Honeyed Lies

THE TRUTH HE LEFT BEHIND

Throughout Amelia's life, she had always believed that anger was easier than pain. Anger gave her something to hold onto. It made her feel strong. And for five years, she had carried all her anger towards her father like an armor. Every memory of him had been covered with the same thought she had spent years carving in her mind: He chose someone else over me. He moved on without me. He left me behind. She made herself believe all these things. But standing inside his study today, holding the secrets he had hidden until his last breath, Amelia felt that armor slowly cracking. Because she saw that the truth was becoming really hard to ignore. Her father never left her. Her father had not stopped fighting for her. He had not forgotten her. He had been trying to protect something. Maybe even trying to protect her. And now he was gone. The realization that she misunderstood him all along hurt more than she expected. She sat in the chair behind his desk, the same chair where he had spent countless nights working when she was a child. She remembered those nights. She remembered always sneaking into this room with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders because she couldn't sleep. Her father would pretend to be annoyed. "Amelia, it's past midnight. Why are you awake?"

And she would always give the same answer. "Because I missed you."

Back then, she never understood why he always looked so sad after hearing those words. Now she did. He had been trying to balance being a father and also carrying the weight of an entire empire. But all she could repay him with was leaving and spending all her years believing she was forgotten. A tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. "No," she whispered. She couldn't allow herself to break down. Not now. Not when someone had taken him away from her without notice. She stared at the envelope in her hands again. Her father's final message stared back at her. Trust no one until you know the whole truth. Those particular words made her feel uneasy, because the people she had always considered family were now the people she now questioned.

---

Amelia spent the next several hours going through every document in her father's study. The more she read them, the more confused she became. Her father's company, Hart Enterprises, wasn't as simple as she thought it was. There were unusual transactions, hidden accounts and so many companies she had never heard of. Money moving through different countries. At first, she tried to convince herself there was a reasonable explanation for all this. Her father was a businessman after all. Large companies had complicated finances, right?.... But deep down, something felt wrong. This didn't look like a normal business. This looked like someone trying to hide something. She leaned back in the chair, feeling so overwhelmed. "Who were you, Dad?" Her voice broke. "How much of you did I never know?"

A painful silence answered her.

---

That evening, Amelia decided to visit her father's old business partner, Daniel Brooks. According to the documents she had seen, he had worked closely with Alexander for almost twenty years. If anyone knew what was happening around here, it would be him. The Brooks residence was located in one of the most expensive areas of California. It was a sprawling estate with manicured hedges and a fountain. When Amelia arrived, Daniel met her at the door himself and welcomed her immediately. "Amelia." The older man looked genuinely saddened. "You look so much like your mother." The mention of her mother softened her expression for just a second. "Thank you for meeting me."

"Of course. Your father was my closest friend." The words made something twist inside her. Friend. Everyone kept telling her how loved her father was. How many people would miss him. Yet she was the one who had walked away. "I uhhm… need answers about something." Amelia said. Daniel's expression changed slightly. "About what?"

"My father's death." She continued. Silence filled the room just for a moment. Amelia noticed it. She noticed the hesitation and the fear. "What aren't you telling me Mr Daniel?"

Daniel looked away. "Amelia..."

"No." Her voice became firmer. "I spent five years believing my father didn't care about me. I lost five years with him because I was angry without knowing the truth. I finally have the chance to learn about the truth, and i will not lose that chance too."

Daniel sighed heavily. "Your father made alot of enemies."

"I just figured that out." she said.

"Not ordinary enemies, Amelia." Daniel continued

Amelia leaned forward. "Who?"

Daniel hesitated. Then he said one name. "Woods." The room seemed to grow colder. "The Woods?"

Daniel nodded. "They have been competing with your father's company for years now. But it wasn't just competition."

"What happened?"

Daniel looked toward the window. "Alexander discovered something about them."

"What did he discover?" She asked.

"I don't know." Daniel concluded.

Amelia frowned. "You don't know?"

"Yes, I don't know. I only know your father became different after that disvovery and more cautious. He became much more secretive. He started believing someone close to him was also involved."

Amelia's heart dropped. "Someone close to him?"

Daniel nodded slowly. "He trusted very few people after that."

A terrible thought entered Amelia's mind. Her father wasn't just fighting an enemy outside his family. He was also afraid of someone within his circle.

---

That night, Amelia returned to the Hart mansion with more questions than answers. She stood in front of her father's office door. Five years ago, she had walked out of this house because she thought she knew the truth. Now she realized she had known nothing. Her father had died carrying secrets. Secrets that could destroy powerful people. Secrets that someone had killed him just to hide. Her phone suddenly vibrated. Her heart jumped. Another unknown number. She opened the message. This time, there were only a few words.

You are looking for answers that killed your father. Stop before they kill you too.

Amelia stared at the screen. Fear crawled through her skin. She finally understood something after seeing this message. Whoever murdered Alexander Hart, her father, knew she was searching for answers. But instead of stepping back… Amelia tightened her grip on the phone. Her tears had dried. Her fear hardened into something stronger. Determination.

"They took you from me," she whispered. Her eyes hardened. "But they won't take the truth." She looked towards the dark window, towards the city where she knew her father's enemies were hiding.

"I swear, Dad… I swear I will find them. And I will make them regret the day they touched our family."

Amelia Hart wasn't running away anymore, rather, she was coming back to claim everything she had. She's coming home and she's coming for blood.