Chapter 7 - Inside the Red Button
Sophie stared at the glowing red button.
The object suddenly seemed enormous.
Marcus approached the counter.
He removed the panel carefully.
Inside was a tiny encrypted drive.
Sophie recognized the handwriting on the label.
Her father's initials.
D.M.
Ryan whispered.
“My God.”
Eleanor backed away.
Daniel watched her.
“You knew it was here.”
“No.”
“You did.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I only knew David was hiding something.”
Sophie looked at her.
“Then why did you spend years trying to sell this house?”
Eleanor did not answer.
Sophie understood.
The house was never just a house.
It was a vault.
Marcus connected the drive to the tablet.
A video opened.
David appeared again.
This time, he was not alone.
Michael stood across from him.
Sophie stopped breathing.
The recording showed Michael threatening David.
The audio was clear.
“You should have stayed out of my accounts.”
David answered.
“They were never yours.”
Michael laughed.
“You still think money is the problem.”
David stared at him.
“What do you want?”
Michael leaned closer.
“The company.”
David shook his head.
“You'll never get it.”
Michael smiled.
“Then your daughter will lose everything.”
The recording ended.
Sophie felt numb.
Ryan looked at her.
“I tried to warn you.”
She turned.
“You married me while working for him.”
Ryan looked down.
“I thought I could get close enough to stop him.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You hurt me.”
Ryan swallowed.
“Yes.”
“You let your mother manipulate me.”
“Yes.”
Sophie stepped closer.
“But you never knew about my father.”
Ryan shook his head.
“No.”
Daniel suddenly interrupted.
“The recording isn't finished.”
Marcus looked at the screen.
A hidden file appeared.
David's final message.
“Sophie, if you're seeing this, Michael has already moved against you.”
Sophie felt her heart race.
David continued.
“He will try to take the house.”
“He will try to take Lily.”
“And he will use Ryan.”
Ryan's eyes filled with tears.
David looked directly into the camera.
“Do not trust Ryan completely.”
Sophie froze.
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Ryan whispered.
“I didn't know he recorded that.”
Sophie turned toward him.
“What did my father know about you?”
Ryan shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“He knew Ryan had another secret.”
Sophie looked at him.
“What secret?”
Daniel pulled a folded document from his coat.
“Ryan wasn't working for Michael because of Lily.”
Sophie opened it.
Her face changed.
The document was a medical report.
Ryan had been diagnosed with a serious condition months earlier.
He had been hiding it.
Sophie looked up.
“You're sick.”
Ryan nodded.
“I didn't want you to know.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael knew.”
Sophie stared.
“He used your illness against you.”
Ryan whispered.
“He promised treatment.”
Silence.
Sophie suddenly understood the trap.
Michael had not controlled Ryan with money.
He had controlled him with time.
May you like
And Ryan had been running out of it.
Sophie listened to the recording twice. Each time, David's warning seemed heavier. Ryan sat silently nearby, refusing to interrupt. Sophie could see that he was waiting for her judgment. She wanted to punish him with words, but another question was becoming more urgent. If Michael had controlled Ryan through fear, who had controlled Michael? Every answer seemed to reveal another door, and behind every door was another secret.
