He Married Me to Destroy Me

The Envelope

My mother's words followed me long after Alexander left.

She did not die from an illness.

She was murdered.

I sat on the edge of my bed with the envelope he had given me resting in my hands.

I had not opened it.

Part of me was afraid of what I would find.

Another part was afraid that whatever was inside would change everything I thought I knew about my mother.

For twenty five years, I had believed she died because of a heart condition.

That was what my father had told me.

That was what the doctors had said.

That was what everyone around me had accepted.

Now Alexander was telling me it was a lie.

I looked at the envelope again.

There was no name on it.

No date.

Nothing that could explain where it had come from.

I slowly opened it.

A folded sheet of paper fell into my lap.

I recognized the handwriting immediately.

My mother's.

My hands began to shake.

Sophia,

If you are reading this, then I am no longer there to explain things to you myself.

Please do not hate your father.

He made mistakes, but he was trying to protect you.

There are things about Richard Blackwood's death that you must know, but you cannot trust everyone who claims to know the truth.

Someone close to our family has been lying for years.

Someone who knows exactly what happened that night.

Someone who has been waiting for the right moment to finish what they started.

I stopped reading.

My heart was pounding.

I continued.

Your father will tell you that Richard died in an accident.

He will tell you that I knew nothing about it.

Both statements are incomplete.

I was there that night.

I saw what happened.

And I took something from that place because I knew it was the only evidence that could expose the person responsible.

If they ever discover that you have it, they will come after you.

Do not trust anyone blindly.

Not even the man you are about to marry.

I dropped the letter.

Alexander.

My eyes moved to the final line.

Especially Alexander.

I stared at it for several seconds.

Why would my mother warn me about Alexander?

She had contacted him before her death.

She had apparently tried to tell him the truth.

Yet she had also warned me not to trust him.

There was something missing.

Something Alexander had not told me.

I picked up the letter again.

The final sentence was written differently from the rest.

The evidence is where I always kept what mattered most.

I read it again.

Where she always kept what mattered most.

My eyes moved around the room.

Her music box.

That was where she had hidden the photograph.

But there had been nothing else inside.

Unless there was.

I grabbed the music box and examined it carefully.

The hidden compartment was still open.

I ran my fingers along the wooden edges.

Nothing.

Then I remembered the melody.

My mother had always said the music box was special because her own mother had given it to her.

I turned it upside down.

There was a small metal plate underneath.

I pressed it.

Nothing happened.

I pressed harder.

A tiny section of the wood moved.

I froze.

There was another compartment.

My heart raced as I searched for a way to open it.

After several attempts, the bottom panel finally shifted.

Inside was a small black flash drive.

I stared at it.

My mother's evidence.

I reached for it.

Before my fingers touched it, my bedroom door opened.

I spun around.

Daniel stood there.

"What are you doing?"

I quickly hid the flash drive in my palm.

"Nothing."

He frowned.

"You look frightened."

"I am fine."

"Sophia."

I knew my brother too well.

He could tell when I was lying.

I sat down.

"Alexander gave me a letter from Mum."

Daniel's expression changed.

"What?"

I handed him the letter.

He read it carefully.

When he finished, he looked at me.

"She knew."

"Apparently."

"About Richard?"

"Yes."

Daniel looked confused.

"Then why did Dad keep this from us?"

"I do not know."

He handed the letter back.

"What else did you find?"

I hesitated.

Then I opened my hand.

The flash drive lay in my palm.

Daniel stared at it.

"Where did you get that?"

"Inside the music box."

He stood.

"We need to see what is on it."

I nodded.

We went downstairs to the small office at the back of the house.

Daniel turned on the computer.

I inserted the flash drive.

There was only one folder.

It contained three files.

The first was a video.

The second was a document.

The third was an audio recording.

We looked at each other.

"Which one first?" Daniel asked.

"The video."

He opened it.

The screen showed a dark warehouse.

The image was grainy.

The recording appeared to have been made from a distance.

A man walked into view.

Richard Blackwood.

He looked nervous.

He kept checking his watch.

Then another person appeared.

I could not see the face.

Richard said something, but the sound was too low.

Daniel increased the volume.

We heard Richard clearly.

"You promised nobody would get hurt."

The other person replied.

"You should have stayed out of it."

Richard stepped backward.

"I know what you did."

The figure moved closer.

"You know nothing."

The video suddenly became distorted.

Then it stopped.

Daniel looked at me.

"That is it?"

I nodded.

He opened the document.

It contained a list of financial transactions.

Company accounts.

Bank transfers.

Dates.

Names.

I recognized several companies connected to my father's old business.

Then I saw one name.

Victor Kane.

My breath caught.

"Victor."

Daniel leaned closer.

"That is Dad's old friend."

"He was moving money."

"How much?"

I scanned the figures.

Millions.

"Enough to destroy the company."

Daniel stared at the screen.

"Then Richard discovered it."

"And Mum knew."

He looked at me.

"That means Dad was telling the truth."

"About what?"

"Someone was stealing from the company."

I shook my head.

"But why did everyone think Dad was responsible?"

Daniel became silent.

We opened the audio file.

Static filled the room.

Then my mother's voice came through.

I have very little time.

I closed my eyes.

It was her.

Her real voice.

The voice I remembered from childhood.

"If you are hearing this, Richard is already dead."

I opened my eyes.

"Victor Kane is responsible."

Daniel leaned toward the computer.

My mother's voice continued.

"Thomas did not kill Richard. Alexander's father discovered that Victor had been stealing from the company. Victor knew Richard was going to expose him, so he arranged for Richard to die."

My heart pounded.

"Victor also knew that I witnessed part of what happened."

The recording became quieter.

"I took the evidence before I left the warehouse. But Victor found out. He threatened me. He told me that if I went to the police, my children would die."

I covered my mouth.

Daniel reached for my hand.

My mother continued.

"Thomas wanted to go to the police, but I stopped him. I thought silence would protect our children."

Her voice broke.

"I was wrong."

A long silence followed.

Then she said something that made my blood turn cold.

"Victor has someone inside the Blackwood family."

The recording ended.

Neither Daniel nor I spoke.

Someone inside the Blackwood family.

Who?

Alexander?

His mother?

Someone else?

Daniel stood.

"We have to show Dad."

I nodded.

We rushed toward the study.

But before we reached the door, we heard voices inside.

My father was speaking to someone.

I recognized the other voice immediately.

Alexander.

I stopped.

Daniel looked at me.

We moved closer.

"You should have told her the truth years ago," Alexander said.

My father replied, "I was trying to protect her."

"Your silence almost got her killed."

"She is my daughter."

"And I am Richard's son."

Silence.

Then my father said something that made my blood run cold.

"Alexander, there is something you do not know."

I looked at Daniel.

We both listened.

"My father did not die because of Thomas Hart," Alexander said.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

"What are you saying?"

Alexander's voice became harder.

"I found evidence that someone else was involved."

My father went silent.

"I also discovered that Sophia's mother knew the truth."

"I know."

"And there is one thing you still haven't told me."

"What?"

"Who gave Victor Kane access to the company accounts?"

My father's silence lasted several seconds.

Then he whispered a name.

A woman's name.

I could barely hear it.

But I knew it.

It was the name of Alexander's mother.

My heart stopped.

Daniel grabbed my arm.

I looked at him in disbelief.

Inside the study, Alexander spoke again.

"Are you telling me my mother helped Victor?"

"I am telling you that she knew about the money."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the night Richard died."

A chair scraped across the floor.

Alexander's voice dropped.

"You let me spend twenty years believing your family destroyed mine."

"I tried to tell you."

"You tried nothing."

"I was threatened."

"You should have fought."

"I had two children to protect."

The room became silent.

Then Alexander said something I would never forget.

"Then why did you agree to let me marry your daughter?"

My father answered quietly.

"Because I believed you were the only person powerful enough to keep her alive."

I covered my mouth.

Daniel stared at me.

The marriage was not just about saving the company.

My father believed Alexander could protect me.

But Alexander did not know everything.

And now neither did I.

I looked down at the flash drive hidden in my hand.

We had discovered enough to destroy the story both families had believed for twenty years.

But there was one question that frightened me more than all the others.

If Victor Kane was still alive, why had he remained hidden for so long?

And why had my mother's final warning told me not to trust Alexander?

I stepped away from the study door.

Daniel followed.

"We cannot let them know we heard this."

I nodded.

Then my phone vibrated.

One new message.

I looked at the screen.

The message contained only five words.

I know what your mother left you.

My blood ran cold.

A second message arrived.

And I am coming for it.