Chapter 10: The Friend Who Knew Too Much
The footsteps stopped.
For a few seconds, the parking garage was completely silent.
Then the person stepped into the dim light.
My heart dropped.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I was disappointed.
It was Daniel.
The man who had brought me the first warning.
The man who claimed he was trying to protect me.
The man who told me he had discovered the truth.
He stood there with his hands in his coat pockets, his expression unreadable.
Andre immediately looked away.
That reaction told me more than words could.
“You knew he was coming,” I said.
Daniel didn’t answer.
My chest tightened.
“Didn’t you?””
He slowly exhaled.
“Adrian…”
“No.””
My voice echoed through the empty garage.
“I’m tired of hearing my name before someone lies to me.””
Daniel looked hurt.
Good.
Everyone had been hurt by their own choices.
Now they could understand what it felt like.
Andre stepped forward.
“Adrian, listen to me.””
I looked at him.
“No. I’m listening to everyone now.””
The three of us stood there.
Three men connected by years of history.
Three men who somehow ended up standing on opposite sides of the same secret.
Daniel looked at Andre.
“You shouldn’t have brought him here.””
Andre laughed bitterly.
“You mean I shouldn’t have told him the truth?””
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.””
“No,” Andre replied.
“I understand exactly what I’m doing.””
I looked between them.
“What is happening?””
Neither answered.
That was the problem.
Everyone had information.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone thought they were the only person who could be trusted.
I moved my wheelchair closer.
“Start talking.””
Daniel looked at me.
“I never wanted you involved.””
I stared at him.
“You’ve been involved since the beginning.””
He looked down.
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Why?””
Daniel took a deep breath.
“Because I knew about the plan before you got sick.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
I felt my fingers tighten around the wheelchair controls.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing?””
“I tried.””
“No.””
My voice became sharper.
“You watched.””
Daniel didn’t argue.
That silence was enough.
I looked at Andre.
“Did you know?””
Andre nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
The betrayal felt physical.
Like a weight pressing against my chest.
“My own brother and my closest friend knew people were coming after me.””
Andre looked at me.
“We were trying to stop it.””
“By hiding it?””
“By keeping you alive.””
I stared at him.
That sentence.
Everyone used that sentence.
Protecting.
Saving.
Helping.
But nobody ever asked if I wanted to be protected.
Nobody trusted me enough to fight beside them.
They only trusted me enough to hide things from me.
Daniel stepped closer.
“There’s something you don’t know.””
I laughed quietly.
“Apparently there’s a lot.””
“This goes back before your illness.””
I looked at him.
“How far?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your father.””
Again.
That name.
The one that kept appearing everywhere.
“What about him?””
Daniel looked at Andre.
Then back at me.
“Your father knew someone would eventually try to take control of the company.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You don’t.””
He pulled a small device from his pocket.
A recording.
He handed it to me.
“What is this?””
“Your father.””
My hand froze.
“My father died eight years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then how?””
Daniel looked at the device.
“He left messages.””
I stared at it.
“You had this?””
“Yes.””
“For how long?””
His silence answered.
“For how long, Daniel?””
“Years.””
I felt something inside me break.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
Because that was the worst kind.
The kind nobody else noticed.
“You had my father’s words.””
“Yes.””
“And you kept them from me?””
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I thought I was protecting you.””
I looked away.
“No.””
My voice was low.
“You were protecting the plan.””
Nobody spoke.
I pressed the button.
Static filled the garage.
Then a voice.
My father.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
“Adrian, if you’re hearing this, it means something happened that I hoped would never happen.””
I stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“People will try to convince you that power is about money.””
A pause.
“It isn’t.””
I listened carefully.
“Power is knowing who stays when there is nothing left to gain.””
My eyes closed.
Because suddenly I understood.
My father wasn’t talking about business.
He was talking about people.
About loyalty.
About betrayal.
The recording continued.
“Your biggest danger will not come from your enemies.””
A pause.
“It will come from the person who knows exactly how to pretend to love you.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
The message was clear.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone who knew how to pretend.
My phone buzzed.
A new message.
Unknown number.
A photo.
My apartment.
Taken from inside.
The caption:
“You’re looking in the wrong direction.””
I stared at the image.
Because the photograph wasn’t from outside.
It was from inside my home.
Someone had been there.
Someone had access.
Someone who knew exactly where I kept everything.
Daniel looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?””
He whispered:
“She’s still there.””
I looked at him.
“Who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
Because at that exact moment, another message appeared.
May you like
From Marcus.
“You should ask Simone why she never told you about the second betrayal.””
