Daniel sat alone on the edge of the old stone steps while the last wedding guests disappeared down the road.
The lights still glowed above him.
A half-empty glass of champagne stood on a table nearby.
He ignored it.
Mara came outside carrying the ledger.
She sat beside him without speaking.
For several minutes, neither moved.
Finally she said, “Do you want me to leave?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Yes.”
She placed the ledger between them.
“I found something.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Where?”
“In the study.”
“What?”
She opened the ledger.
“The pages were sewn together.”
Daniel frowned.
“Which pages?”
“The ones before your father's signature.”
She showed him the binding.
One section was thicker than the others.
Daniel touched it.
“You think there's something hidden inside.”
“I know there is.”
He looked at her.
“How?”
“Because your father made the same mistake twice.”
Daniel almost smiled despite himself.
“What mistake?”
“He thought nobody would examine the stitching.”
They returned to the study.
Mara used a small knife from the desk drawer to separate the binding.
A narrow strip of paper slid out.
Daniel caught it.
There were only a few lines.
Arthur Vale was not the man who ordered Victor's death.
Daniel read farther.
He was paid to make sure the truth remained buried.
The person who ordered it was someone Victor trusted.
Daniel looked at Mara.
“Someone he trusted.”
She nodded.
The final line was partly torn.
But one word remained.
Elena.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Mara touched his shoulder.
“Don't assume the worst.”
“What else can I assume?”
“That your mother was involved somehow.”
“She was.”
“That's different from being the person who ordered it.”
Daniel looked at the torn page.
“I need the missing half.”
A knock came from the doorway.
Samuel entered.
“I found something outside.”
He held a small metal case.
Daniel stood.
“What is it?”
“It was inside Arthur's car.”
“Where is Arthur?”
“Gone.”
Samuel opened the case.
Inside was a key and a handwritten address.
Daniel read it.
An abandoned railway station.
Mara looked at him.
“Why would Arthur keep this?”
Samuel answered.
“Because he was afraid.”
Daniel took the key.
“Of whom?”
Samuel looked toward Elena.
She had entered behind them.
“Ask her.”
Daniel turned.
Elena looked exhausted.
“I know the place.”
“Why?”
“Because your father took me there.”
“When?”
“After Victor died.”
Daniel's voice became hard.
“What happened?”
Elena sat down.
“Your father told me that if I wanted you to live without becoming a target, I had to disappear.”
“So you left?”
“No.”
“What did you do?”
“I stayed.”
“Where?”
“With Peter.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“You and your brother hid together?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't Dad come?”
“He did.”
Daniel froze.
“When?”
“Three days before he died.”
The room went still.
“My father visited you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To give me the ledger.”
Daniel looked at the book.
“You already had it.”
“No.”
“Then where did it come from?”
Elena looked at the floor.
“Your father stole it from Arthur.”
Samuel stepped forward.
“Why?”
“To expose him.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Then why did Dad die?”
Elena's voice became almost inaudible.
“He was planning to turn himself in.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“He wanted to confess to the financial crimes and tell the police what he knew about Victor.”
“Then why didn't he?”
“Because Arthur threatened to kill you.”
Daniel felt the room tilt.
“What did Arthur threaten?”
“Not just you.”
Elena looked at Mara.
“Everyone connected to you.”
Mara understood.
“My family.”
“Yes.”
Daniel walked to the window.
“So Dad took the blame.”
Elena nodded.
“He signed documents that made him look responsible for everything.”
“Why?”
“To buy time.”
Daniel looked at the ledger.
“And the payments?”
“Protection.”
“From Arthur?”
“Yes.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Then why was my father's ring in the photograph?”
Elena looked at him.
“Because Peter gave it to him.”
“Why?”
“To make someone else believe Peter had been at the scene.”
Samuel understood.
“Your father was covering for Peter.”
Elena nodded.
“But why?”
“Because Peter was the only person who could move the ledger safely.”
Daniel looked at Mara.
“And Victor?”
Elena's face tightened.
“Peter confronted Victor.”
“Did he kill him?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Elena did not answer.
Mara suddenly looked at the old photograph.
“Wait.”
She picked it up.
“Peter isn't wearing the ring.”
Daniel nodded.
“Right.”
“But your father is.”
She turned the photograph over.
“There are two shadows behind them.”
Daniel leaned closer.
One shadow belonged to Arthur.
The other was partially hidden.
Mara traced the edge.
“This isn't Peter.”
Samuel looked.
“You're right.”
Daniel stared.
The figure was wearing the serpent ring.
The photograph had been taken from behind a curtain.
Only the hand was visible.
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Who else was there?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Mara pointed to the sleeve.
“This fabric.”
Daniel frowned.
“What about it?”
“It matches the suit your father wore at your graduation.”
Daniel stared.
“That doesn't prove anything.”
“No.”
Mara looked at him.
“But it means the photograph may have been taken later than the date written on the back.”
Samuel turned the picture over.
“The date could have been changed.”
Daniel's heart beat faster.
Arthur had shown them the photograph.
He wanted them to believe his story.
Which meant someone had been manipulating the evidence for years.
Daniel looked at the address.
“We go to the station.”
Elena stood.
“I'll come.”
“No.”
“You need me.”
“I don't know that anymore.”
Elena flinched.
Mara looked at Daniel.
“Let her come.”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
They drove through the dark countryside.
The old railway station had been abandoned for decades.
Broken windows reflected the moon.
Inside, weeds pushed through cracks in the floor.
Samuel found a locked room at the end of the platform.
Daniel used the key.
The door opened.
There was a table.
A chair.
A rusted filing cabinet.
And a wooden box.
Daniel opened it.
Inside were letters.
Dozens of them.
All addressed to him.
None had been sent.
He picked up the first.
The handwriting was his father's.
Daniel, if you ever discover what happened, remember that I chose you long before I knew the truth.
His hands shook.
Mara stood beside him.
Another letter explained why Daniel's father had raised him.
Another described Victor's threats.
Another named Arthur.
Then Daniel found the final letter.
It was dated one day before his father's death.
I know who ordered Victor's death.
Daniel stopped.
The next line was torn.
He looked through the box.
Nothing.
Then Mara noticed the bottom.
A false panel.
She lifted it.
Underneath was a single sheet.
Daniel took it.
The first sentence was intact.
Victor was killed because he discovered that Elena had secretly kept the original evidence.
The second sentence was partially burned.
Daniel read what remained.
She was supposed to destroy it.
She didn't.
Then one final line.
And the person who came to take it from her was—
The rest was gone.
Daniel lowered the page.
Mara whispered, “Someone removed the name.”
Samuel looked toward the station entrance.
“We're not alone.”
Footsteps sounded outside.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone entered the abandoned station.
Daniel turned.
Arthur Vale stood beneath the broken archway.
He looked exhausted.
But he was smiling.
“You found the letters.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You knew they were here.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you destroy them?”
Arthur's smile disappeared.
“Because I wanted your father to have the last word.”
Daniel held up the torn page.
“Who ordered Victor's death?”
Arthur looked at Elena.
Then at Daniel.
“Your mother.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Daniel shook his head.
“You're lying.”
Arthur reached into his coat.
He removed a second photograph.
This one showed Elena holding a gun.
Victor stood in front of her.
The image appeared to show the exact moment before his death.
Mara stared at it.
Daniel looked at his mother.
Elena whispered:
“The photograph is real.”
Daniel's heart dropped.
“But it doesn't show what happened next.”
Arthur smiled.
“And now you know why the missing page matters.”
He stepped backward.
“Because the person who ordered the killing wasn't the person holding the gun.”
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Then who pulled the trigger?”
Arthur's eyes moved toward Mara.
“Ask the woman you were supposed to marry.”
Mara went completely still.
Click Here to continue read next: PART7: Mara Is Forced to Face a Family Secret She Never Knew Existed, While Daniel Discovers Why His Father Chose Silence Instead of Revenge
On the Wedding Steps, a Groom Notices His Mother Holding His Hand Too Tightly, as Though She Already Knows the Ceremony Cannot Continue
Part 6 of 16
