Chapter 3: The Family Secret
Chapter 3: The Family Secret
I read the sentence three times.
Maybe four.
Hoping it would change.
It didn't.
Sophia looked pale.
"What does that mean?"
I already knew.
Deep down.
Because memories started connecting.
The different treatment.
The arguments.
The distrust.
The coldness between them.
My father had known.
For years.
The next file explained everything.
Thirty-two years ago, my mother had an affair.
A secret affair.
One mistake.
One lie.
One child.
Ethan.
The DNA test was attached.
Verified.
Certified.
Undeniable.
Sophia sat down.
Crying.
The family we thought we knew suddenly disappeared.
But the worst part wasn't the affair.
It was what came next.
Because Ethan knew.
He had known for years.
And he wasn't protecting the secret.
He was using it.
To blackmail our father.
To gain control.
To steal millions.
Then another file appeared.
A video recording.
Date stamped three weeks before Dad died.
I pressed play.
My father's face filled the screen.
Older.
Tired.
Angry.
"Ethan threatened me."
The room went silent.
"If you're watching this, I didn't die naturally."
My blood ran cold.
The video continued.
"He said if I exposed him, he'd destroy the family."
Then Dad leaned closer.
And whispered:
"If anything happens to me..."
He paused.
May you like
Looking directly into the camera.
"...it was Ethan."
