Chapter 6 - THE WAREHOUSE WITH NO SIGN
I wanted to go.
Every part of me wanted to know whether my father was alive.
Dominic said no.
“You're six months pregnant.”
“I know.”
“And whoever sent this knows exactly what that means.”
“I need answers.”
“You'll get them.”
“I can't sit here while everyone decides what I'm allowed to know.”
Dominic looked at me.
“You're right.”
He paused.
“But you don't have to walk into a trap to prove you're brave.”
So we went together.
The warehouse stood near the river.
No sign.
No company name.
Just a gray building behind a chain fence.
Derek was waiting inside.
Alone.
At least, he appeared to be.
His face looked exhausted.
He wasn't the arrogant man from the gala.
“I knew you'd come.”
“You threatened my accounts.”
“I was trying to keep you from leaving before I could explain.”
“You humiliated me.”
“I know.”
“You brought Vanessa.”
“I thought if everyone believed we were together, nobody would question the transfer of assets.”
I stared.
“What transfer?”
Derek looked at Dominic.
“You weren't supposed to be here.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“You lost that right.”
Derek swallowed.
“You don't understand.”
“Then start explaining.”
Derek turned to me.
“Your father was alive when he disappeared.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“That's not good enough.”
“He left instructions.”
“For whom?”
“For you.”
Derek pulled out a small metal case.
Inside was a photograph.
My father and me when I was ten.
He was wearing the silver watch.
On the back was a handwritten note.
When Khloe is old enough, tell her the truth.
My eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn't you?”
Derek looked down.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Your father knew someone inside his company was stealing.”
“Who?”
“Margaret.”
I froze.
“His attorney?”
“Yes.”
“She wasn't working alone.”
“Who?”
Derek said nothing.
Then footsteps sounded somewhere behind us.
Derek's face changed.
“She's here.”
Dominic reached for the door.
A woman appeared in the hallway.
Older.
Elegant.
Pearl necklace.
Margaret Bell.
Alive.
She looked directly at me.
“You look like your mother.”
My blood went cold.
“You knew my father.”
“I knew everything.”
“Is he alive?”
She smiled sadly.
“For a while.”
My heart broke.
“What does that mean?”
“He died three years ago.”
I couldn't breathe.
Derek closed his eyes.
“You lied to me.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Margaret looked at Dominic.
“Because your father had enemies.”
“And you were one of them.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I was trying to protect his legacy.”
“You stole from him.”
“I moved money to keep it away from the wrong people.”
“Then where did it go?”
She pointed at the metal case.
“Your father placed it in a trust.”
“The one I was supposed to inherit.”
“Yes.”
“Why was it hidden?”
“Because the person trying to take it had authority over your father.”
“Who?”
Margaret's eyes moved toward Derek.
“He knows.”
I turned.
Derek looked devastated.
“Who?”
He finally answered.
“My father.”
I stared.
“Your father is alive?”
“No.”
“But Margaret said—”
“My father died two years ago.”
Margaret interrupted.
“Officially.”
Everyone went silent.
Derek looked at her.
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying the man who controlled your father did not die when you were told he did.”
I felt dizzy.
The entire night had become a maze.
Margaret stepped closer.
“Derek's father was part of a private consortium that had been trying to take control of the Moretti properties and your family's trust.”
I looked at Dominic.
He nodded slowly.
“She's telling the truth about the consortium.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Everything.”
Margaret looked at my stomach.
“Your child is the key.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“Your baby becomes the primary beneficiary if the trust is activated.”
“Why?”
“Because your father changed the terms after he discovered the consortium.”
I stared.
“Then Derek's been trying to control me because of the trust.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
She looked directly at me.
“Derek has been trying to protect you from his father.”
I turned toward Derek.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“Because every time I tried, someone disappeared.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Derek answered.
“Three accountants.”
“Who killed them?”
Derek looked toward Margaret.
She said quietly:
“We don't know.”
Then every light in the warehouse went out.
Dominic moved immediately.
“Stay behind me.”
Something crashed in the darkness.
Derek shouted.
Then the emergency lights came on.
The metal case was gone.
So was Margaret.
And on the floor beside me was a single object.
My father's silver watch.
Broken.
With one final engraving visible beneath the cracked glass.
Trust the man who stayed.
I looked at Derek.
For once, neither of us spoke.
May you like
Because we both knew the message wasn't about my father.
It was about him.
