Chapter 6: The Daughter They Hid
I reached for the handle.
Ryan grabbed my wrist.
“Wait.””
I pulled away.
“That's my daughter.””
“We don't know who's behind it.””
“I heard her.””
“So did I.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Ryan's right.””
I stared at her.
“You knew she was here?””
“No.””
“Then how did you know what she sounds like?””
Her face crumpled.
“I've been looking for her for six years.””
The voice came again.
“Dad?””
This time it sounded weaker.
I unlocked the door.
Ryan raised his flashlight.
The metal door opened inward.
A narrow corridor stretched beyond it.
Concrete walls.
Bare bulbs.
At the far end stood a young woman.
She looked about seventeen.
Maybe eighteen.
Her hair was dark.
Her face was pale.
She wore an oversized gray sweatshirt and held one hand against the wall.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then she looked at me.
Her eyes widened.
“Michael?””
My knees nearly gave out.
“You know my name?””
She nodded.
“My mother told me.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying silently.
The girl took one step forward.
“My name is Lily.””
I couldn't speak.
Ryan whispered, “Lily, are you hurt?””
She shook her head.
“Not anymore.””
“Where's Daniel?””
Her expression changed.
“He's upstairs.””
I froze.
“What?””
Lily looked behind her.
“He said you'd come.””
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
“We have to leave.””
Lily shook her head.
“No.””
She walked closer.
“He wants you to find the room.””
“What room?””
“The one under the house.””
I looked around.
“We're already under the house.””
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“No.””
She pointed down the corridor.
“Under this.””
Ryan immediately moved forward.
“Everybody back.””
A loud explosion shook the ceiling.
Dust fell around us.
Lily screamed.
Ryan pushed her against the wall.
“Stay here!””
I grabbed Vanessa.
“Move!””
We rushed back into the safe room.
Something heavy crashed above us.
Then Daniel's voice came through the ventilation system.
“Michael.””
I looked up.
“You've met Lily.””
My blood turned cold.
Vanessa whispered, “Daniel…”
His voice remained calm.
“I knew you'd eventually find her.””
I shouted toward the ceiling.
“Where is she supposed to go?””
Daniel laughed softly.
“She's supposed to come home.””
“She is home!””
“No.””
His voice hardened.
“She belongs to me.””
I grabbed the nearest metal chair and threw it against the wall.
“She's my daughter!””
Silence.
Then Daniel said:
“That's exactly why I kept her alive.””
I froze.
Ryan looked at me.
Daniel continued.
“Your father hid something from you, Michael. Something worth more than money.””
“What?””
“The truth about your birth.””
Vanessa whispered, “No.””
I looked at her.
“What does he mean?””
She shook her head.
Daniel laughed.
“Ask Vanessa.””
“Tell me yourself.””
“Your father wasn't your biological father.””
The room went silent.
I stared at Vanessa.
She couldn't look at me.
My entire body felt numb.
Daniel continued.
“Michael, you spent your whole life believing you inherited your father's fortune.””
I heard his footsteps above us.
“You inherited something much more valuable.””
“What?””
“The access.””
“To what?””
“The account.””
Ryan's face changed.
I noticed.
“You know what he's talking about.””
Ryan nodded.
“Your father used your identity.””
I stared at him.
“How?””
“Your birth records.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Michael, listen to me.””
I turned on her.
“How much of my life is a lie?””
She cried.
“Not all of it.””
“How much?””
She couldn't answer.
I pointed toward the ceiling.
“Did my father even love me?””
“Yes,” Vanessa said immediately.
“Then why hide this?””
“Because Daniel would have killed you.””
I looked at Lily.
She stood silently in the corridor.
“Is she really my daughter?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
“How?””
“Before Daniel, before you and I married…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“You and I knew each other.””
I felt like the floor had disappeared.
“No.””
“You were seventeen.””
“You're saying we knew each other before our marriage?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
“You were injured.””
“When?””
She shook her head.
“You don't remember because your father made sure you wouldn't.””
I looked at Ryan.
“Drugged?””
“Not exactly.””
Ryan's expression was grim.
“Your father had evidence that your memory was deliberately altered.””
I stared at him.
“By who?””
“Daniel.””
Lily suddenly spoke.
“That's not what happened.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stepped into the room.
“My father told me the truth.””
“Daniel?””
She nodded.
“He said you weren't supposed to remember my mother.””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Lily continued.
“He said your father took you away after you found out about the money.””
I shook my head.
“What money?””
“The $2.8 million.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She whispered, “It's not $2.8 million.””
“What?””
“That's only what Daniel thinks is missing.””
Ryan slowly opened the final box.
Inside was a single ledger.
He placed it on the desk.
“This is what your father was protecting.””
I opened it.
The first pages contained account numbers.
The next contained names.
Hundreds of them.
Payments.
Transfers.
Shell companies.
Political donations.
Bribes.
Then I saw the final figure.
I stared.
“That's impossible.””
Ryan nodded.
“What?””
I couldn't answer.
Vanessa looked over my shoulder.
Her face went white.
“How much?””
I whispered:
“Forty-seven million dollars.””
Ryan said nothing.
Lily stepped closer.
“My father said it was hidden.””
I turned toward her.
“Where?””
She pointed at the ledger.
“Not hidden.””
Her eyes moved to me.
“Buried.””
I looked at the final page.
A handwritten note appeared beneath the number.
My father's handwriting.
*The money is not in a bank.*
Underneath it:
*It is inside the person who can legally unlock it.*
I read the sentence twice.
Then Daniel's voice came through the ventilation again.
“Now you understand.””
I looked up.
“You need me.””
“Yes.””
“For the money.””
“For more than that.””
“What?””
“You're the only person who can open the account.””
I closed the ledger.
“You're not getting it.””
Daniel laughed.
“Oh, Michael.””
A pause.
Then:
“I don't need you to give me the money.””
The lights suddenly flickered back on.
A monitor on the basement wall came alive.
Daniel appeared on the screen.
He was standing in my house.
Behind him was the kitchen.
And beside him stood a terrified woman.
Vanessa gasped.
I stared at the screen.
The woman turned toward the camera.
It was someone I had never met.
But she was holding a photograph of my father.
Daniel smiled.
“Michael, I'd like you to meet the woman who knows exactly where your father's money went.””
The woman slowly raised her eyes.
Then she said:
“Your father didn't die of natural causes.””
Vanessa whispered:
“That's his sister.””
I looked at the screen.
My father's sister had been declared dead fifteen years ago.
May you like
Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
“And she's ready to tell you who killed him.””
