Chapter 19 — The Truth That Broke Everything
Emily stopped breathing.
For several seconds, she couldn’t process the words.
“My father?”
Thomas nodded.
“No.”
Emily pushed the folder away.
“No. You’re lying.”
Thomas didn’t react.
“I expected you to say that.”
“Because you know nobody will believe you.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Because I know John Carter was the only person who loved Sarah enough to destroy himself.”
Emily froze.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas leaned back.
“The documents are not what you think.”
She opened the folder again.
The first page showed a payment.
A large payment.
From Edward Harrington.
To a private investigator.
The second showed a report.
A witness statement.
The third showed a photograph.
Her father.
Meeting with Edward.
Emily looked confused.
“Explain.”
Thomas sighed.
“Your father was trying to expose me.”
Emily stared.
“Then why are these documents here?”
“Because Edward was trying to help him.”
She looked up.
“What?”
Thomas smiled bitterly.
“You see, everyone thinks this family was divided between good and evil.”
A pause.
“But everyone made mistakes.”
Emily looked at the papers.
“Then who killed my mother?”
Thomas became serious.
“The person who benefited most from her silence.”
“Who?”
He looked at her.
“The person who inherited control after her death.”
Emily’s face went pale.
Daniel’s father.
Edward.
But Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“Someone closer.”
Emily felt a chill.
“Who?”
Thomas whispered:
“The person who signed the final order.”
Back at the mansion, Emily confronted Richard.
“The inheritance documents.”
Richard looked surprised.
“What about them?”
“Who had control after my grandfather died?”
Richard hesitated.
Then answered.
“Margaret.”
Emily froze.
Her grandmother.
The woman who had protected her.
The woman who had admitted fear.
The woman who had hidden the truth.
That night, Emily found Margaret in the garden.
“You knew.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Knew what?”
“You controlled everything after my grandfather died.”
Margaret became silent.
Emily’s voice shook.
“Were you the one who ordered my mother’s death?”
Margaret looked horrified.
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“I loved Sarah.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Margaret looked at the sky.
“I didn’t order it.”
A pause.
“But I know who did.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Who?”
Margaret whispered:
“Your mother’s own sister.”
Emily froze.
“My mother had a sister?”
Margaret nodded.
“She disappeared after Sarah died.”
“Why?”
Margaret looked at her.
“Because she knew the truth.”
Emily felt dizzy.
“What truth?”
Margaret took her hand.
“Your mother wasn’t the only person Thomas feared.”
A pause.
“Her sister was the person who found the evidence.”
Emily whispered:
“Where is she?”
Margaret looked toward the road.
“She has been closer than you think.”
At that exact moment…
A car stopped outside the mansion.
A woman stepped out.
Older.
Carrying a small suitcase.
Emily stared.
Because the woman looked exactly like her mother.
Margaret whispered:
May you like
“Emily…”
“That is your aunt.”
