Chapter Seventy Five

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 said as she observed Damian.

"Then, he can deny it in front of the people who have witnessed the evidence," replied Damian.

As Sophia gathered the documents, she said "I'll ensure the investigator retains the original. Emily, however, we must proceed with caution. That second signature might alter the whole picture."

Even as weariness lingered behind her eyes, Emily nodded. Letting other people's secrets control the direction of her life had gone on for too long.

"I'm sick of waiting for someone else to determine when I'm entitled to the truth." "I want Victor to face me if he has any replies," she said.

Damian averted his eyes from the window. "You won't confront him by yourself," he said.

"Damian, I need you next to me. Don't be in front of me, and don't make decisions because you believe I'm too delicate to handle them," she said as their gaze met.

He nodded after a brief moment of tightening his jaw and said, "After you.”

That simple guarantee sparked something in her that she had been fighting hard to preserve. She desired to believe in him. Without wondering when his fear would cause him to retreat, she wanted to gravitate toward the warmth he provided.

However, trusting something and wanting it were very different.

Sophia's phone rang once more. She paused to listen for a few seconds before standing up.

"The investigator has found the contractor who was given the orders," Sophia said. "He has agreed to make a formal statement tomorrow. He says that he is aware of the identity of the person who gave the second authorization," she added.

Emily rose from the chair. "Then we'll hear what he says tomorrow," she said.

"And after that, what's next?" Damian asked.

"I will no longer allow Victor's secrets to determine my future after that," she replied.

Her voice was more like someone reclaiming their life and less like a wounded woman asking for answers for the first time that night.

___

Sophia left to speak with the investigator an hour later, promising to return with an update when she gets back.

Emily and Damian were left by themselves.

Emily got up and wanted to go to the bedroom, Damian offered to accompany her but she refused and proceeded down the corridor alone. He didn't move until she stopped and turned to look at him.

"There's no need to continue demonstrating your ability to safeguard me," Emily murmured.

Damian responded, "I know." "I'm attempting to figure out how to remain when there is nothing I can do."

Her throat tightened.

"What about the baby?" Emily asked.

His countenance altered, and the doubt that neither of them had been able to cast aside overshadowed the tenderness in his eyes.

"I think about the baby every day," Damian admitted. "Sometimes, I'm scared of what I don't know, and then I'm much more scared that my uncertainty will cost me the two of you."

Emily gulped. "I cannot continue to pay for a fear that I did not cause," she said.

"I'm not asking you to forget what I said or to act as if it didn't hurt. I'm asking for a chance to become someone you can trust once more," he said.

She spent a long time observing him. He seemed practically helpless once the discussion turned to the family he may lose, even though the guy in front of her was powerful enough to confront an entire board.

"I can't guarantee that everything is OK," Emily said. "However, I continue to care for you."

Slowly, Damian breathed. "That is more than I deserve."

"Then don't take it for granted."

He wanted to grab her hand but stopped just before touching it. Emily closed the gap on her own and let her fingers wrap around his.

It wasn't about forgiveness. It was not a solution.

Neither of them could afford to take the new beginning for granted.

___

Before Sophia got back that night, Emily had already gone to bed. She left very early the next morning before she woke up.

Emily arrived at Sophia's workplace the following morning determined to hear what the contractor had to say. A pressing meeting with Knight Global's board had kept Damian from going with her, even though he had offered.

Emily didn't interpret his absence as desertion for the first time. A lawyer was prepared to stand alongside her, and she had her own voice and her own choices.

Sophia placed a sealed envelope on the desk.

Sophia claimed that the second authorization's delivery person had been recognized by the contractor. "And he's agreed to testify.

Emily's heart raced. "Who was that?"

Sophia removed a signed statement from the envelope after opening it.

Emily's phone illuminated with a message from Damian before she could answer.

Victor's forging of my father's declaration has been proven to the board. He's been summoned to answer for it.

Emily removed her eyes from the message to Sophia.

"Then maybe this concludes quicker than we had expected," she said.

Sophia's expression remained stern. “Corporate fraud may. However, your parents' deaths are another matter. We require the contractor's testimony to determine who knew what that night,” she said.

Emily gave the statement a quick glance, her hands trembling somehow.

Finally, she was close to the truth. But she wasn't going to let the investigation take up her whole life any longer.

She would confront whatever the paper revealed, reclaim her inheritance, and decide what sort of future she desired for herself and her baby.