Hidden Ties

Chapter five:

The message on my phone still haunted me.

Don’t mention her again. Watch your back.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Scarlett Vale was a name my father claimed not to know, but something in his eyes that morning had given him away.

He knew her. Or at least, he knew something about her.

And I was going to find out.

After Dad left for work, I walked quietly up the stairs, past the familiar pictures on the wall—family vacations, birthdays, even one with me and Liam when I was younger.

My heart pounded as I pushed open the attic door.

Dust flew everywhere. Old boxes, forgotten furniture, and timeworn memories waited in the shadows. I had never gone through Dad’s stuff before. But now, every closed box looked like a secret.

I pulled one down marked "Private – 1995".

Inside were photos, letters, and a few old notebooks.

I flipped through one of the books. Most of it looked like boring notes from his old job—he used to work for a tech company before he opened his small car shop. But tucked between the pages was a folded photo.

My breath caught.

It was Scarlett.

Younger, but still with that same cold beauty.

She stood beside my father.

And Liam.

All three of them were at a party. Champagne glasses in hand. Laughing.

What the hell?

I flipped the photo over. On the back, written in neat letters:

“Launch Night – S. Vale Tech, March 12, 1995”

Scarlett Vale had worked with my father? And Liam?

Why had no one ever told me this?

I kept digging and found a letter, yellowed and torn on the edges. It was addressed to my dad, from someone signed only as "S".

> "You made the right choice keeping her away from us. But secrets don’t stay buried forever, especially when love gets in the way. When she finds out the truth, she’ll hate us both. And if Liam ever remembers what we did to protect him, everything falls apart."

I read it twice.

Who was “her”?

What truth?

And what had they done to “protect” Liam

The attic felt colder suddenly. Like the ghosts in these boxes had woken up.

I snapped a picture of the photo and letter on my phone and sent them to Liam.

Me: You said Scarlett betrayed you. Then why is she in a photo with you and my dad? What happened in 1995?

His reply came seconds later.

Liam: Where did you find that?

Me: In our attic. There’s more. I think my dad lied to me.

Liam: I’m coming over. Don’t show anyone else what you found.

I closed the box quickly and hurried downstairs. As I reached the living room, I froze again.

My father stood in the hallway.

Watching me.

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked, trying to stay calm.

“Long enough,” he said. His face was blank, but his eyes… his eyes were full of fear. “You went through my things.”

“I had to. You lied, Dad. You know Scarlett Vale. You worked with her—and Liam. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He walked past me slowly and sat on the edge of the couch.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

“From a past that ruined everything it touched.”

I waited, arms crossed, heart pounding.

He sighed deeply.

“I met Scarlett when I was fresh out of college. She was brilliant, powerful, and dangerous. We built a company together. She wanted me, but I fell for someone else—your mother. She didn’t take it well.”

“So she went after Liam instead?” I asked.

He nodded. “He was young, foolish. Thought he could handle her. He was wrong.”

“What did she do?”

“She used him. She was always after control. When Liam found out what she really wanted, she tried to destroy everything we built.”

“And the letter?”

He paused. “There was a child involved.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

He stood slowly.

“Not yours,” he said quickly. “But someone Scarlett claimed was Liam’s. We never confirmed it. But she used that child as leverage. When Liam refused to marry her, she threatened to take down the company.”

“Why did you keep it from me?” I whispered.

“Because Liam asked me to. And because Scarlett never really left. She just waited.”

There was a knock on the door.

I opened it.

Liam.

He looked at me, then at my father.

“We need to talk,” he said.

My dad nodded. “Yes, we do.”

I stood between them, caught in a storm I didn’t know I was born into.

And just then, it hit me—

Maybe I wasn’t just the girl who had a crush on her father’s best friend.

Maybe I was the key to a secret none of them ever wanted to face.

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