Chapter 6: Her Father’s Secret
488 Words
Maya stared at the photograph.
For several seconds, she couldn’t breathe.
“My father?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
She looked at him.
“Why would someone say that about my father?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“My father has been dead for eight years.”
Adrian’s expression tightened.
“I know.”
Maya’s eyes widened.
“How do you know that?”
Adrian was silent.
“Adrian.”
He looked away.
“I’ve been investigating your family.”
Her stomach dropped.
“You’ve been investigating me?”
“Not you. Your father.”
“That’s not better.”
“I had a reason.”
“What reason?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your father worked for my family.”
Maya frowned.
“What?”
“His name appeared in records connected to my father’s company.”
She shook her head.
“That’s impossible. My father was an accountant. He worked for several companies, but he never told me anything about your family.”
“Maybe he didn’t want you to know.”
Maya looked down at the photograph again.
Suddenly, the threat felt much more real.
“What happened between our families?”
Adrian’s expression became distant.
“Fifteen years ago, my father was accused of stealing millions from his own company.”
“And?”
“He disappeared before he could defend himself.”
Maya swallowed.
“Was he guilty?”
Adrian looked directly into her eyes.
“No.”
The certainty in his voice surprised her.
“Then who was responsible?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
“My father’s business partner.”
“And what happened to him?”
“He vanished.”
Maya’s fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Is that the man you found?”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Maya noticed something on the back of the photograph.
A small handwritten number.
17.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian took the photograph from her.
His face went pale.
“You need to leave.”
“What?”
“Now.”
“Adrian, what is seventeen?”
He looked at her.
“The room number where my father kept the evidence.”
Maya’s heart began pounding.
“And where is that room?”
Adrian’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Your father’s old office.”
Maya stared at him.
“But that building was demolished years ago.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward the dark windows.
“Only the building above ground was demolished.”
Maya felt a chill run through her.
“Then what’s underneath it?”
Adrian’s phone buzzed.
He checked the screen.
A message.
His expression hardened.
Maya watched him read it.
“What does it say?”
Adrian slowly turned the phone toward her.
There was only one sentence.
Bring Maya to Room 17 before midnight—or the truth dies with her.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD