登入Daniella remained in Christian’s arms, but her mind was still trapped inside the study. The photograph of her father, the old calendar, the strange message on her laptop and the warning from the unknown number had all blended into one terrifying realization. Someone knew what she was looking for. Someone had been watching her closely enough to know when she accessed the files, and whoever that person was had gone out of their way to make sure she understood that they could reach her whenever they wanted.Christian pulled back slightly and studied her face. “You’re thinking about it again.”Daniella forced herself to look at him. “About what?”“My father. Your father. The photograph. Everything you’ve been digging into.”She glanced toward the desk. The photograph was still there, its edges slightly curled with age. “I found something tonight.”Christian followed her gaze. “What?”Daniella walked back to the desk and picked up the photograph. She placed it between them and pointed towa
Daniella drove away from her uncle’s house with both hands locked tight around the steering wheel. The conversation refused to settle in her mind. For thirteen years she had believed she understood what happened to her father. She had built her entire life around that single belief. Now one conversation with her uncle had left her with more questions than answers.Her father had been followed before his death. There had been another meeting after the one at the warehouse. Her uncle knew about it, yet the moment Daniella asked who had attended that meeting, he had shut down completely.And then there was the ring.She had seen it earlier that night on the hand of the mysterious figure inside her uncle’s house. It looked almost identical to the ring worn by the unknown man standing in the background of her father’s old photograph.Her phone rang.Christian.Daniella answered. “Hi.”“Where are you?”She hesitated. “Driving home.”“From your uncle’s?”Daniella sighed. “Yes.”“You went the
Daniella knew something was wrong the moment she stepped through the gates. Her uncle’s house had always felt familiar to her, almost comforting despite everything that had happened there over the years. It was one of the few places she could remember her father being happy, especially during the years before his death. But tonight, the familiarity was gone. The lights were on throughout the house, yet there was something strangely quiet about the property. No staff members moved through the halls. No music played from the sitting room. Even the guards stationed near the entrance seemed unusually alert. Daniella stepped out of the car and looked toward the upstairs windows. Her uncle was expecting her. She knew that much. What she didn’t know was whether he was expecting the questions she had come to ask. She walked inside without waiting for anyone to open the door. The housekeeper appeared almost immediately. “Your uncle is in the study.” Daniella nodded and walked past her. She did
Daniella stared at the message until the words began to blur on the screen. Ask your uncle what he knows. She read it again, hoping that somehow the meaning would change, but it didn’t. Whoever had sent it wanted her to question the one person she had spent thirteen years trusting without hesitation. Her uncle had been there after her father’s death. He had been the one who helped her understand what had happened, the one who had encouraged her anger when everyone else expected her to move on. He had been the one who told her that Christian Harper was responsible. He had been the one who taught her how to get close enough to destroy the man she believed had taken her father from her. And now someone was telling her that he knew more than he had ever admitted. “Daniella?” Christian’s voice pulled her back. She locked her phone immediately and slipped it into her coat pocket. “What?” Christian studied her face. “What did the message say?” “Nothing important.” Marcus gave a quiet, humorl
The room remained silent after Marcus’s confession. Daniella could hear the faint ticking of the clock on the wall, each second stretching the silence tighter around them. Her father’s name had already been spoken too many times tonight, but hearing that Marcus had been with him the day before his death made something inside her shift. For thirteen years she had collected fragments of that final period of his life, yet never once had Marcus’s name appeared among them.She stared at him. “You were with my father the day before he died.”Marcus did not look away. “Yes.”“And you never told me?”“I couldn’t.”Her eyes narrowed. “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”Christian moved closer, but Daniella barely noticed. All of her attention stayed fixed on Marcus.Marcus took a slow breath. “Your father came to me because he believed someone was watching him.”“Who?”“I don’t know.”Frustration rose in her voice at once. “You just said you were there. You knew he was in danger.”“I knew he was afraid. Th
Nobody spoke.The cassette tape lay in the center of the coffee table as though it carried enough weight to crush everyone sitting around it.Christian was the first to reach for it. He turned it over carefully in his hands, studying the faded label that had yellowed with age.If you’re hearing my voice… it means I couldn’t protect my daughter.The words settled over the room like a dark cloud.Daniella couldn’t stop staring at it. Her fingers trembled against her knees. For thirteen years she had searched for answers, believing she was hunting the man who had murdered her father. Every step of her revenge had led her here. Now his voice was only a cassette tape away.“I want to hear it,” she whispered.Christian looked up at her, understanding the desperation in her eyes. “So do I.”Marcus cleared his throat. “There’s one problem.”Everyone turned toward him.“We don’t have anything that can play it.”Christian looked back at the cassette. “I don’t even remember the last time I saw o
“What?”The word left Daniella’s lips slowly, almost like she wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. Her brows pulled together in confusion as she stared at him, searching his face for any sign that this was some kind of joke. But Christian wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t even slightly amused. Hi
Christian stood in the middle of his room, his chest rising and falling slowly as he stared blankly at nothing. The blood dripping off his hands to the floor reflected the chaos inside him, his hand still bleeding slightly from the force he had used earlier.“Daniella?” He whispered slowly, his mi
Christian’s jaw dropped as he saw the headlines and the picture on David's phone. “What’s this supposed to mean?” He swallowed. “Unfortunately this lady got angry about some unfinished deal with the company and your secretary didn’t handle her deal well, so I think she got upset and is now decidi
“Boss, are you okay?”David's voice sounded distant, more like it was coming from under water. Christian didn’t answer immediately. His fingers tightened around the glass, his jaw clenched as he stared into thin air unfocused. He wasn’t ok, he couldn’t take it anymore, his







