Chapter 5: The Man Who Broke Into My Father's House
My father moved in front of me.
"Stay behind me," he ordered.
But I couldn't move.
Ryan's voice came again from upstairs.
"Emily, I just want to talk!""
A security guard hurried toward the staircase while another reached for his radio.
My father turned to the head of security.
"Call the police. Tell them we have an unauthorized intruder and that a protective order may be in place.""
Then he looked at me.
"Go back to your room.""
"Ryan knows I'm here.""
"That's precisely why you need to stay away from him.""
I glanced toward the stairs.
"What if he's looking for the diary?""
My father froze.
The question hung between us.
Before he could respond, a door slammed upstairs.
A moment later, Ryan appeared at the top of the staircase.
His expensive jacket was gone. His shirt was wrinkled, and his hair looked as though he had been running his hands through it for hours.
He held up both hands.
"I'm not here to cause trouble.""
My father stood at the foot of the stairs.
"You broke into my home.""
"I came to see my wife.""
"Your wife has made it clear she doesn't want contact with you tonight.""
Ryan looked past him.
"Emily, please. Just give me five minutes.""
I stepped out from behind my father.
"Why are you here?""
Ryan's eyes immediately went to my bruised cheek.
His expression changed.
For a moment, he looked almost ashamed.
Then he descended two steps.
"I've been worried about you.""
I stared at him.
"You were worried about me?""
"Yes.""
"You hit me, Ryan.""
He swallowed.
"I know.""
"You hit me while Lily watched.""
His eyes flickered.
"I lost control.""
"You don't get to use that excuse anymore.""
My father raised a hand.
"That's enough. You're leaving.""
Ryan ignored him.
"Emily, I need you to listen. Your father isn't telling you everything.""
The irony was so bitter that I almost laughed.
"Neither are you.""
Ryan looked genuinely wounded.
"I'm trying to protect you.""
"From what?""
He glanced at my father.
"From the truth about your mother.""
My father's face hardened.
"You don't get to use Elizabeth's name to manipulate my daughter.""
"I'm not manipulating her!""
Ryan's voice echoed through the hallway.
He looked back at me.
"Your mother was investigating something before she died. Something that involved your father and Richard Hale. I found evidence of it years ago.""
I felt my stomach twist.
"What evidence?""
"Documents. Old financial records. Notes she made before the accident.""
"Where are they?""
Ryan hesitated.
My father took a step forward.
"Answer her.""
Ryan's expression shifted toward anger.
"Why don't you tell her what you did, Charles?""
One of the guards moved closer.
My father didn't flinch.
"Careful, Mr. Mitchell.""
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"You always do that. You threaten people instead of answering questions.""
"Then answer mine," I said.
"Why did you marry me?""
Ryan looked at me.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he rubbed his face.
"At first, I wanted access to your family.""
The words struck harder than I expected.
Even though I had suspected the truth, hearing him admit it made my chest ache.
"At first?"" I repeated.
He nodded slowly.
"I was in debt. My business was failing. Vanessa knew about your father and told me you were his only child.""
"So you researched me.""
"Yes.""
"You approached me because of my family.""
"Yes.""
I felt as though the floor had shifted beneath my feet.
Every memory of our early relationship suddenly looked different.
The coffee shop where we first met. The flowers he sent to my office. The weekend trip to Michigan when he told me he had never felt so understood by anyone.
Had any of it been real?
"Did you ever love me?"" I asked.
Ryan looked down.
"I didn't expect to.""
My eyes burned.
"That isn't an answer.""
He lifted his head.
"Somewhere along the way, I did love you.""
I shook my head.
"Then why did you treat me like this?""
His expression hardened.
"Because you never trusted me.""
I stared at him in disbelief.
"You made me afraid to ask where you were going!""
"You always listened to your father.""
"Because you gave me reasons to worry!""
Ryan stepped down to the final stair.
"You have no idea what your father did to keep his empire. He built his fortune on deals that destroyed other people's lives. Your mother found out. She wanted to expose him.""
My father finally spoke.
"Your claims are based on documents you stole from my office.""
"I didn't steal anything.""
"You entered my property under false pretenses when you worked for one of my companies.""
Ryan's face flushed.
"Because you were hiding the truth!""
My father turned toward the security guards.
"Escort him outside.""
Ryan backed away.
"Don't touch me!""
The guards stopped, keeping their distance.
I looked at my husband.
"Why did you come here tonight?""
Ryan's jaw tightened.
For the first time, his eyes moved toward the east wing.
The corridor where my mother's belongings were stored.
I followed his gaze.
"You came for the diary.""
"No.""
"You're lying.""
He looked at me sharply.
"Emily, listen to me. If that diary still exists, you need to find it before someone else does.""
"Who?""
Ryan hesitated.
Then he said, "Richard Hale.""
My father went completely still.
Ryan noticed.
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?""
My father didn't answer.
Ryan looked back at me.
"Your mother discovered that Richard was moving money through shell companies. She believed he was using one of your father's businesses to hide it. She was preparing to tell the authorities.""
"And you knew this before you married me?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you go to the police?""
Ryan laughed without humor.
"Because I was working with Richard.""
Silence filled the hallway.
My father looked at him with unmistakable disgust.
Ryan continued quickly.
"I thought I could make enough money to get out. I thought I could find the documents, sell them, and disappear. But after I met you, things changed.""
I felt sick.
"You wanted to use me to get close to my father.""
"Yes.""
"And you wanted to find my mother's diary.""
"Yes.""
"Did you hurt my mother?""
Ryan's face drained of color.
"No.""
The answer came so quickly that I believed he was telling the truth about that one thing.
But there were still too many unanswered questions.
"Then what happened to her?""
Ryan looked toward my father.
"I don't know everything. But I know her accident wasn't as simple as everyone was told.""
My father took a step forward.
"That's enough.""
"No!"" I shouted.
Both men turned toward me.
I had spent years being told to calm down, stop asking questions, and trust the people who claimed to know better.
Not anymore.
"Nobody is leaving until I understand what happened to my mother.""
Ryan stared at me.
Then he reached inside his shirt and pulled out a small object.
A brass key.
"I found this in Vanessa's apartment," he said.
"She stole it from Richard years ago.""
My father looked at the key.
His expression changed instantly.
"Where did you get that?""
"I told you. Vanessa had it.""
My father stepped forward and took the key.
He turned it over in his palm.
"What does it open?"" I asked.
Ryan looked at me.
"The blue box.""
My heart began pounding.
"You know where it is?""
"No. But I know where Richard kept it.""
My father closed his fist around the key.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?""
Ryan's laugh was harsh.
"Because you would have destroyed me before I could get what I needed.""
"And what did you need?""
Ryan looked directly at me.
"Proof that Richard Hale was involved in your mother's death.""
The words seemed to drain all the air from the room.
My father grabbed Ryan by the front of his shirt.
"Don't you dare make accusations you cannot prove!""
Ryan didn't resist.
"Then find the diary.""
My father released him.
For a moment, I thought he might strike Ryan himself.
Instead, he stepped back and addressed the guards.
"Take him outside. Wait for the police.""
Ryan struggled as the guards approached.
"Emily! Don't let him hide this from you!""
I stood motionless.
He looked at me desperately.
"Your father isn't the man you think he is!""
The front door opened.
Ryan was escorted outside, still shouting my name.
Then the door closed.
The house fell silent.
I turned toward my father.
"Is it true?""
He looked exhausted.
"I don't know whether Richard was responsible for your mother's accident.""
"But you suspected him.""
"Yes.""
"For twenty years?""
My father looked down at the brass key.
"Yes.""
I stepped away from him.
"You knew there might be a connection between Mom's death and your business dealings, and you never told me?""
"I was trying to protect you.""
"Stop saying that!""
My voice cracked.
"Everyone keeps saying they're protecting me. Ryan used those words while he was hurting me. You used them to keep me from asking questions. How am I supposed to know the difference anymore?""
My father looked as though I had struck him.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then he placed the key on the table between us.
"You're right," he said quietly.
"You deserve the truth.""
I looked at the key.
"Where is the blue box?""
My father took a slow breath.
"In a storage room beneath the old Whitmore building downtown. Your mother asked me to keep it there because she believed someone had been searching our house.""
"Why didn't you open it?""
"I tried. The lock was different from the one I remembered, and the box was sealed with a mechanism I couldn't figure out. Later, it disappeared from the storage room.""
I stared at him.
"Someone stole it?""
"I believe so.""
"Then how does Ryan know about it?""
"Richard may have told him.""
I looked toward the front door.
Ryan had come to my father's house because he believed the diary could expose a crime.
But he had also admitted that he married me for access to my family.
I couldn't trust him.
And I wasn't sure I could trust my father completely either.
That night, after the police took Ryan away for questioning about the break-in, I returned to the guest room.
Lily was waiting for me beneath the blankets.
"Mommy, I heard Daddy shouting.""
I sat beside her.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart.""
"Is he coming back?""
"Not tonight.""
She took my hand.
"Can we go somewhere else?""
I kissed her forehead.
"Yes. We'll make a safe plan together.""
She nodded and closed her eyes.
When I was certain she was asleep, I checked my phone.
A new message had arrived from Vanessa.
I heard Ryan went to your father's house. You need to know something before you look for that box.
Another message appeared.
Richard Hale isn't the only person who knew about your mother's diary.
I typed a reply.
Who else knew?
The answer came almost immediately.
Your mother told someone in the family where she hid the original pages.
I stared at the screen.
Then Vanessa sent one final message.
Emily, the person who helped hide your mother's diary is still alive.
And beneath it was a name.
May you like
My father's older brother.
*Uncle David.*
