Chapter Forty Nine

Emily's big reveal was postponed for a moment by Damian's words.

"Emily, there is something you need to know about my family before you tell me why you wanted to see me."

Emily faced him.

"What is that?" She asked.

Damian kept his eyes fixed on the road.

"My dad wasn't who I believed he was," he stated.

Emily scowled and said, "What do you mean by that?" 

For a few seconds, Damian remained silent.

"For years, I was convinced I knew everything about my family," he said. "I was mistaken."

She carefully watched him.

"Is Thomas Reed involved in this?" " Emily questioned.

He gave her a look and asked, "Do you recall that name?" 

"You previously told me about him," Emily stated.

"Okay, I remember telling you," Damian responded. “And I should have given you additional information.”

Emily's heart tightened. "Why didn't you?" She asked.

Damian said, "Because I didn't know what was real." "And I didn't want to get you involved in something I hadn't figured out myself."

Emily looked out the window. The city passed quietly outside.

"What has changed?" She asked.

Damian held a stronger grip on the steering wheel.

Someone I know advised me to come clean.

“Who was that?” She asked. But Damian deliberately refused to answer the question. He continued with, “I remember inquiring about Thomas from my father. He claimed it was a matter of business.”

"And did you trust him?" Emily asked.

Damian said, "I was younger." "I had every reason to do so."

A peculiar heaviness descended upon Emily. She had purposely stayed away from the investigation even though she had tried for weeks to figure out what was going on at Carter Holdings.

Damian was currently rekindling the discussion about the past.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Emily asked.

“Because I discovered something lately,” Damian said.

As soon as he said that, Emily gazed hard at him.

"What have you discovered?" She asked.

Damian did not respond immediately.

Instead, he drove into a quiet parking spot that looked out over the city.

He switched off the engine and came to a halt.

Emily stayed put.

Damian finally faced her.

"I discovered a paper among my father's outdated items," he stated.

"What sort of document?" Emily questioned.

"A log of the transactions." He answered.

"With Thomas Reed?" Damian nodded and said, "Yes."

Emily's heart started racing.

"What was the content?"

Damian stuck his hand into the inner pocket of his jacket. He took out a folded sheet of paper.

"I haven't shown this to anybody," he said.

She gazed at it intently. “Not even Olivia,” he said.

He stretched out his hands and gave it to Emily but she paused before taking it.

The paper was old and the ink had faded in certain spots.

She gently opened it.

Her gaze passed across the page.

She paused at a point.

"What is it?" Damian asked but Emily did not respond.

She kept her gaze fixed on a single line.

There were a number of names listed underneath the date.

Thomas Reed, Mr Knight, and she recognized another name immediately.

She began to breathe differently.

Emily whispered, "Damian."

"What?" He asked.

She gave him a glance.

"Why does my father's name appear here?"

Damian's expression shifted.

For a few seconds, there was no conversation between the two of them.

Once again, Emily gazed at the document.

Years had passed since her father's passing. Her parents, she knew, had never been involved with Damian's family.

However, the week Damian's father passed away, his name appeared on an old recording.

Damian took the paper from her.

"I wasn't aware your father had anything to do with this," he stated.

Emily shook her head and said "He wasn't."

"How can you know?" Damian asked.

"Because my parents never said a word about your family to me," Emily responded. "And they couldn't have been aware of what happened to your parents."

Damian examined the paper and said "I'm aware."

The quietness in the car got uncomfortable.

Slowly, Emily's hand went to her stomach.

She had come here with the intention of telling Damian that she was pregnant.

But right now, she was at a loss for words.

So she thought not yet. Because there was a little too much happening.

"I must know why your father's name is listed here," he said as he folded the paper containing the report.

Emily was still reluctant to announce that she was pregnant. Perhaps not tonight, she thought.

But before either of them could speak further, Damian's phone started to ring.

He looked at the screen.

His face immediately changed.

"Who is it?" Emily asked but she didn't get any response from Damian.

He simply looked at the name and finally answered the call.

"Hello?" He said, as the color left his face.

The voice at the other end said something inaudible and Damian gradually lowered the phone.

He cast his gaze at her.

"It is about my dad," he explained.

"What happened?" Asked Emily.

Damian took a gulp and said,

"Something else has been discovered.”