Chapter 8: The Daughter Nobody Knew
I read the message again.
Then again.
The words did not change.
*And she knows what you did too.*
My fingers went cold around the phone.
I understood the first part.
Sophia Moretti knew what my father had done.
She knew about the fire.
She knew about the secrets.
She knew about everything my family had buried.
But the last sentence was different.
It wasn't a threat.
It was an accusation.
What did I do?
I had spent six years believing I was the victim of someone else's choices.
My brother disappeared.
My father died.
My mother lost herself.
Celeste lied.
Elias betrayed us.
But me?
What could I possibly have done?
Ewan noticed my expression.
"What is it?""
I didn't answer immediately.
Because saying the words out loud made them feel more real.
I handed him the phone.
He read the message.
His face changed.
"What does this mean?""
I looked at him.
"You tell me.""
His eyes narrowed.
"Lucian.""
"No.""
My voice sharpened.
"Everyone keeps telling me pieces of the truth. Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle.""
I pointed at the screen.
"Now someone is saying I did something.""
Ewan looked away.
And that was enough.
I felt it immediately.
A familiar pain.
The pain of realizing someone you love knows something they refuse to share.
"You know.""
His silence answered.
"Ewan.""
He closed his eyes.
"I know something.""
"What?""
"I don't know if it's true.""
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to protect me anymore.""
His jaw tightened.
"After everything, you still think that's what I'm doing?""
"Then prove me wrong.""
The room became quiet.
Finally, he spoke.
"Six years ago, before the fire, Father gave me a file.""
I stared.
"A file about what?""
"About the organization.""
I waited.
"He told me if anything happened to him, I needed to make sure you never saw it.""
I felt a chill.
"Why?""
Ewan looked at me.
"Because your name was inside.""
The church suddenly felt too small.
I turned toward Isabella.
"You knew about this?""
She looked uncomfortable.
"Yes.""
My anger shifted.
"How long?""
"Since the night of the fire.""
I laughed quietly.
"Of course.""
I walked away from them.
Every person in my life seemed to know a different version of me.
Everyone except me.
"What was in the file?""
Ewan hesitated.
"Lucian—"
"No.""
I turned.
"Tell me.""
His face tightened.
"The file contained records of payments.""
"To who?""
"People inside the organization.""
"That's not an answer.""
He looked at me.
"To people you recruited.""
The words hit harder than expected.
I stared.
"What?""
Ewan lowered his voice.
"When Father died, you took over parts of the business.""
"Yes.""
"And you believed everyone who worked under you was loyal.""
"Yes.""
"But someone wasn't.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who?""
Ewan shook his head.
"We never found out.""
"Then why is my name in the file?""
He looked down.
"Because your father believed you were responsible for bringing that person into the organization.""
The silence was unbearable.
I remembered.
Six years ago.
Before the fire.
I had been young.
Angry.
Eager to prove myself.
My father had warned me.
He said power was not about how many people followed you.
It was about knowing who would betray you.
I ignored him.
I thought I knew better.
I brought in new people.
Expanded operations.
Changed procedures.
I wanted to prove I could lead.
A memory surfaced.
A name.
A face.
Someone I had personally approved.
My breathing changed.
"No.""
Ewan noticed.
"What?""
I looked at him.
"That can't be.""
"Who?""
I swallowed.
"Ray Calder.""
Marco immediately stepped forward.
"Ray?""
I nodded.
The same man who had sold shipping information.
The same man who claimed he did it because he needed money.
The same man who told me someone connected to the Vandermark family hired him.
But what if he wasn't the beginning?
What if he was the result?
"What are you thinking?"" Marco asked.
I looked at him.
"Ray wasn't chosen by Elias.""
Marco frowned.
"Then who?""
I remembered my father's words.
Power is not about how many people follow you. It is about knowing who will betray you.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
"What if Elias didn't corrupt the organization?""
Everyone looked at me.
"What if someone else did?""
We returned to the mansion before midnight.
But it wasn't the same house anymore.
Not to me.
Every hallway felt like it held another secret.
Every door felt like it belonged to someone else.
My mother's room was guarded.
Not because we were protecting her.
Because we didn't know who she was protecting.
I stood outside her door for several minutes.
Then entered.
She was sitting by the window.
Older than she had looked yesterday.
More fragile.
But awake.
Her eyes moved to me.
Then to Ewan standing behind me.
The moment she saw him, tears filled her eyes.
She reached for him.
And for the first time that day, I saw my brother break.
He walked toward her.
She touched his face like she was making sure he was real.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
The words shocked me.
My mother rarely spoke.
But she chose those words.
Ewan knelt beside her.
"Why?""
She looked at him.
Then at me.
Her hands trembled.
"Because I failed both of you.""
I stepped closer.
"Mother.""
She looked afraid.
Not of me.
Of what she had to say.
"I need to tell you everything.""
The room became still.
"About Father?""
She nodded.
"About the fire?""
Another nod.
"And about Sophia?""
Her expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"You know?""
I looked at Ewan.
Then back at her.
"She is alive.""
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
"Where?""
"We don't know.""
She looked toward the window.
"Then she found you.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
My mother gripped the blanket.
"Sophia doesn't want revenge.""
"Then what does she want?""
My mother's voice dropped.
"She wants justice.""
"For what?""
She looked directly at me.
"For what your father did to her mother.""
I froze.
"Her mother?""
My mother nodded.
"Your father had another family.""
I felt anger rising.
"We know that.""
"No.""
Her voice trembled.
"You don't.""
She reached toward an old drawer beside her bed.
Inside was a photograph.
She handed it to me.
A young woman.
Sophia's mother.
And beside her...
My father.
But there was something else.
A baby.
I looked closer.
My hands started shaking.
Because written on the back of the photograph was a date.
The same year I was born.
And underneath it:
*Sophia and Lucian.*
My blood went cold.
I looked at my mother.
"What does this mean?""
She didn't answer.
Because she didn't have to.
The answer was already forming.
Sophia wasn't just my half-sister.
She wasn't just my father's secret.
She was connected to me.
Personally.
My mother whispered:
"Your father didn't hide Sophia because she existed.""
I looked at her.
"Then why?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"He hid her because she was supposed to inherit everything.""
The room went silent.
Everything.
The empire.
The money.
The power.
My entire life.
I had spent years believing I was my father's chosen son.
But maybe I was only the son he needed.
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
This time from Sophia.
No threats.
No warnings.
Just an address.
And one sentence.
*Come alone if you want to know why your father chose you over me.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
*Bring Ewan if you want to know why he disappeared.*
I looked at my brother.
He was already reading my face.
"What did she say?""
I didn't answer.
Because for the first time, I understood something.
Sophia wasn't hiding from us.
She had been waiting.
Waiting for all three of us to finally find her.
May you like
And when we did...
She wanted us together.
