Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO WAS DEAD
Nobody spoke for nearly ten seconds.
Then I laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because my mind refused to accept what I was hearing.
"Someone has been receiving money under the name of a dead man?"
Marcus nodded.
"Exactly."
"Who?"
"We don't know."
Dad suddenly shouted, "That's enough!"
The sound echoed through the ballroom.
Everyone stared at him.
He looked older than he had that morning.
Much older.
Mom whispered, "Please."
I turned toward her.
"You knew."
She started crying.
"Not everything."
"But you knew something."
She nodded.
I looked back at Dad.
"Who was your first business partner?"
His jaw tightened.
"Daniel Cross."
I remembered the name.
I'd heard it once as a child.
Then never again.
"What happened to him?"
Dad looked toward the windows.
"Car accident."
"When?"
"Eleven years ago."
"Before or after you started taking money from my company?"
Dad didn't answer.
Marcus stepped forward.
"After."
I stared at him.
"Then what happened?"
Marcus opened another folder.
"Daniel Cross didn't die in that accident."
My entire body went cold.
"What?"
"His death certificate was filed. His vehicle was found. There was blood in the car."
Marcus looked at Dad.
"But his body was never recovered."
Dad slammed his hand onto the table.
"Stop!"
Marcus didn't.
"Someone wanted everyone to believe Daniel was dead."
I whispered:
"Why?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Because Daniel knew where the original company money went."
Dad's face collapsed.
And suddenly everything connected.
The mysterious transfers.
The black box.
Savannah's secret meeting.
The money stolen from my business.
The dead business partner.
I looked at my father.
"What did Daniel know?"
He stared at me.
Then Savannah spoke.
"He knew Dad had another daughter."
The room seemed to stop breathing.
I looked at her.
"What did you say?"
Savannah's lips trembled.
"He had another daughter."
I shook my head.
"No."
Mom covered her face.
I stared at her.
"Mom?"
She wouldn't look at me.
"Mom!"
She finally whispered:
"Her name was Claire."
I felt dizzy.
"Who is Claire?"
Mom began sobbing.
Dad sat down.
Marcus closed the folder.
"Claire was Daniel Cross's daughter."
I stared at them.
"Why would she matter to me?"
Dad whispered:
"Because she's your half-sister."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I couldn't speak.
Dad finally told me the story.
Before he met Mom, he had been involved with another woman.
Daniel's wife.
There had been a child.
Claire.
But when Daniel discovered the affair, everything fell apart.
Daniel threatened to expose Dad.
Then the accident happened.
The official story was that Daniel died.
Claire disappeared from the family's life.
But according to Marcus, she had recently returned.
And she had been demanding money.
"Why?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Because she believes your father stole something from her father."
"What?"
"The original company."
I frowned.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then he handed me a final document.
It was dated twenty-three years ago.
At the bottom was my father's signature.
And beside it was Daniel Cross's.
The document transferred ownership of the original company.
To me.
I stared at the page.
"Why would they transfer a company to me before I was even an adult?"
Dad finally looked at me.
"Because we thought you would never find out."
My voice became barely audible.
"Find out what?"
He swallowed.
"The company you built wasn't the first company you owned."
I looked at him.
"What are you talking about?"
Dad whispered:
"You inherited it."
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice said:
"Lila?"
"Who is this?"
"My name is Claire."
I froze.
She continued.
"You need to leave that building."
"Why?"
"Because Savannah didn't cancel your wedding catering."
I frowned.
"What?"
Claire's voice dropped to a whisper.
May you like
"She planned to frame you for something much worse."
Then the call ended.
