Chapter Sixty Seven

Emily pondered for one horrifying instant if the truth about her parents had been waiting all these years to destroy her.

"Is that me?" Emily questioned, her gaze fixed on Thomas. "Based on your document, Damian's father stated my name"

Thomas shook his head and said, "I mentioned that your name was in the statement. I haven't seen the original and I can't tell you what his father meant."

Closer to the table, Damian walked. Emily observed the tension in his jaw, but his expression had become unreadable.

"Is my dad really the author of this statement?" " asked Damian.

Thomas responded, "The copy I saw had his signature." "I cannot be certain that the paperwork was complete."

Emily looked from one guy to the other. Damian's father was deceased, her parents were also deceased, and those who may have shed light on the events had remained silent for years.

"What could his father have written about me?" Emily inquired.

Thomas replied and said, "Your parents were looking into Project Eclipse. They thought someone had used their financial records to conceal payments connected to Victor Knight's firms and Carter Holdings." Documents connected to your inheritance featured your name. "

"My inheritance?" Emily spoke once more.

Sophia opened the folder with the transactions they had collected. "We are aware that money passed via firms linked to Victor, but we have not established who authorized each transaction or who finally profited from them."

"Then why would my name come up in Damian's father's statement?" Emily asked.

"Because your parents may have discovered something connecting your inheritance to the financial scandal," Damian stated. "However, unless we see the source, we can't tell if the statement accused you or simply mentioned you."

He was someone Emily wanted to have faith in. She also desired for him to glance at her without the uncertainty that had overshadowed their relationship ever since she informed him about the child.

He appeared to get what she was thinking.

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Emily," Damian stated.

"I didn't have to wonder whether you were thinking it," Emily answered. "You didn't have to say it."

Damian quickly glanced away. His own fear of finding another betrayal prevented him from wanting to comfort her.

He remarked, "I want the truth."

"So do I," Emily answered. "However, I cannot continue to demonstrate that I am not accountable for the secrets of others."

He was hit harder by her words than she intended. He was so preoccupied with avoiding making another terrible error that he didn't realize how much his doubts were hurting her.

"I'm aware," Damian murmured.

Emily was unsure if he genuinely comprehended or if he was simply attempting to finish the discussion.

Thomas cleared his throat.

According to Thomas, "The storage facility is our best hope of finding the ledger and the original statement." "He might already know if Victor still has them that someone is looking."

"You previously informed me that you had saved a copy. Why didn't you mention it sooner?"

"I was scared," admitted Thomas. "I thought that by remaining hidden, I could at least stop Emily from being the next victim, having already lost the people I was supposed to safeguard."

Although Emily could feel wrath rising, there was something else more painful beneath it: the realization that fear had influenced so many of her life's decisions.

"You made that decision for me," said Emily. "You left me without answers."

Thomas accepted the accusation without offering a defense.

"You're right," Thomas replied. "I'm unable to undo that."

Emily didn't request another explanation for the first time. She had realized that remorse could not make up for what silence had stolen.

Damian organized his security personnel to check the storage facility's access records that evening before anyone got close to the structure. He declined to enter blindly, particularly when Victor may be expecting them.

Emily insisted on going with him.

"Your safety is more important than finding a document tonight," Damian stated.

"People took actions without giving my parents the opportunity to defend themselves, that is why they died," Emily said. "I won't waste my life waiting for others to decide what I'm capable of."

Damian stared at her for a long time.

"I don't want to lose you," he said honestly.

Even if it wasn't much, Emily's face did become less severe. "Quit acting as if I have to gain trust every day."

He had no response that could quickly repair the harm.

With Thomas's duplicate documents in hand and Sophia preparing to protect the financial evidence, they exited Sophia's office. Ryan remained to help her track the trades through Carter Holdings. He had finally begun to realize that simply assisting Emily did not entitle him to a position in her life.

Damian received a phone call from his chief of security while in the car.

The man said, "We looked through the access logs for the facility." "Someone accessed the private archive this afternoon."

"Was it Victor?" Damian asked.

"We are still determining the identity. However, the archive door had been opened using a master authorization."

Damian clutched his phone more firmly.

"Is the ledger still inside?"

The caller paused for a few seconds and said, "Sir, we can't confirm that. The room was emptied."

Emily turned and faced Damian. She had heard enough to understand what it signified.

"Completely cleared?" Damian asked.

"Just about everything," said the head of security. "There's still one thing left. A sealed envelope addressed to Emily Carter."

The hue left Emily's face.

Damian's voice hardened. "Do not open it. Make the space safe and keep all proof of access in place," he said and ended the call.

For several seconds, none of them spoke a word.

Emily took Damian's hand at that point, not because the anxiety had subsided, but rather because she could no longer face every uncertainty by herself anymore.

Her fingers were firmly grasped by Damian.

Victor had gone to great efforts to conceal whatever that is in  his father's statement.

Emily was the only one he had left a message for after all these years.