Writers 
The Message I Was Never Supposed to Read — Part 6
“Daniel?”
The name left my mouth as barely more than a whisper.
Amara nodded.
“He’s in the car.”
I stared through the window.
Daniel was sitting in the back seat, his face partially hidden by the darkness.
My mind couldn’t process it.
He had been in the photograph with my mother.
His name was on the list.
He had been there the night she died.
And now he was sitting outside my house with the father I had believed was dead.
“What is Daniel doing with my father?” I asked.
Amara didn’t answer.
“Amara!”
“I don’t know.”
I turned toward her.
“You’ve been saying that all night.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me something you actually know.”
She took a shaky breath.
“I know Daniel has been looking for that flash drive for years.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
“He wasn’t just your mother’s friend.”
“Then who was he?”
Amara looked toward the door.
“He worked with your father.”
My stomach dropped.
“Worked with him doing what?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me what you know.”
She hesitated.
“Your father had a business. A very successful one. But there was another side to it that nobody knew about.”
I stared at her.
“What other side?”
“Money was being moved through different accounts. Your mother discovered it and wanted to expose him.”
I remembered the list of names on the flash drive.
The payments.
The dates.
Daniel’s name.
“So my mother tried to stop him?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why she died?”
Amara looked down.
“I don’t know.”
“You were there!”
“I was there,” she whispered. “But I didn’t see what happened.”
A loud knock suddenly came from downstairs.
We both froze.
Someone was at the door.
Then a man’s voice echoed through the house.
“Open the door.”
It was my father.
My heart started racing.
Amara grabbed my arm.
“Don’t answer.”
I looked at her.
“What happens if we don’t?”
“He’ll come inside.”
Another knock.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” my father called.
I almost laughed.
After everything I’d discovered, I didn’t know whether to believe a single word.
Then another voice came from outside.
Daniel.
“Please. We need to talk.”
I looked at Amara.
She shook her head.
“Don’t.”
I slowly moved toward the staircase.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“I want answers.”
I stepped into the hallway.
“Wait!” Amara whispered.
But I was already walking downstairs.
My father was standing behind the front door.
Daniel stood several feet behind him.
I could see both of them through the glass.
My father’s eyes met mine.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said quietly:
“You look just like your mother.”
I felt tears burning my eyes.
“You’re alive.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why did you let me believe you were dead?”
His face changed.
“Because your mother asked me to.”
I shook my head.
“She said you were dangerous.”
He looked away.
“Your mother was afraid of what would happen if you knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
He looked directly at me.
“Your mother wasn’t killed because of my business.”
I froze.
“Then why did she die?”
My father took a deep breath.
“Because she discovered who was betraying her.”
I glanced at Daniel.
He immediately looked away.
My heart sank.
“Daniel?”
My father said nothing.
I stared at Daniel.
“You betrayed my mother?”
Daniel stepped forward.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t understand.
“Because I was the one who sent you the messages.”
Everything went silent.
I stared at him.
“You?”
Daniel nodded.
“I needed you to find the truth before your father could get to you.”
My father turned sharply toward him.
“You promised you wouldn’t involve her.”
“I had no choice.”
I stepped backward.
“So all those messages…”
“They were from me.”
The unknown number.
The warnings.
The photograph.
Everything.
“But why?”
Daniel looked at Amara.
Then back at me.
“Because your mother left one final instruction.”
“What instruction?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
He handed it to me through the doorway.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence written in my mother’s handwriting.
“If my daughter ever discovers the truth, tell her to trust Daniel.”
I looked up.
My father was staring at Daniel with anger in his eyes.
Amara was crying upstairs.
And suddenly, I realized something.
There was still one question nobody had answered.
If Daniel was trying to protect me…
why had my mother warned me not to trust anyone close to me?
I looked at Amara.
Then at Daniel.
Then at my father.
Someone was still lying.
And I had a terrible feeling that the biggest secret hadn’t even been revealed yet.
To be continued… 👀🔥
