Chapter 7: The Person I Never Suspected
I stared at the message on my phone until the words stopped looking real.
*Stop searching for Olivia, or the next person who disappears will be you.*
My fingers went numb.
I didn't even realize I had stopped breathing until Thomas touched my shoulder.
"Emily.""
I looked up.
Everyone in the storage room was watching me.
Daniel.
Thomas.
Dave.
All of them knew.
The threat wasn't hidden anymore.
Someone wanted me scared.
Someone wanted me silent.
But the worst part wasn't the message.
It was the final thought that kept repeating in my mind.
*The person you trust most is the reason I disappeared.*
Olivia's words.
Not a guess.
Not a theory.
A warning.
I slowly lowered my phone.
"What do we do now?""
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"We leave.""
Daniel nodded.
"Immediately.""
Dave looked confused.
"Leave? You mean leave my store?""
Thomas looked at him.
"Yes.""
Dave shook his head.
"No offense, but I have worked here twelve years, and this is the first time my closing shift has involved fake police and billionaire secrets.""
Nobody laughed.
Because nobody knew if we were going to survive the night.
We moved through the back exit.
The cold air hit my face.
Rain had started falling harder.
Thomas's security team was waiting outside.
I stopped.
"Wait.""
Everyone turned.
I looked back at Franklin Market.
My workplace.
The place where I had spent countless nights.
The place where I thought my biggest problem was dealing with rude customers.
Now it felt like a doorway into a world I never knew existed.
"Why me?""
Nobody answered.
I looked at Thomas.
"I need to understand.""
He sighed.
"I know.""
"No.""
I shook my head.
"You don't.""
My voice cracked.
"Six years ago, your daughter knew me. She trusted me. Someone attacked her.
Someone erased my memory. Someone is threatening me now.""
I looked around.
"My whole life suddenly feels like a lie.""
Thomas's expression softened.
"You deserve the truth.""
"Then tell me.""
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said:
"Because Olivia believed you were the only person who saw her before she became a Whitaker.""
I didn't understand.
"What does that mean?""
Thomas looked at the rain falling between us.
"When Olivia was my daughter, everyone treated her differently because of my name.""
He paused.
"People wanted something from her.""
"Money?""
"Connections.""
"Power.""
His voice became bitter.
"But you didn't know who she was.""
I remembered the blurry memories.
A scared girl.
A rainy road.
A hand holding mine.
"She said I treated her like a normal person?""
Thomas nodded.
"She said you were the first person in years who looked at her and saw Olivia.""
Something inside me broke.
Because I remembered now.
Not everything.
But enough.
I remembered sitting beside a girl on the pavement.
I remembered her crying.
I remembered telling her:
"You're not alone.""
A phrase I had forgotten.
But she hadn't.
Daniel approached.
"There is something else.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He held a second file from the flash drive.
"We need to find who Olivia was investigating.""
Thomas frowned.
"Why?""
"Because whoever attacked her is still active.""
He looked at me.
"And they just revealed themselves.""
I felt my stomach twist.
"How?""
"The threat.""
Daniel pointed at my phone.
"They knew exactly what Olivia recorded.""
Thomas's eyes narrowed.
"Meaning?""
"Meaning whoever sent that message has seen the video.""
Silence.
Only one conclusion.
Someone was inside.
Someone had access.
Someone close enough to know what Olivia left behind.
Thomas whispered:
"Someone from my inner circle.""
Daniel nodded.
"Yes.""
I looked at Thomas.
"Who do you trust?""
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
"Nobody.""
The answer scared me.
A billionaire surrounded by employees, advisors, and family.
And he trusted nobody.
"Then how do we find them?""
Daniel looked at me.
"We start with Olivia's research.""
"Where?""
"Her apartment.""
Thomas immediately shook his head.
"No.""
Daniel looked at him.
"Thomas.""
"Absolutely not.""
"Why?""
Thomas's face changed.
Because for the first time, I saw something stronger than fear.
Pain.
"Because that's where she disappeared.""
Nobody spoke.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"We need to go there.""
Thomas closed his eyes.
Then slowly nodded.
"Fine.""
One hour later, we arrived at Olivia's apartment.
The building was expensive.
Quiet.
Protected.
The kind of place where people assumed nothing bad could happen.
But we knew better.
The door had already been opened.
Thomas stopped.
"My security checked this place after she vanished.""
Daniel examined the lock.
"Someone came back.""
I felt a chill.
"Recently?""
Daniel nodded.
"Very recently.""
We entered.
The apartment was beautiful.
Bookshelves.
Paintings.
A piano near the window.
Everything looked untouched.
Like Olivia might walk through the door any second.
Thomas stood still.
He looked around.
And for a moment, he wasn't a billionaire.
He was just a father missing his daughter.
I walked toward the desk.
Papers were everywhere.
Research notes.
Photos.
Documents.
Then I saw something.
A small envelope.
My name was written on it.
*Emily.*
My heart stopped.
"Thomas.""
Everyone rushed over.
Daniel looked shocked.
"Open it.""
My hands shook as I opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The first line made my eyes fill with tears.
*Emily, if you remember me, then I failed to protect you.*
I continued reading.
*I know you don't understand why you are involved. I know you believe we were strangers. But you were the reason I survived that night.*
I swallowed.
The next sentence destroyed me.
*And you were the reason I knew someone inside my father's company was dangerous.*
I looked up.
Thomas was pale.
"What does it say?""
I couldn't answer.
Because the final line on the page was something none of us expected.
*The person who betrayed me is not trying to destroy my father. They are trying to replace him.*
Then another sentence appeared beneath it.
Written darker.
Pressed harder.
May you like
Almost like Olivia wrote it while terrified.
*Emily, find the person who has been pretending to be my family.*
