Chapter 8: The Secret Malik Buried
I didn’t ask Malik about my father immediately.
I wanted to.
Every part of me wanted to turn around and demand answers.
But I had learned something about powerful people.
They were good at controlling conversations.
Good at making you ask the wrong questions.
So I waited.
And that was harder than I expected.
Because every time I looked at Malik, I wondered.
What did he know?
What had he hidden?
And why did Julian think it mattered?
The next morning, Malik found me sitting alone in the kitchen.
Not the massive dining room.
Not the formal space where everything looked perfect.
The kitchen.
The only place in that mansion that felt human.
He sat across from me.
“You got a call.””
I looked up.
“You know?””
“My security monitors unknown numbers connected to the investigation.””
Of course they did.
I almost forgot who I was dealing with.
“Julian called.””
Malik became still.
“What did he say?””
I watched him carefully.
“He mentioned my father.””
The silence was immediate.
That was my answer.
“You know something.””
Malik looked away.
“Lena.””
“No.””
My voice surprised even me.
“Don’t do that.””
“Do what?””
“Protect me with half-truths.””
He was quiet.
So I continued.
“I can handle the truth.””
Finally, Malik sighed.
“Your father worked for my family.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“What?””
“Years ago.””
“How long?””
“Before I took over Sterling Enterprises.””
I stood.
“You knew him?””
“Yes.””
The word hurt.
Not because he knew.
Because he waited.
“You knew my father and never told me?””
“I didn’t know you were his daughter.””
I stopped.
“What?””
Malik looked at me.
“I didn’t know your last name until tonight.””
I stared.
“But Julian knew.””
“Yes.””
“Because he researched me.””
“Yes.””
I sat back down slowly.
“Who was my father?””
Malik hesitated.
And that hesitation told me this wasn’t simple.
“His name was Daniel Brooks.””
The name hit me.
My father’s name.
A name I hadn’t heard spoken by someone outside my family in years.
“What did he do?””
Malik looked down.
“He handled financial records.””
I laughed bitterly.
“So he worked for your family.””
“Yes.””
“And?””
Malik was silent.
“And he discovered something.””
My heart started beating faster.
“What?””
“Your grandfather’s company had illegal financial activity.””
I stared at him.
“My grandfather?””
“Julian and I were young. We didn’t know everything happening.””
I shook my head.
“So my father found out.””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
Malik’s face became heavy.
“He disappeared.””
The room went cold.
My entire childhood flashed through my mind.
My mother refusing to talk about him.
The unanswered questions.
The excuses.
“He didn’t leave us?””
Malik looked at me.
“No.””
That one word broke something inside me.
Because for years, I had believed my father abandoned us.
I had hated him.
I had carried that anger.
And now Malik was telling me I was wrong.
“What happened to him?””
“I don’t know.””
I looked at him.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling you the truth.””
“Were you there?””
“No.””
“Did Julian know?””
Malik didn’t answer.
I stood again.
“He knew.””
My voice shook.
“He knew my father.””
“Yes.””
“He knew what happened.””
“I believe he did.””
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because suddenly everything connected.
Julian didn’t choose me because of my job.
He chose me because of my blood.
My family.
My father’s secrets.
He wasn’t just trying to remove Malik.
He was trying to erase the last person connected to a truth he had buried.
The door opened.
A security officer rushed inside.
“Mr. Sterling.””
Malik turned.
“What?””
“We found Julian.””
Everyone froze.
“Where?””
The officer looked at me.
“He went to the old Brooks family house.””
My heart dropped.
“My mother’s house?””
The officer nodded.
Malik grabbed his coat.
“I’m coming with you.””
I stood.
“So am I.””
Nobody argued.
Because this wasn’t just Malik’s fight anymore.
It never was.
Julian Sterling had made one mistake.
He thought my quiet life meant I had nothing to lose.
He thought because I wasn’t powerful, I wasn’t dangerous.
But he forgot something.
People like me survive.
We survive disappointment.
We survive loss.
We survive being ignored.
And when someone threatens the people we love?
May you like
We stop being invisible.
We become impossible to silence.
