Semua Bab Beneath the Façade: Bab 61 - Bab 70

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Chapter 61Emily's POV: Morning came, but it didn’t feel like it.The sun filtered through the curtains, painting lazy stripes across my floor, but inside me, it was still night. The kind of night where shadows whisper louder than words, and everything you thought you knew starts to unravel.I hadn’t slept. Not a blink. My pillow was still damp from the tears I hadn’t even realized I’d cried. That message, those words had taken root in my mind, growing like a weed I couldn’t rip out.“Your father is not who you think he is. Watch out. You might as well be the next victim.”I read it over and over until the words lost shape, but the fear stayed sharp.I kept thinking, what does it mean? Who sent it? And why now?I wanted to believe it was just a prank. A sick joke from someone who had nothing better to do. But deep down, I knew better. Too many things had stopped making sense for this to be nothing. My

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Chapter 63 Emily’s POV: It had been a week since the message came. And still, I hadn’t told anyone.I moved through the house like a shadow of myself. The kettle whistled, but I barely noticed. My hands went through the motions, folding little clothes, wiping down counters, warming up bottles, but my heart wasn’t in any of it. Not really.Josh babbled from the playmat by the window, his chubby hands reaching for the air like he was chasing something only he could see. I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. Not this time. The lullaby I hummed felt hollow, like background music in a place that had forgotten joy.Something was wrong. Not outside, everything looked normal. Too normal. It was inside me that felt off. Even at school, I found myself shrinking into the background. I kept my head down, my words few. It wasn’t that anyone was unkind, it was me. I just couldn’t bring myself to pretend.Ace, eve

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits..Chapter 65 Emily’s POV: The moment I stepped into the café, the scent of coffee hit me — warm, bitter, familiar. Smelt like dad's morning coffees. But nothing about this moment felt comforting. My eyes scanned the near-empty room, then dropped to the message on my phone again.Green shirt. Black jeans. Seated by the window. Come alone.I hesitated. My fingers curled tighter around the strap of my handbag. I almost turned back. I should have.But I didn’t.He was already watching me.When our eyes met, something inside me turned cold. My steps slowed, heart picking up speed.No. No… it couldn’t be.“Eddy?” I whispered as I approached, voice barely holding itself together.He stood up slowly, hands tucked into his pockets like he didn’t just shake my entire world loose. His expression wasn’t smug or cruel — just quiet. Like a man who had carried too much for too long and was finally laying it down.“H

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Chapter 67Emily’s POV: The manager at Caffe Farenzo—a tall man in crisp black trousers and a white tee with the café’s logo printed neatly across his chest, walked up to our table with a polite, almost apologetic smile.“Good evening, ma’am… sir,” he began, his voice low but firm, the kind that tried to be respectful even while drawing a line. “I hate to interrupt, but we’re about to close up for the night. The staff needs to wind down. I hope you understand.”“Oh God,” I whispered under my breath as my eyes darted toward the window. The sky outside had darkened completely, a velvet sheet of night spread across the world. I hadn’t even noticed when the sun dipped or when the streetlights flickered on. I’d been too caught up, too wrapped in the whirlwind of everything Eddy had been saying. The kind of truth that eats away at the hours without asking permission.I reached for my phone, the screen lighti

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Chapter 69Even after Eddy stopped talking, I couldn’t speak. I felt like something in my chest had shifted. Something I couldn’t move back into place. My breathing had changed. My hands were cold. I didn’t realize I had started crying until a tear touched the side of my lips.Eddy leaned forward and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. Slowly, like he had carried this moment for years.“I wasn’t going to show you this at first,” he said, pulling out a brown, folded paper. “But I think you need to see it.”He stretched it toward me. My fingers were stiff, but I took it.“I found this among my father’s things. It’s not addressed to anyone, but we both know who it was meant for.”I opened it carefully. The paper was old. The ink had smudged in a few places, like whoever wrote it had cried while doing so.It was my mother’s handwriting.My eyes ran over the words, but for a moment, they didn’t regi