“Because he knew you were his daughter.”
The answer came from the doorway.
Emma turned.
Richard stood there.
He was pale and weak, but alive.
Two guards stood behind him.
“You came here?”
Richard nodded.
“I needed to see this.”
Emma looked at him.
“You knew my mother was protecting me?”
“I suspected.”
“And you let me believe she abandoned me?”
“I tried to find you.”
“For twenty years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you find me?”
Richard's face collapsed.
“Because Victor made sure you disappeared.”
Emma stared at him.
Then she asked:
“Where is he now?”
Richard's silence answered her.
“Dead?”
“No.”
“Where?”
Richard looked toward the window.
“He's coming back.”
That night, Emma returned to the mansion.
The security system had been upgraded.
Police surrounded the property.
Richard sat in his study.
He looked older than he had that morning.
“I need to tell you something.”
Emma sat across from him.
“I've spent twenty years trying to understand what happened.”
“So have I.”
“Your mother believed Victor was responsible for your father's death.”
“Was she right?”
Richard nodded.
“I believe so.”
“Then why wasn't he arrested?”
“Because we couldn't prove it.”
“What about the money?”
“Victor moved it through hundreds of accounts.”
Emma leaned forward.
“Why would he care about me?”
“Because you are the legal heir to the Weston family trust.”
She stared.
“How much?”
Richard didn't answer.
“Richard.”
“Enough to destroy everything Victor built.”
Emma understood.
Her existence wasn't merely emotional.
It was financial.
Political.
Dangerous.
Then the mansion lights flickered.
Richard immediately looked toward the door.
“Get down.”
“What?”
A loud explosion shook the house.
Security alarms erupted.
Windows rattled.
Someone screamed outside.
Richard stood with surprising speed.
“Emma, run.”
“Where?”
“Basement.”
“Why?”
“Because the tunnel is still there.”
Emma stared at him.
“What tunnel?”
Richard grabbed her hand.
“Your family has been hiding secrets for a very long time.”
The Tunnel Beneath the Mansion
They descended through a hidden door beneath the library.
Emma could barely believe what she was seeing.
Behind the bookshelves was a stone staircase.
The stairs led underground.
Richard followed slowly.
His injuries made every step painful.
Emma helped him.
“Who built this?”
“My grandfather.”
“Why?”
“During the war.”
The tunnel stretched beneath the mansion.
Old brick walls surrounded them.
Emergency lights flickered overhead.
Behind them, the sound of security personnel echoed through the mansion.
“Is Victor here?”
“I don't know.”
“Who attacked us?”
“I don't know.”
Emma stopped.
“You keep saying that.”
Richard looked at her.
“Because I've spent twenty years surrounded by people who lied to me.”
“And you lied to me.”
Richard lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
“I should have found you sooner.”
“You should have.”
“I should have told you everything.”
“Yes.”
“But I didn't.”
Emma looked away.
“I don't know how to forgive you.”
“You don't have to.”
They continued.
The tunnel opened into a small underground room.
Inside was an old desk.
Several metal cabinets.
And a safe.
Richard approached it.
He entered a combination.
The safe opened.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
A revolver.
And a small wooden box.
Richard picked up the box.
“This belonged to your father.”
Emma stared.
“What's inside?”
Richard handed it to her.
Emma opened it.
Inside was a necklace.
A silver pendant shaped like a star.
She recognized it.
Her mother had kept an identical pendant.
Emma had seen it once as a child.
“Why did Dad have this?”
“He bought two.”
“One for Mom.”
“One for you.”
Emma's eyes filled.
Richard continued.
“Your father wanted to give it to you on your fifth birthday.”
“But he died before then.”
“Yes.”
Emma held the necklace.
For the first time, she felt the weight of a father she had never truly known.
Then the sound of footsteps came from the tunnel.
Richard's expression changed.
“Hide.”
“What?”
“Now.”
Emma moved behind the cabinets.
A figure appeared.
Not Victor.
Not Lisa.
A security guard.
He entered the room holding a pistol.
“Mr. Weston.”
Richard stood.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“You don't remember me?”
Richard stared.
Then recognition appeared.
“Martin.”
The security guard laughed.
“You were supposed to die years ago.”
Emma held her breath.
Richard looked at him.
“You worked for Victor.”
“Still do.”
Martin raised his gun.
“You should have stayed sick.”
Richard stepped forward.
“You won't get the trust.”
Martin smiled.
“We don't need the trust.”
He looked toward Emma.
“We need her.”
Emma's heart stopped.
Martin moved toward the cabinets.
Richard lunged.
A struggle followed.
The gun fell.
Emma grabbed it.
Martin turned.
She pointed it at him.
“Don't move.”
Martin froze.
Emma's hands shook.
She had never held a gun before.
Martin smiled.
“You won't shoot me.”
“No.”
Emma's voice was steady.
“But I don't have to.”
She pointed toward the camera above the door.
“You've been recorded.”
Martin looked up.
The security system was active.
Police would have the footage.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
Minutes later, officers arrested him.
But Martin revealed something before they took him away.
“Your mother is alive.”
Emma froze.
“Where?”
He smiled.
“She's closer than you think.”
Lisa was found two hours later.
She had been hiding inside an abandoned chapel near the cliffs.
When Emma saw her, she ran toward her.
Then stopped.
Anger and love collided inside her.
Lisa whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
Emma's eyes filled.
“You shot him.”
“I was trying to stop Victor.”
“You could have killed him.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Lisa looked down.
“Because Victor told me he would kill you.”
Emma froze.
“Where is Victor?”
Lisa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Richard appeared behind them.
Lisa looked at him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Richard said:
“You should have come to me.”
Lisa laughed bitterly.
“I did.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
Richard's face fell.
“I begged you to help me.”
“I didn't know who to trust.”
Lisa wiped her eyes.