Chapter 6

The words beneath the photograph refused to leave my mind, he was there when he died. My father's handwriting, my father's photograph and warning, and standing beside him was Marcus Holloway.

"Who is he?"

Soren took the photograph from my hand, but instead of answering immediately, he stared at it. His thumb moving slowly across the edge. "Marcus worked with our fathers."

I waited, his eyes never left the photograph. Something had changed, his shoulders looked heavier, his expression had lost that familiar calmness. Frustration settled heavily inside me, another answer, another secret. I looked back at the picture, "he interviewed me after my father's death." His head lifted immediately, "what?"

I folded my arms against my chest, "he came to our house after the funeral." For the first time, his expression cracked, he looked genuinely surprised. "What did he want?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, the memory returned slowly. Relatives filled the house, my mother sat in the living room surrounded by people I couldn't remember, and I had hidden inside my father's study as Marcus had found me there. "He asked if my father had left anything behind."

Silence filled the room, as I opened my eyes Soren wasn't looking at me anymore. His fingers tightened around the photograph, "you knew that." His jaw shifted.

"No."

The answer came quickly, I didn't believe him, not after everything I'd discovered. I bent over the box again. Documents covered the desk. Bank statements, contracts, financial reports. I opened the first and second file, nothing. The third made me stop. A small symbol sat in the corner of the page, a triangle.

My fingers froze, I'd seen it before. The key, the black key. I quickly reached for another document, the same symbol. Then another and again. My heartbeat became uneven.The triangle, the key and the hidden room. My father hadn't left random clues, he'd  been leading me somewhere.

"Soren."

He stepped beside me, "what?" I pointed at the page. "This symbol."  His eyes dropped to the document, his entire body became still. He knew exactly what I was looking at, "you've seen it before."

He didn't answer, but he didn't deny it either as I reached for another file. Transfers, payments and financial statements. My eyes moved from one page to another, then I noticed the date, June 14. I grabbed another document.The same date, then another,  June 14. My pulse began racing ,everything led back to that night. 

"Why does every document led back to June fourteenth?"

Soren reached over and closed the file, "we're leaving."

"No, I said.

I pushed the file away from him, frustration burning through me, I was tired. Tired of half-truths and warnings, and tired of hearing the same answer every time I got close to something important. I reached deeper into the box, my fingers brushed against an envelope, I pulled it out. His hand moved immediately, "don't." I ignored him, the paper inside was old.

I unfolded it seeing an address, my breath caught.  Iknew that address, I read it again, my father's second office. I hadn't thought about that place in years.

I looked up, Soren's face had already changed, he knew, "you've been there." His eyes held mine. For a second, I saw something I'd never seen before, fear. Not for himself but for me. He looked away first, that was all the answer I needed.

 I folded the paper, "we're going." His answer came immediately.

"No."

I almost laughed, "you don't get to decide that anymore." His eyes locked onto mine, "you don't understand." My fingers tightened around the paper, "then explain it." His chest rose slowly, his hand moving across his face, he looked exhausted.

For the first time since I'd met him, he didn't look like the powerful CEO who always had an answer, he looked like a man carrying something he could no longer hold alone. For one second, I thought he finally would tell me everything. His phone rang, he answered immediately. I watched his face, the color disappeared as my stomach hardened.

"What happened?"

He lowered the phone, "we need to leave." Fear slowly spreading through me,"why?"  He didn't answer. Instead, he looked toward the doorway, I followed his gaze as I heard footsteps. I stopped breathing, someone was inside the house. The footsteps moved across the study. Slow and careful. My fingers tightened around the document. Soren stepped in front of me, his arm moved slightly, blocking me without touching me.

The hidden room suddenly felt smaller, then another step and closer. My heartbeat pounded so hard it hurt. The bookshelf shifted, only an inch but it was enough. A narrow line of light cut through the darkness, whoever was outside didn't hesitate, that frightened me even more, then a voice broke the silence.

"Nyla."

Every muscle in my body locked, my breath caughting in my throat. I knew that voice and that was impossible. The bookshelf shifted again, light spilled into the hidden room. I stepped forward before Soren could stop me.

"Mara?"

She stood in the doorway, her eyes moving from me to Soren and then around the room.  Not with surprise, recognition. A chill ran through me she wasn't discovering this place, she already knew it existed. For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Then Soren moved slightly, placing himself between us.  "What are you doing here?"

Mara crossed her arms, "I could ask you the same question." I looked from one of them to the other, "you know each other."

Silence spread through the room, my frustration returned immediately. "Can someone explain what's happening?" Mara ignored me, her attention remained fixed on Soren,  "you shouldn't have  brought her here." The words settled heavily in my chest, I looked at Soren, "you knew she would come?"

"No,” he said.

His answer came quickly, too quickly. Mara let out a quiet laugh. It wasn't warm, wasn't  friendly. It sounded  almost disappointed, "you've never been good at lying." I tightened my grip around the documents, the hidden room suddenly felt smaller. 

My eyes moved toward the box. Mara noticed immediately, her expression changed. "Give me the documents."

"No, I can't," I said hurrily.

The answer escaped before I could think, her eyes narrowed, "Nyla." I shook my head. "No." I took a step backward, the flash drive remained in my pocket. The documents were still in my hand. And suddenly, everything became clear. she wasn't here because of me, she was here because of the evidence. Soren seemed to realize it at the same moment. "Move behind me." I didn't argue, that alone told me how serious this was. Mara took another step, "you're making a mistake."

I swallowed, "no I think I've been making the same mistake since the day I walked into Calder Developments."I looked at Soren, then back at her. "You were in the archives."

Her gaze met mine, "you don't know what you're talking about." But I remembered, the questions, the strange looks. The way she'd reached for the files, the way she'd asked if I'd found anything.  My pulse quickened. "You followed me."

No one talked and silence had become its own answer. "Why?" Her eyes moved toward the photograph on the table, "because your father should have destroyed those files eight years ago."

The room went completely quiet. My father, she knew, she had always known. I looked at Soren, his face had become unreadable, "Mara!."

His voice was controlled, low and a warning, "Don't do this."

For the first time, something changed in her expression, regret. It disappeared almost immediately. "It was never supposed to happen like this."

My heartbeat became uneven, "what wasn't supposed to happen?" She looked directly at me. "Your father finding the money."

The missing payments, the shell companies and the stolen funds. He had discovered everything and someone had wanted to stop him. I stepped backward, my shoulder brushing against the shelf. My foot struck something solid, I looked down. A small metal box hidden beneath the cabinet. I bent down and picked it up, Mara's face lost all color.

"No!"

Her reaction frightened me, I looked at the box, then back at her. Whatever was inside mattered. My fingers moved toward the lock, Soren stepped closer, "Nyla, don't." I ignored him.

My hands shook as I opened it. Inside was a single envelope written across the front were five words. Evidence against Marcus Holloway, open only if I'm dead. I stopped breathing. Slowly, I opened the envelope.

Photographs, bank statements, contracts, and one final document. My eyes moved across the first line, the blood drained from my face, "no."

Soren stepped closer, "what is it?" I couldn't answer. I simply handed him the paper, he read it. And for the first time since I'd met him, I saw genuine shock on his face. My fingers curled into my palms. Because the document wasn't accusing Morgan Holloway, it was accusing someone else. Someone I knew, someone I trusted.

And at the bottom of the page, beside a signature written in my father's handwriting, were four words that made my heart stop, "check your mother first.”