جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 160

Daniella couldn’t stop staring at the empty space inside the folder.The page was gone.A few seconds ago, it had contained three names that had changed everything she thought she understood about her father’s past. Now there was nothing except the faint indentation left behind by the paper that had been removed.Her father.Christian’s father.Her uncle.Three men connected to the same mysterious symbol.And someone had been inside the archive with them.Christian was still staring toward the locked doorway when Daniella finally spoke.“How did he get in?”Christian didn’t answer immediately. He moved toward the door and checked the electronic lock. The indicator remained green.“It’s still locked.”Daniella’s stomach tightened. “Then nobody left.”“That’s what I’m thinking.”She looked around the archive. Rows of shelves stood silently around them, packed with documents that had been untouched for years.“Christian.”He turned.“The voice.”“What about it?”“That was my uncle.”“I k

Daniella knew something was wrong before they reached the mansion. She sat beside Christian in silence, staring through the passenger window as the city passed in a blur of headlights and rain. The message from the archive remained open on her phone: Start with the first lie your uncle ever told you.She had spent thirteen years believing she knew the truth about her father’s death. Now she wasn’t even sure whether the foundation of that truth had been real. Her uncle had blamed the Harpers. He had told her that Samuel Harper had ordered her father’s death. He had told her Christian knew more than he admitted. But the documents they had just discovered suggested something else entirely. Her father had been investigating Crown Meridian. Someone had forged his signature. Her uncle had known he was in danger. And now someone wanted Daniella to question everything.Christian’s hand closed over hers. “Don’t do this to yourself.”She looked at him. “How am I supposed to stop?”“You can’t so

The old Crown Meridian building looked nothing like Daniella had imagined.It stood at the end of a narrow street surrounded by newer buildings, its stone exterior darkened by years of rain and neglect. Most of the windows were covered with metal shutters, and a faded sign above the entrance was barely readable.CROWN MERIDIAN HOLDINGS.Daniella stared at it from inside the car.“This place has been abandoned for years,” Christian said.“Not completely.”She pointed toward the side of the building.A security light had just switched on.Christian followed her gaze.Someone was there.He immediately reached for his phone.“Stay in the car.”Daniella turned toward him. “Absolutely not.”“Daniella.”“My uncle is inside.”“And we don’t know who else is inside.”“Exactly. That’s why I’m coming.”Christian stared at her for several seconds before giving up.“Fine. But you stay beside me.”They got out of the car.The street was almost completely empty. Daniella could hear the sound of her o

Daniella read the message three times before she handed the phone to Christian.But you’re still blaming the wrong brother.His expression shifted the moment the words registered. He did not ask who the message meant. They both already knew.Her uncle had a brother.A brother she had never heard of.A brother her father had apparently known.A brother connected to Crown Meridian.And now someone was telling her she had spent thirteen years blaming the wrong one.“Who is my uncle’s brother?” she asked.Christian looked up. “That’s what we’re going to find out.”He called the security team at once and ordered a full search of every available record connected to her uncle. Daniella paced beside the desk while he spoke, her mind looping back to the recording. Her father’s voice. Samuel Harper’s name. The unidentified man. And the sentence that had been cut short just as it reached the most important word.His name is—For thirteen years she had believed her uncle was the one who held ever

The hidden passage was barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Christian kept one hand around Daniella’s wrist as they moved through the darkness, while the sound of footsteps above them became fainter with every second.Daniella’s mind was still trapped in the underground room.Her uncle was still there.Gabriel was still there.And whoever had arrived at Crown Meridian had been frightening enough to make Gabriel himself afraid.“Christian,” she whispered.“Keep moving.”“We can’t leave them.”“We’re not leaving them forever. We’re getting out so we can figure out what we’re dealing with.”“But my uncle—”“Daniella.” Christian stopped and turned toward her. “If we go back there without knowing how many people are upstairs, we won’t save him. We’ll just give them two more people to capture.”She hated that he was right.She swallowed and continued walking.A few minutes later, the passage opened into an old maintenance room behind the building. Christian pushed through