CHAPTER 2 The Secret Beneath Harrington Manor
The funeral ended thirty minutes later.
Not because everyone had accepted what happened.
Because nobody knew what to believe.
The police arrived.
The lawyers arrived.
The reporters outside smelled blood.
But inside the chapel, the Harrington family was already falling apart.
Emma sat alone in a small waiting room.
Her hands were still shaking.
She knew what she had done.
She had crossed a line.
Destroying a coffin was not something people forgave.
But she also knew something else.
If she had not done it...
The truth would have been buried forever.
The door opened.
Daniel Harrington walked inside.
He closed the door behind him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Daniel said:
"Tell me everything."
Emma looked up.
"You believe me?"
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Emma lowered her eyes.
"But I believe my father left that message for a reason."
Daniel placed the letter on the table.
"You found this where?"
Emma hesitated.
"His office."
Daniel froze.
"My father's office was locked after his death."
"I know."
"Nobody had access."
Emma looked at him.
"I did."
Daniel stared.
"How?"
Emma took a deep breath.
"Because your father asked me to clean it the night before he died."
That surprised him.
"My father talked to you?"
"Yes."
Daniel walked closer.
"What did he say?"
Emma remembered that night.
Richard Harrington sitting alone in his office.
Not like a powerful billionaire.
Like a frightened old man.
He had looked exhausted.
Terrified.
"He told me that people around him were pretending."
Daniel frowned.
"Who?"
Emma shook her head.
"He wouldn't say."
"Why?"
"Because he said knowing the truth would put me in danger."
Daniel looked at the letter again.
"What else?"
Emma hesitated.
Then she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small flash drive.
Daniel stared.
"What's that?"
"Something your father gave me."
His eyes widened.
"When?"
"The night before he died."
The room went silent.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Emma looked away.
"Because I was scared."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"You destroyed a coffin in front of hundreds of people but you were scared to tell me about a flash drive?"
Emma looked directly at him.
"Yes."
That answer caught him off guard.
Because she wasn't pretending.
She really was afraid.
Daniel picked up the flash drive.
"What is on it?"
"I don't know."
"You never opened it?"
"No."
"Why?"
Emma whispered:
"Because your father told me one thing."
Daniel waited.
"He said if I opened it..."
She paused.
"...someone would know."
Daniel looked at the tiny device.
A simple piece of plastic.
But suddenly it felt dangerous.
Before he could speak, the door opened.
A police officer entered.
"Mr. Harrington."
Daniel turned.
The officer looked serious.
"We found something."
"What?"
The officer looked at Emma.
"Something inside your father's vehicle."
Daniel stepped forward.
"What?"
The officer hesitated.
Then said:
"Blood."
Emma's heart dropped.
Daniel's expression changed.
"Whose?"
The officer looked at him.
"Your father's."
A long silence followed.
Then:
"We also found another person's fingerprints."
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"Whose?"
The officer looked down at the file.
May you like
Then back at Emma.
"Yours."
