Chapter 6: The Secret Daniel Never Told Me
I didn't tell Daniel about the phone call.
That was the moment I knew something between us had changed.
Before, I would have told him everything.
Every strange conversation.
Every uncomfortable feeling.
Every doubt.
Daniel had always been my safe place.
But now, I wasn't sure if I was standing beside him...
Or standing in front of him.
The next morning, he noticed.
"You seem distant.""
I looked up from my coffee.
"I'm tired.""
He studied me.
He knew me well enough to know when I was lying.
"Claire.""
"What?""
"Did something happen?""
For a second, I almost told him.
Then I remembered Victoria's voice.
Mercer problems stay inside Mercer walls.
I hated that her words had power.
But they did.
"No.""
Daniel watched me.
Then nodded slowly.
"Okay.""
But I knew he didn't believe me.
That afternoon, I made a decision.
I needed to know the truth about Daniel.
Not the version he showed me.
The real one.
So I went back to the only person who could tell me.
Emily.
We met at the same coffee shop.
This time, she looked more nervous than before.
"Something happened.""
I nodded.
"Your mother called me.""
Emily went pale.
"What did she say?""
"That Mercer problems stay inside Mercer walls.""
Emily closed her eyes.
For a moment, she looked exhausted.
"I knew this would happen.""
"What?""
"Once she knows you're asking questions, she won't stop.""
"Emily, I need answers.""
She looked at me.
"About Daniel.""
Silence.
Then she whispered:
"What do you want to know?""
I took a breath.
"Everything.""
Emily stared at the table.
Then she began.
"Daniel wasn't always like this.""
That sentence hurt.
Because it meant there was a version of him I had never met.
"When we were kids, Daniel protected me.""
I listened.
"He was the only person in the house who stood up to my mother.""
"Then what happened?""
"He went away to college.""
"That's all?""
"No.""
Emily looked at me.
"When he came back, he was different.""
"How?""
"He stopped fighting.""
I thought about that.
"Why?""
"Because my mother gave him something.""
"What?""
"Power.""
Emily explained that Daniel had always been expected to take over the family business.
But after a disagreement with his father, Richard threatened to cut him off.
Victoria stepped in.
She offered Daniel a solution.
Support.
Connections.
A future.
But there was a condition.
"He had to stop challenging her.""
I shook my head.
"You think he traded you for success?""
Emily didn't answer.
That was enough.
That night, I confronted Daniel.
Not with accusations.
With one question.
"Did you know Emily wanted to leave five years ago?""
He froze.
I saw it.
The exact moment he realized I knew.
"Who told you that?""
"Answer me.""
He looked away.
"Yes.""
My heart sank.
"You knew?""
"Claire—"
"You knew she wanted to leave and you didn't help her?""
"It's not that simple.""
"Why does everyone keep saying that?""
My voice cracked.
"Why can't anyone just say what happened?""
Daniel ran a hand through his hair.
"Because you don't understand.""
"Then explain.""
He was silent.
And that silence hurt more than any answer.
Finally, he said:
"Emily wasn't okay.""
I stared at him.
"That's what your mother told you.""
"No.""
"Isn't it?""
His face tightened.
"She needed help.""
"Or she needed freedom?""
He looked at me.
And for the first time since I met him...
I saw fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear of what I was uncovering.
"Claire, you need to stop.""
The words were quiet.
But they felt like a threat.
"Why?""
"Because you don't know what you're dealing with.""
I stood there.
Looking at the man I loved.
And wondering when exactly he became someone who could ask me to ignore suffering.
Then he said something that changed everything.
"Emily has lied before.""
I froze.
"What?""
"There are things you don't know about her.""
"What things?""
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked away.
And that was when I understood.
Everyone had a version of Emily.
Victoria's version.
Daniel's version.
Emily's version.
But somewhere between all those stories was the truth.
May you like
And I was going to find it.
Even if finding it destroyed the life I had planned.
