A Dangerous Truth

My father's name echoed inside my head.

Your father was responsible for my father's death.

I stared at Alexander.

"No."

The word barely left my lips.

His mother looked away.

Alexander remained completely still.

"No," I repeated, louder this time. "My father couldn't have done that."

"You don't know what your father was capable of," Alexander said.

I shook my head.

"You're lying."

His jaw tightened.

"I wish I were."

I stepped backward.

My fingers trembled.

"Then why did you marry me?"

Alexander didn't answer.

"Was this your plan from the beginning?"

Still nothing.

"You knew my family was in trouble. You knew my engagement was falling apart. You knew everything."

I looked at the ring on my finger.

"You planned all of this."

His silence was answer enough.

Tears burned my eyes.

"Was the ten million dollars just another part of your revenge?"

"No."

His answer came immediately.

That surprised me.

"Then what was it?"

Alexander walked toward me.

I stepped back.

"Don't."

He stopped.

His eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them.

"I married you because I need the truth."

"What truth?"

"The truth about what happened fifteen years ago."

I frowned.

"Fifteen years ago?"

"My father died fifteen years ago."

My heart sank.

Alexander's voice became quieter.

"The official story was that he died in an accident."

I looked at his mother.

She was staring at the floor.

"But you don't believe that."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because someone tampered with the brakes of his car."

My breath caught.

"And you think my father did it?"

"I think your father knows who did."

I shook my head.

"My father wouldn't kill anyone."

"Then help me prove it."

I stared at him.

"How?"

"Find out what your father has been hiding."

I laughed bitterly.

"You want me to investigate my own family?"

"I want you to find the truth."

"And if the truth proves my father did it?"

Alexander's expression hardened.

"Then I'll deal with it."

A chill ran down my spine.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you shouldn't protect someone just because they're family."

I looked away.

For the first time, I didn't know what to believe.

My father had always been my hero.

The man who taught me how to ride a bicycle.

The man who stayed awake when I was sick.

The man who told me that honesty was the most important thing in the world.

Could that same man really have destroyed Alexander's family?

I couldn't accept it.

"I need to go home."

Alexander nodded.

"I'll take you."

"No."

He looked at me.

"I can go by myself."

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly."

I walked toward the door.

Then Alexander grabbed my wrist.

Not hard.

Just enough to stop me.

"Sophia."

I looked at him.

"Whatever you discover..."

His voice softened.

"...don't confront your father alone."

I pulled my hand away.

"Why?"

His eyes met mine.

"Because if he's hiding something, you're not the only person looking for it."

My blood ran cold.

"What are you saying?"

Before he could answer, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

His expression changed instantly.

"Stay here."

"Who is it?"

He ignored my question and answered the call.

"Speak."

A man's voice came through the phone.

Alexander's face became completely emotionless.

"Where?"

He listened.

"Don't touch anything."

He ended the call.

I stared at him.

"What happened?"

He looked at me.

"Your father's house was broken into."

My heart stopped.

"What?"

"The police found the front door open."

I grabbed my bag.

"Is my family okay?"

"They're not there."

I froze.

"What do you mean they're not there?"

Alexander stepped toward me.

"We don't know where they are."

My hands began to shake.

"My mother..."

"I'll find them."

"You don't know where they are!"

"I said I'll find them."

His voice was firm.

For once, I didn't argue.

Because deep down, I was terrified.

---

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at my parents' house.

Police cars surrounded the property.

The front door was broken.

Windows were shattered.

My heart pounded as I ran inside.

"Mom!"

No answer.

"Dad!"

Nothing.

I rushed from room to room.

Their bedroom was empty.

The kitchen was empty.

The living room had been completely destroyed.

Then I noticed something on the floor.

A photograph.

I picked it up.

It was old.

The picture showed my father standing beside a younger man.

I recognized the younger man immediately.

Alexander's father.

But there was something else.

Written on the back of the photograph were four words:

She knows the truth.

I turned around slowly.

Alexander was standing behind me.

His eyes were fixed on the photograph.

"Where did you find that?"

"On the floor."

He took it from my hand.

His expression changed.

"Alexander?"

He didn't answer.

"Who is 'she'?"

He looked at me.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his phone rang again.

He answered.

"What?"

His face went pale.

I had never seen Alexander look frightened before.

"Repeat that."

He listened.

Then slowly lowered the phone.

"What happened?"

He looked directly at me.

"They found your father's car."

My heart stopped.

"Where?"

"Near the old Kane estate."

I frowned.

"Why would he be there?"

Alexander didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at the photograph again.

Then he said quietly,

"Because fifteen years ago, your father wasn't alone when my father died."

I stared at him.

"Who was with him?"

Alexander's eyes met mine.

"Your mother."

My entire world went silent.

And suddenly, the photograph in his hand felt like the beginning of something far more dangerous than either of us had imagined.