Chapter 2 - The Secret Behind Emily’s Silence
Daniel placed the photograph face down on his desk.
He didn’t confront Emily.
Not yet.
He had learned long ago that people who truly had something to hide behaved differently when they were accused.
Emily, on the other hand, simply continued working.
She arrived before sunrise.
She left after Ethan went to bed.
She never complained.
She never asked for extra money.
And strangely, she never seemed impressed by anything in the Whitmore estate.
The marble floors.
The imported furniture.
The antique paintings.
The cars.
The money.
None of it mattered to her.
What mattered to Emily was whether Ethan had eaten breakfast.
Whether Daniel had remembered to take his lunch.
Whether the flowers in the kitchen were dying.
Whether the old gardener’s knee was hurting.
Small things.
Invisible things.
The kind of things wealthy people often forgot existed.
On the third day, Ethan refused to attend breakfast with the women.
He sat at the kitchen island instead.
Emily put a bowl of oatmeal in front of him.
“You need protein.”
“I don't like protein.”
“You don't even know what that means.”
“Yes, I do.”
Emily smiled.
Daniel entered the kitchen just in time to hear the argument.
“What's going on?”
“Your son is trying to survive on sugar.”
“I am not.”
“You had cake at seven this morning.”
“That was breakfast.”
Daniel looked at Emily.
She looked at him.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was the first real laugh anyone in the house had heard from him in weeks.
Across the doorway, Olivia watched in silence.
The competition was supposed to make the women look good.
Instead, the cleaning lady kept making them look unnecessary.
Later that day, Daniel summoned Emily to his office.
She stood in the doorway.
“You wanted to see me?”
Daniel held up the photograph.
“Who is this?”
Emily froze.
For the first time since Daniel had met her, she looked genuinely afraid.
“That is my brother.”
Daniel waited.
“His name is Michael.”
“Where was this taken?”
“At St. Vincent's.”
“Why?”
“He was sick.”
Daniel studied her face.
“What happened to him?”
Emily hesitated.
“He died.”
Daniel lowered the photograph.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
The fear in her expression changed to grief.
“That was our last day together.”
“Who sent me this?”
“I don't know.”
“Does anyone have a reason to make me suspicious of you?”
Emily looked directly into his eyes.
“Yes.”
Daniel waited.
“My brother owed money.”
“To whom?”
“I don't know exactly.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I know.”
“Emily.”
She clenched her hands.
“My brother made mistakes. Before he died, he told me there were people looking for him. He begged me not to tell anyone because he was afraid they would come after me.”
Daniel stared at her.
“And did they?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Then why are you here?”
She smiled sadly.
“Because I needed a job.”
The answer was so ordinary that it almost disarmed him.
“Why this estate?”
Emily looked down.
“Because you were hiring.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You could have applied somewhere else.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“No one wanted someone with no references.”
He studied her again.
There were holes in her story.
But there were also no obvious lies.
Before he could continue, Ethan burst into the room.
“Dad!”
Daniel turned.
Ethan was crying.
Not loudly.
The silent kind of crying that frightened Daniel more.
“What happened?”
“Lauren said Mom wasn't coming back because I wasn't good enough.”
Daniel stood so quickly his chair nearly fell.
“What?”
Ethan wiped his face.
“She said Mom wouldn't have left if I had been better.”
Daniel's expression turned cold.
Lauren appeared behind him.
“I never said that.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You did.”
“I was trying to explain death.”
“You made me cry.”
Lauren's face softened.
“I didn't mean—”
“Get out.”
Everyone froze.
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“Daniel,” Lauren began.
“Get out of my house.”
She left.
Ethan ran straight to Emily.
Emily knelt and held him.
Daniel watched.
That evening, he ended Lauren's participation in the thirty-day trial.
Four women remained.
The rules had changed.
There would be no more emotional manipulation.
No more staged performances.
No more trying to impress Ethan.
Daniel also made a decision.
He hired a private investigator to look into Emily.
Not because he wanted to hurt her.
Because he wanted the truth.
Three days later, the investigator returned.
“Mr. Whitmore, her story checks out.”
Daniel looked relieved.
“Everything?”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“There is one problem.”
“What?”
“Emily Parker isn't her full history.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“What did you find?”
The investigator placed a file on the desk.
“Before she moved here, she worked as an executive assistant for a company called Parker & Vale Holdings.”
Daniel stared.
“Parker?”
“Yes.”
“What's the connection?”
The investigator opened another document.
“Parker & Vale belonged to a man named Robert Parker.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“Emily's father?”
“Yes.”
“I thought he died fifteen years ago.”
“He did.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
The investigator paused.
“Robert Parker was one of the men who helped build your father's first company.”
Daniel stared at him.
“My father never mentioned him.”
“There's more.”
The investigator slid over another file.
“Your father and Robert Parker were business partners.”
Daniel read the document.
Then his face went pale.
The company had collapsed.
Robert Parker had taken the blame.
Whitmore Industries had survived.
And a year later, Robert Parker had died.
Officially, it was suicide.
Daniel looked up.
“Why didn't I know this?”
The investigator replied carefully.
“Because your father buried it.”
At that exact moment, someone knocked.
Emily entered holding a tray.
She stopped when she saw the papers.
Daniel immediately covered them.
“Come in.”
She placed the tray down.
Then she noticed the name on one visible document.
Parker.
Her expression changed.
“You know my father?”
Daniel said nothing.
Emily stared at him.
“You've been investigating me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone sent me evidence suggesting you're hiding something.”
She looked hurt rather than angry.
Then she whispered, “I told you my family had secrets.”
Daniel stood.
“What happened between our fathers?”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know my father was betrayed.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“My father was your father's business partner.”
Emily looked shocked.
“What?”
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
She backed away.
Then she looked toward the door.
“Mr. Whitmore…”
“Daniel.”
She shook her head.
“Daniel.”
He waited.
“My father used to tell me something before he died.”
“What?”
“He said if the Whitmore family ever came looking for me, I should never trust them.”
The room went silent.
Daniel felt cold.
Emily turned to leave.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
“Why?”
“Because I think our fathers' story isn't over.”
Emily looked back at him.
“You think my family has something to do with yours.”
“I think someone wants us to believe that.”
Before either could say more, the house lights suddenly went out.
Ethan screamed upstairs.
Daniel and Emily ran.
At the end of the hallway, a shadow disappeared through the servants' staircase.
Daniel chased it.
But whoever had entered the house was already gone.
On Ethan's bedroom floor lay a photograph.
His mother.
May you like
And beneath it, written in black ink:
ASK YOUR FATHER WHO REALLY KILLED HER.
