Chapter 8: The Man Who Was Always There
Uncle Richard.
My father’s older brother.
The man who had brought me birthday gifts every year.
The man who stood beside my father after my mother died.
The man who had always told me I was like his own daughter.
I couldn’t make the image fit the person I knew.
“No,” my father whispered.
His reaction wasn’t anger.
It was disbelief.
“That can’t be Richard.””
Mia looked at him.
“I saw him.””
My father shook his head.
“He would never hurt Aaliyah.””
I looked at him.
The words sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
That was the problem.
Everyone always had someone they believed would never hurt them.
Until they did.
My father noticed my expression.
“Aaliyah.””
“I’m sorry.””
My voice was quiet.
“But didn’t you say the same thing about Lauren?””
He looked away.
The silence answered for him.
That evening, my father called Richard.
Not to accuse him.
Not yet.
Just to ask questions.
I listened from the hallway.
“Richard, I need to talk to you.””
A pause.
“No, everything is fine.””
Another pause.
My father’s face changed.
“Why were you near the graduation venue yesterday?””
My heart started racing.
Richard answered.
I couldn’t hear his voice.
But I saw my father’s expression.
Confusion.
Then anger.
Then fear.
“What do you mean you were protecting her?””
A long silence.
Then my father said:
“Don’t lie to me.””
He hung up.
I walked into the room.
“What did he say?””
My father looked exhausted.
“He said he was following you.””
“Why?””
“He said he was worried about you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“After sending threatening messages?””
“He denied that.””
“Do you believe him?””
My father didn’t answer.
And I hated that he couldn’t.
The next morning, we went through old documents.
My father had spent years keeping records.
Bank statements.
Emails.
Notes from my mother.
Everything connected to the night she died.
And then we found something.
A transaction.
A large amount of money transferred from a company account.
To Richard.
My father stared at the paper.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Dad?””
He shook his head.
“I knew about the missing money.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
“But I thought Lauren took it.””
Mia looked at him.
“You blamed my mom.””
My father looked ashamed.
“Yes.””
The room became quiet.
Then Mia said something I didn’t expect.
“She wasn’t innocent.””
Everyone looked at her.
“But she wasn’t the only one.””
I looked at the paperwork.
“So Richard was involved?””
My father nodded slowly.
“It appears that way.””
The pieces started connecting.
The money.
The threats.
My mother discovering the truth.
But one question remained.
Why would Richard try to hurt me?
My father answered before I asked.
“Because your mother left something behind.””
“What?””
He searched through the boxes again.
After several minutes, he found a small key.
“I didn’t know what this opened.””
My mother’s key.
My hands shook as I held it.
“Where did you find this?””
“In her old things.””
We searched every drawer.
Every box.
Then Mia noticed something.
“Wait.””
She pointed toward an old photo frame.
“There.””
Behind the photograph was a small metal compartment.
Inside was a USB drive.
My heart raced.
My mother had hidden it.
My father plugged it into his laptop.
There was one video file.
Created the day before she died.
We pressed play.
My mother appeared on the screen.
Older than the memories I had.
But still her.
Still my mother.
My eyes filled with tears.
She looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, something happened to me.””
My father covered his mouth.
My mother continued.
“I need you to understand something. The person who betrayed us is someone close.””
She looked down.
“I trusted the wrong person.””
The video shook slightly.
Like she was nervous.
“David, if it’s you watching this, I need you to know I tried to protect Aaliyah.””
I looked at my father.
He looked devastated.
Then my mother said:
“But if Richard is the one who finds this first, he will try to destroy the evidence.””
The room went completely silent.
My father whispered:
“Oh my God.””
The video continued.
“There is one more thing.””
My mother leaned closer to the camera.
“Richard did not act alone.””
The screen froze.
The file ended.
Nobody spoke.
Because the truth was now bigger than any of us imagined.
Richard wasn’t the only person involved.
And then my father’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face turned pale.
May you like
Because the caller ID showed one name.
Richard.
