
And my wife had discovered it.
The detective looked at Richard.
“You're going to prison.”
Richard smiled.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“I didn't create the system.”
He pointed at Lily.
“She did.”
Everyone froze.
My daughter looked confused.
“Me?”
Richard smiled.
“Your mother changed the trust before she died.”
My father stepped forward.
“She protected the archive.”
Richard nodded.
“She made Lily the final administrator.”
I stared at my daughter.
My seven-year-old daughter.
She had unknowingly protected everything.
Then another file opened.
A legal document.
It stated that when Lily turned eighteen, she would gain full control.
Until then, her father would act only as guardian.
But there was another clause.
If anyone attempted to seize the trust through force or fraud—
control would transfer to an independent foundation.
Richard's face changed.
“What?”
The detective smiled.
“You lost.”
Richard stared at the screen.
The countdown disappeared.
The archive was safe.
The police arrested him.
As he was taken away, he looked at Lily.
“You ruined everything.”
I stepped between them.
“No.”
I looked at my daughter.
“She saved everything.”
Richard was gone.
The mansion became quiet.
For the first time in years, there was no one watching.
No hidden camera.
No secret threat.
No manipulation.
But one mystery remained.
May you like
Margaret was still missing.
And she knew where my wife's original evidence was.
