Chapter 6 - My Father Walked Back Into My Life With a Truth That Could Destroy All of UsI couldn't move.
Chloe couldn't either.
My father closed the door behind him.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then I whispered:
“Dad?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Six years.”
My knees weakened.
“You let us think you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because Vaughn wasn't the only person trying to take the company.”
“Who else?”
He looked at Declan.
Then at Chloe.
“The people behind him.”
I stared.
“Who are they?”
“My board.”
“No.”
“The people who funded Lynwood when I was young.”
I didn't understand.
He explained.
“Your grandfather borrowed money from a private consortium.”
“To build the company.”
“Yes.”
“The debt was repaid.”
“Not completely.”
“What remained?”
“Control.”
My stomach twisted.
“When the company became profitable, they wanted ownership.”
“My father refused.”
“Yes.”
“They threatened him.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“He started documenting them.”
“And they attacked him?”
“Yes.”
“The stroke.”
“They caused it.”
I looked at Declan.
“My father knew.”
“He knew.”
“And my mother's death?”
My father's face broke.
“She wasn't supposed to die.”
I froze.
“What happened?”
“She discovered the consortium.”
“They killed her?”
“Yes.”
Chloe covered her mouth.
I felt like the ground had disappeared.
My mother hadn't died naturally.
She had been murdered.
My father had faked his death because he was afraid we'd be next.
He had lived in hiding while we believed he was gone.
“Why didn't you take us?”
“Because I couldn't protect you and remain alive.”
“That isn't fair.”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“It wasn't.”
I stepped closer.
“I needed you.”
“I know.”
“You missed my graduation.”
“I know.”
“You missed Chloe's wedding.”
“I know.”
“You let me run Lynwood alone.”
“I watched every day.”
“You watched?”
“Yes.”
“From where?”
“Everywhere.”
I felt angry.
Then he handed me a folder.
“Your company isn't just a freight company.”
I opened it.
Inside were records.
Lynwood Freight had hidden assets.
Ports.
Warehouses.
Land.
Equipment.
All in trusts.
My father had been protecting the company.
“Why?”
“To keep it away from the consortium.”
“Who is the consortium?”
He looked at me.
“Blackridge.”
I recognized the name.
A private investment group that owned huge stakes in shipping companies.
“They wanted Lynwood.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because our routes cross too many ports.”
I frowned.
He pointed at a map.
“Lynwood controls access.”
“To what?”
“Human trafficking routes.”
My stomach dropped.
I stared at the map.
Several of our routes intersected known smuggling corridors.
“Your company was being used.”
“Without my permission.”
“By Blackridge.”
“Yes.”
“And Vaughn?”
“Worked for them.”
I looked at Declan.
“He found out.”
My father nodded.
“Then why did you hire him?”
“Because I needed someone honest.”
My father smiled faintly.
“He reminded me of myself.”
Declan looked uncomfortable.
My father continued:
“When I discovered the sabotage, I told Declan to keep collecting evidence.”
“And I fired him.”
He looked at me.
“You did.”
“I didn't know.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you stop me?”
“Because I needed to see whether you trusted your own judgment.”
I stared.
“That was cruel.”
“Yes.”
“But necessary.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You could have told me.”
“Then you might have been targeted differently.”
I wanted to be furious.
Instead, I hugged him.
For the first time in years, he hugged me back.
Chloe cried.
Declan looked away.
Afterward, my father told us the final part.
Blackridge was planning a hostile takeover.
The failed Charleston transfer was only the beginning.
They wanted Lynwood's stock price to collapse.
Then they would buy it cheaply.
Vaughn had been moving cargo into private warehouses.
When the company was blamed for the missing shipments, its valuation would fall.
Then Blackridge would acquire control.
My job?
To sign the emergency restructuring documents.
Which would quietly transfer voting rights.
I stared.
“So they wanted me to save the company.”
“No.”
“They wanted me to hand it over.”
“Yes.”
My father looked at Declan.
“And he found it.”
The man I fired had saved my company twice.
First from the shipment sabotage.
Then from being stolen.
But Blackridge still had one weapon.
My sister.
My father looked at Chloe.
“They know you were the witness.”
“Witness to what?”
“The accident.”
I froze.
“What accident?”
“The bridge.”
Declan stepped closer.
“They weren't trying to kill you.”
Chloe looked at him.
“What?”
“They were trying to kill your father.”
My heart stopped.
“And I was in the car.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was driving.”
The truth was even worse than we imagined.
My father had survived the crash.
My mother had been killed later.
And Chloe had been the only surviving witness.
Which meant Blackridge would never stop.
My father looked at us.
“They will come for all of you.”
The lights went out.
A gunshot sounded downstairs.
May you like
My father whispered:
“They're here.”
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