LOGINThat last text message made her quiver. How are they able to know her every move? “What is your relationship with this Elena?” Emily asked with the quiver still in her voice. “I don't know her like that. I only know her brother, Mr Thomas, who was my father's head of security.” He said. “If you don't know her like that, how are you sure they are related?” Emily asked.
“I have seen both of them together in multiple family pictures. My Dad told me that she is his sister.” Ryan said as he looked at the picture. Sophia grabbed Emily's phone from her and told her to forget about the message and the pictures for a while. Immediately, a message came in. “Your Dad kept something for you.”
For the first time since the message started coming in, she decided to reply to it. She has had enough of the suspense. “What did my Dad leave for me?” That was the message that she sent to the sender but there was no response.
“We are going to uncover what your father left in that house.”
Emily thought long and hard about her childhood. “If I were my father, where would I leave something sensitive for my daughter?” There it is. She quickly remembered her father's study.
Her father had always kept his study locked. That is where he kept all the sensitive materials away from everyone. She also vaguely recalled that there is a specific drawer he never allowed her to open.
She turned and looked at Ryan,”Do you know anything about this?” Ryan swore he didn't. “Tell me the truth, Ryan. I thought you were coming clean.” She urged him.
“Whoever made you believe that the house had been destroyed all these years must have searched the study and removed whatever your Dad left for you.” Ryan said with exhaustion.
“There have been a lot of lies and secrets. I have been lied to and deceived all my life by those that were supposed to have my back.”
Just as Emiiy was reflecting soberly, someone from the security team ran into the room panting heavily.
“We have to go now,” he said. “We got another security alert and we have been asked to clear this floor.”
Another one of the security personnel arrived and was speaking to someone loudly on the phone. “There has been another breach into the security system of the hospital.” “No patient will be left unattended to, they will all be moved to a secure area of the hospital.” Emiiy decided to call Damian to let him know the latest update. “Hello Emily” Damian said as he answered his call immediately it rang. “They are clearing the whole floor, so we are leaving.”
“What is going to happen to Ryan, he is still hurting.” He asked surprisingly. “Ryan will be moved to a more secure floor, where he will receive adequate care.”
Emily did not want to leave Ryan alone so she hesitated for a moment.
“Just as she turned, Ryan reached for her hand and held her. “I need to tell you one last thing.” Ryan said. “What is it this time? Do you suddenly miss me? What about your lover Vanessa? Has she abandoned you?” Emiiy said those words because she didn't want Ryan to know that there is still a part of her that feels sorry for him. “It is not about you.” He said. “Do you know that my father received a box after your Mom And Dad died? Ryan said in a low tone. Emily was not so surprised. Everything that has happened just opened up her eyes to the harsh realities of this world. “What is inside the box?” She asked, staring at him. “It is a key. I don't know what key it is but it seems she gave it to my mother.”
“Why did you withhold this information from me?” She said as she jerked her hand from his.
Sophia's cellphone was buzzing, apparently, someone had been calling her but she didn't realize because there was too much going on around her. Her countenance changed immediately she picked up the phone. She felt something strange, even though the caller said no word. Sophia waited for 5 more seconds and hung up.
“It is time to go,” said a member of the security team. “We will take you somewhere safe.” Emiiy hesitated to leave with them as Sophia glared at her.
“People have been going in and out of the house I once called my home and you expect me to cower away.” She said as she stared at the picture one more time.
Things have started unfolding one by one as Thomas and Elena Reed have now entered the picture. “I have to go there to uncover why my Mother and Father were killed.”
Sophia and Emily walked out of the room as nurses moved Ryan to a more secure place.
___
After two hours, Emiiy and Sophia sat inside the car which was not parked directly opposite her old house. She had not seen that place since her parents died. After the death of her parents, Emiiy went to live with a relative. This is the first time in a long time that she saw her house and it brought back memories.
Emiiy and Sophia were accompanied by two security cars and they were waiting behind.
Nothing has changed about that house as it was just like she knew it.
But it was clear that there is someone inside the house, not just anywhere but in her father's study. Because she could see a light burning in a place that had been out of power since the death of her parents.
Emiiy was about to open the car door when her cellphone beeped. A text message has been sent to her.
“Don't go inside that house, someone knows you are coming.”
Ryan asked Emily to conceal the truth when it had barely come to light.She saw him standing by the elevator with his coat buttoned and his expression purposefully blank as she exited Sophia's office. Seeing him rekindled the all-too-common need to resolve issues before an argument could even begin. Emily gave in to that impulse.Ryan murmured, "Emily." "We need to talk, it is about our marriage."Emily said, "There's nothing more I can say regarding our marriage.""Then just listen. Please," he said.Sophia came out and stood close to her and said, "If this is about the divorce, Ryan, you can talk to me.""It is Emily I want to talk to," Ryan said, his gaze locked on her. "I need her to postpone the proceedings.""Are you asking me to put off the divorce?" Emily asked as she stared at him.Ryan said, "Only until the merger is finished in a few weeks."Searching for the justification for the request, she scrutinized his features. She had discovered that Ryan's pain wasn't always a sig
Ryan Carter had based his existence on the idea that losing control was a tragedy, but losing money was a hardship.Both were slipping through his fingers that morning.Ryan's financial director was across the office desk, holding a report he'd been putting off for weeks. The statistics were ruthless. His only remaining chance was the merger that was supposed to save Carter Holdings after reckless investments had depleted the company's funds and creditors were demanding repayment.The director said that "the merger committee may retreat if they understand how serious our position is."Ryan loosened his tie. "They will not hear it from us," he said."They have already requested updated financial information. And there's another issue. Legal benefits tied to your marriage are part of the arrangement. If your divorce becomes public before the merger closes, those benefits might vanish," the financial director said.Ryan looked at him for a while.Emily had applied for a divorce after fin
Everyone had been fooled by Ryan Carter's smile that covered the fact that his empire was falling apart—except the guys who wanted their money back.By nine o'clock that morning, two investors had threatened legal action, three creditors had already called and his chief financial officer had placed a folder on his desk that was so thick that it could bury the last of his confidence. Ryan hardly gave it a look."How much longer can we keep them away?" Ryan asked his financial officer."Not long enough," his financial officer replied. "Our reserves have been depleted by the investments you authorized. We won't have the liquidity to fulfill our commitments if the merger fails," he added.Through the glass wall, Ryan stared at the city below. He had thought for years that money could solve any issue as long as he moved quickly enough. All of his secretly made choices were now having an impact.“The merger will proceed,” he said."And the divorce?" asked the financial officer carefully. "T
The living room was quiet after Sophia's phone call, so quiet that not even the ticking wall clock could break it.Emily sat still, staring at the instructions on the table. Her parents' residence had no guard because someone had made arrangements for it. Someone else had made sure that any effort to get in touch with the police would be reported.And before her parents could divulge what they had found, they passed away."Is the investigator able to find the other signature?" Emily asked.Sophia put her phone down and said, "Not yet. He claims the paper is being authenticated, but Ryan's father is already connected to the removal of the guards in the first authorization. In the records that go along with it, Victor's approval is evident."As he stood by the window, Damian's expression became more stern. "Then we have enough to demand Victor's answers. There's no need to spend another week chasing papers while he controls the narrative," he said."What if he refutes everything?" Emily
Even after Emily had read that sentence three times, it remained just as terrifying.Make sure there are no guards at the Carter residence by midnight.When that command was written, her parents were still alive. Beneath the order was Margaret Carter's signature, and someone had made sure they wouldn't be protected."Tell me they've checked it," Emily requested.Sophia's voice remained cautious. “They have validated the signature, but they are still looking into the document's origin. We are unable to ascertain whether Margaret was aware of your parents' impending deaths,” she said.Emily put her hand on the side of the table. The quietness felt unbearably heavy, and the flat seemed too warm all of a sudden. Margaret took her in after the first guardian because incapable of taking care of her, managed her fortune, and decided what she should learn about her family.Emily had years of protection from someone who could have aided in destroying if the document was real."Could you give m
Even long after the boardroom door had closed, Victor's parting remarks remained with Damian.Your father wasn't the only one who signed someone's future away.Damian remained motionless in the hall, considering the threat. For a long time, Victor had used his brother's notoriety to protect his own position. His confidence began to crack as the board questioned the statement's authenticity.The appearance in Victor's eyes, however, was not that of a defeated guy.It had been the gaze of a guy getting ready to destroy the evidence before it could destroy him.Emily noticed the change in Damian's expression. She had witnessed his anger, withdrawal, and great uncertainty regarding their connection. This was different. He appeared to be a guy who had eventually understood the extent to which his uncle would go.Damian's eyes remained on the closed doors, even as she stretched for his hand.She paused for a second, wondering if he had perceived something in Victor's caution that he was not







