Chapter 6 He Knows
1080 Words
It was after midnight when I finally returned to my apartment.
I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, exhausted.
I should have been thinking about the meeting, the documents, and everything I had learned about my father.
Instead, I kept thinking about Zack.
His warning.
His eyes.
The way he had stood so close to me.
And the way my heart had betrayed me whenever he did.
I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.
My hands were still shaking.
I had spent the entire evening going through everything I remembered about my parents, trying to connect the pieces.
But one question kept returning.
Why had my father trusted Zack’s family?
I placed the glass on the counter.
Then my phone rang.
I froze.
The number was unknown.
I answered cautiously.
“Hello?”
There was silence on the other end.
Then a man’s voice spoke.
“Stop looking into your parents’ death.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Tell me who you are.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
My heart was pounding.
Someone knew what I was doing.
Someone was watching me.
I barely slept.
The next morning, I arrived at Alexander Tower earlier than usual.
I wanted to appear calm.
I wanted Zack to believe I wasn’t afraid.
But the moment I entered his office, I knew something was wrong.
He was sitting behind his desk, staring at a file.
He didn’t look up.
“Close the door, Ariel.”
I did.
He finally raised his eyes.
“Sit.”
I sat across from him.
He pushed the file toward me.
I recognized it immediately.
My employment application.
My personal information.
My address.
My financial records.
Even the details I had never told him.
My stomach tightened.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because there are things missing.”
I looked at him.
“Missing?”
“You told me you needed this job because you had nowhere else to go.”
“That was true.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You needed access.”
My heart stopped.
I tried to keep my expression neutral.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Lying to me.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I gave you a chance to tell me the truth.”
I swallowed.
“I have nothing to hide.”
He opened another folder.
A photograph slid across the desk.
It was me.
Standing outside the building where my father’s old records had been stored.
My breath caught.
“When did you take this?”
“I didn’t.”
He watched my face carefully.
“My security team did.”
I stared at the photograph.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Long enough.”
Anger replaced my fear.
“You had no right.”
“I had every right.”
He stood and walked around the desk.
“You entered my company under false pretenses.”
“I didn’t lie about everything.”
“No.”
He stopped in front of me.
“You only lied about the part that matters.”
I looked up at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
“About what?”
“Why did you come to me?”
I said nothing.
His eyes hardened.
“Ariel.”
I looked away.
“My parents are dead.”
“I know.”
“I want answers.”
“That’s not the whole reason.”
I clenched my hands.
He crouched slightly so we were at eye level.
“You didn’t come here because you needed a job.”
“No.”
“You came because of your father.”
I finally looked at him.
“I was looking for answers.”
“Or information.”
I stared at him.
“You really don’t trust me.”
“No.”
The answer hurt more than I expected.
I picked up my bag.
“Then you shouldn’t have hired me.”
I turned toward the door.
His voice stopped me.
“Ariel.”
I didn’t turn around.
“If you walk out now, you won’t be safe.”
I finally looked back.
“Are you threatening me?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I’m telling you that someone is using you to get to me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then find out.”
“I am trying.”
I shook my head.
“I can’t keep living like this.”
“You don’t have to.”
His eyes met mine.
“You can leave.”
I froze.
“You’re firing me?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I’m giving you a choice.”
He stepped aside.
“You can walk away from all of this.”
I looked at him.
“And if I stay?”
His gaze darkened.
“Then you follow my rules.”
“What rules?”
“No more secrets.”
I swallowed.
“And you?”
“No more lies.”
I almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I expect you to decide.”
I stood there for several seconds.
Then I remembered my father’s photograph.
His warning.
The message on my phone.
The person watching me.
I couldn’t walk away.
Not yet.
“I’ll stay.”
Zack nodded.
“Then tell me everything.”
I took a breath.
“I didn’t come here for a job.”
“I know.”
“I came because I believed your family had something to do with my parents’ deaths.”
His face became still.
“I wanted to find out if you were responsible.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Zack asked quietly,
“Do you still think I killed them?”
I looked into his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
He nodded slowly.
“Good.”
I frowned.
“Why is that good?”
“Because now we’re finally being honest.”
He walked toward the window.
Then he said something that made my heart stop.
“I didn’t kill your parents, Ariel.”
He turned toward me.
“But I know who did.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD