Chapter three
1256 Words
THE SIX WORDS AT THE BACK OF THE PHOTOGRAPH.
I stared at the photograph for what felt like an eternity.
My father's face was unmistakable.
His arm was around my shoulder, and I was smiling at the camera.
But the other man and his son were the problem.
I had never seen them before.
The man stood beside my father, with his arm around his son's shoulder.
There was something familiar about his face, but I couldn't place it.
I turned the photograph over again.
“Ask your father who Alex really is.”
My heart began beating faster.
“Ma'am?”
I looked up.
Clara was still standing near the door.
“Who gave you this?”
“Mr. Alex. He asked me to bring it to you.”
“Did he say anything else?”
She shook her head.
“No, ma'am.”
“Okay. You can go.”
She nodded and left.
The moment the door closed, I picked up my phone and called my father.
He didn't answer.
I called again.
Still nothing.
That made me even more suspicious.
My father always answered my calls during working hours unless he was in an important meeting.
I looked at the photograph again.
Who were the two people standing beside us?
Why had Alex given it to me?
And why did he want me to ask my father about him?
I decided to find Alex myself.
I walked out of my office and headed toward his new office.
Before I reached the door, I heard voices from inside.
Alex was making a phone call.
I stopped.
His voice sounded broken.
“He killed him.”
I froze.
There was silence from the other side.
“She is asking questions,” the voice said.
Alex sighed.
“I know.”
“You need to leave before she finds out.”
“It's too late for that.”
My heart raced.
I stepped closer to the door.
“Your job was simple. You were supposed to keep your distance,” the voice continued.
I couldn't hear the next few words.
Then Alex spoke again.
“I'll handle it.”
I stepped away from the door just as the door opened.
Alex appeared.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“Were you listening?”
“No.”
I pulled the photograph from my pocket and held it up.
“This.”
His eyes immediately went to the picture.
“Where did you get that?”
“You gave it to me.”
“I know.”
“Then explain it.”
He looked around the hallway.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“My office.”
I followed him inside.
He closed the door behind us.
I placed the photograph on his desk.
“Who is the man and his son? And who are you?”
Alex remained silent.
“Alex, I asked you a question.”
He finally looked at me.
“That photograph was taken twenty years ago.”
“So?”
“The man and his son were my father and me.”
I stared at him.
“How does this make sense, Alex?”
“There are things about this company and your father's wealth that you were never told.”
I shook my head.
“My father has never kept anything from me.”
Alex gave me a strange look.
“You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“Then ask him about a company called Dave Freight Empire.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“What about Dave Freight?”
“A company that disappeared twenty years ago.”
“And what does it have to do with my father?”
Alex didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
He looked at me carefully.
“Your father and my father were the founders of that company. My father was the major investor.”
I stepped backward.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“There's more.”
“What?”
“Someone died because of that company.”
The room suddenly felt cold.
“Who?”
Alex's eyes became watery.
I stared at him.
He seemed to be fighting back years of pain.
“Alex?”
He looked away.
“My father.”
I couldn't speak.
After a moment, I asked quietly, “Are you saying my father was responsible for your father's death?”
Alex looked directly at me.
“Your dad killed my father.”
The words hit me harder than I expected.
“No.”
Alex didn't respond.
“My father couldn't have done that.”
“You don't know what your father is capable of.”
His voice was filled with anger, but beneath the anger was a deeper pain.
“You're lying.”
“Why would I lie about something like this?”
“Because you hate my father.”
He looked away.
“You know what? Maybe you're right. I hate your father, and I have every reason to.”
I looked at the photograph again.
It showed two families standing together.
My father.
Alex's father.
And two children who had no idea what the future held.
“How do you know he killed him?”
Alex took a deep breath.
“Because I was there.”
My heart dropped.
“You were there?”
“I was young, but I remember that night.”
He looked away as though he was trying to control his emotions.
“My father trusted your father. He believed they were partners and friends.”
I listened carefully.
“But something happened between them. I don't know exactly what it was about. My father told me to stay in the car while he went to meet your father.”
“And then?”
“He never came back.”
My hand covered my mouth.
“What happened?”
“I heard shouting. Then everything went quiet.”
Alex paused.
“He killed him.”
Tears gathered in my eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
He looked at me.
“Sorry won't bring him back.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I didn't know.”
“That's the problem, Maya. You didn't know anything.”
“I spent my entire life believing my father was a good man.”
“He had given me everything.”
I looked at Alex.
“Why didn't you tell me everything that night?”
“Because I didn't know who you were at first.”
“But you knew I was your father's enemy's daughter?”
“I recognized your car.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The car belonged to your father. I had seen it before.”
“So you knew who I was?”
“Yes.”
“And you helped me?”
He remained silent.
“Alex?”
He finally looked at me.
“Because I couldn't leave you there.”
“You knew who I was, yet you still helped me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you are not your father. Whatever he did, it wasn't your fault.”
Those words touched me.
For the first time, I realized Alex didn't see me as my father's daughter.
He saw me as Maya.
I looked toward the window.
“Does my father know you're here?”
“Yes.”
I turned around.
“He knows?”
Alex nodded.
“Then why did he hire you?”
“Because he doesn't know my true identity."
A chill ran through me.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD