SIX YEARS AGO
907 Words
Chapter Three
Amelia read the anonymous message for the fifth time.
Stop digging into the past, Amelia. You have no idea what you're about to uncover.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
"Who sent this?" she asked.
Adrian stood across from her desk, his expression unusually serious.
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth."
"Then how did they know what I was investigating?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
That silence told Amelia enough.
"You think someone inside my family's company is involved."
"I think we shouldn't assume anything yet."
"You're the one who told me to investigate."
"Yes."
"And now you're telling me to stop?"
"I'm telling you to be careful."
Amelia shook her head.
"You've known about this for six years. You can't suddenly expect me to ignore it."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"You don't know what happened six years ago."
"Then tell me."
He looked away.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because it's not my story to tell."
Amelia stared at him.
"Then whose story is it?"
Adrian said nothing.
---
That evening, Amelia returned home earlier than usual.
Her father was sitting in the living room, reading a newspaper.
He looked up when she entered.
"You're home early."
"We need to talk."
His expression changed.
"About what?"
"Six years ago."
The newspaper slowly lowered.
Amelia sat opposite him.
"I found financial records from that period."
Her father's face became pale.
"Where?"
"At Blake International."
He immediately stood.
"You shouldn't be investigating those records."
"Why?"
"Because some things are better left alone."
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"But nobody will tell me why."
Her father looked toward the window.
"Amelia, I was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
He remained silent.
"Was it Adrian's father?"
Her father's eyes widened.
Amelia noticed.
"That's it, isn't it?"
"How do you know his father was involved?"
"I saw an old photograph."
Her father closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he sat down again.
"Six years ago, Adrian's father and I were partners."
Amelia's heart skipped.
"In what?"
"A business project."
"What happened?"
"Things went wrong."
"How?"
Her father rubbed his forehead.
"There was money missing."
"The twelve million?"
He looked at her sharply.
"How did you know?"
"Adrian showed me the records."
Her father stood again.
"You need to leave that company."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"I signed a contract."
"What contract?"
"Six months with Adrian."
Her father's face changed completely.
"You signed a contract with him?"
"Yes."
"Amelia, you don't understand."
"Then help me understand!"
Her father stared at her.
"Adrian Blake isn't doing this because he wants to save our company."
"Then why?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
He looked hurt.
"I'm your father."
"And I'm your daughter. Yet everyone knows something about my life except me."
Silence filled the room.
Finally, her father whispered,
"Adrian made a promise."
Amelia's heart began beating faster.
"What promise?"
Her father looked directly at her.
"To his father."
"What was it?"
"I don't know exactly."
"You just said he made a promise."
"I know what I was told."
"Then tell me."
Her father hesitated.
"Adrian's father blamed me for what happened."
"Did you cause it?"
He didn't answer.
Amelia's eyes filled with frustration.
"Dad."
"I didn't steal anything."
The words came out quietly.
"But someone made it look like I did."
Amelia froze.
"Who?"
"I never found out."
---
Later that night, Amelia sat on her bed staring at the old photograph she had secretly taken from her father's study.
Two men stood outside an office building.
Her father.
Adrian's father.
And between them was a young Adrian.
Amelia zoomed in.
She noticed something she hadn't seen before.
A little girl stood beside Adrian.
She looked familiar.
Very familiar.
Amelia's breath caught.
She zoomed in again.
The girl was wearing a small silver necklace.
Amelia reached beneath her shirt and touched the necklace she had worn since childhood.
The same design.
Her heart began racing.
Why would a childhood photograph of Adrian contain a girl wearing the same necklace she had?
She quickly searched through old family photographs.
Nothing.
Then her phone buzzed.
Another unknown message.
This time, there was a photograph attached.
Amelia opened it.
It showed the same office building from six years ago.
Below the picture was a short message:
Ask your father what happened that night.
Amelia stared at the screen.
Then someone knocked on her bedroom door.
"Amelia?"
Her father's voice.
She quickly locked her phone.
"Yes?"
"Can I come in?"
She hesitated.
"Yes."
The door opened.
Her father stepped inside.
He looked worried.
"Tomorrow, don't go to Blake International."
Amelia stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I received a message too."
Her heart dropped.
"What message?"
He pulled out his phone.
Amelia read it.
The past is coming back. And this time, nobody will be protected.
She looked up at her father.
"Who is doing this?"
"I don't know."
"Then we need to find out."
Her father shook his head.
"No. We need to stay away from Adrian."
Amelia thought about the contract.
About the missing file.
About the mysterious girl in the photograph.
And about the promise Adrian had apparently made six years ago.
She knew one thing now.
She wasn't going to walk away.
Not until she discovered the truth.
The next morning, Amelia would return to Blake International.
And she would ask Adrian Blake one question.
Who was the girl in the photograph?
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