The ride back to Liam's house was silent.
Amelia stared through the window.
She couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.
Her father.
Liam's father.
Marcus.
Damian.
Four men connected by a secret she had never known existed.
And somehow, she was at the center of it.
When they arrived, Amelia went straight to the library.
Liam followed.
"We need to find out what your father did."
"My father?"
"Yes."
"Where do we start?"
"His old records."
Liam walked toward a large bookshelf.
"My father kept physical records of everything."
He pulled several folders from a cabinet.
They spent nearly an hour searching.
Nothing.
No mention of Amelia's father.
No mention of Marcus.
Nothing useful.
Amelia was beginning to lose hope when she noticed a small locked drawer inside an old desk.
"Liam."
He walked over.
"What?"
"This."
He examined the lock.
"That's strange."
"Can you open it?"
He took out a small key from another drawer.
It fit.
The drawer opened.
Inside was a single envelope.
Liam removed it.
There was handwriting on the front.
For my sons.
He stared at it.
"Your father wrote this?"
"Yes."
He opened it.
The letter was short.
Liam read silently.
Then his face changed.
"What?"
He handed it to Amelia.
She read.
Liam and Damian,
If you're reading this, something has happened to me.
There are things I should have told you.
Marcus knows the truth about the money.
Your mother knows the truth about Amelia's father.
And Amelia must never know what happened between our families.
Amelia stopped reading.
"What does that mean?"
Liam took the letter.
"I don't know."
"There must be more."
There wasn't.
Only one sentence remained.
The key is where the first promise was made.
Amelia looked at Liam.
"The first promise?"
He went quiet.
Then his eyes widened.
"The oak tree."
They both looked at each other.
"There's something buried there."
They returned to the park before sunset.
The old oak tree stood exactly as Amelia remembered.
Liam walked around the base.
"I remember this."
"What?"
"We buried a box here."
Amelia's eyes widened.
"Our memory box."
They had been teenagers when they buried it.
Letters.
Photographs.
Little objects that meant something to them.
They had promised to open it when they were thirty.
They had forgotten about it.
Until now.
Liam found the spot.
He dug into the soil with his hands.
After several minutes, his fingers hit metal.
He pulled out a small rusty box.
Amelia's heart raced.
They sat beneath the tree and opened it.
Inside were their old memories.
A bracelet.
A photograph.
Two letters.
And a small silver key.
Amelia picked it up.
"What does this open?"
Liam turned it over.
There was a symbol engraved on it.
A black rose.
His face changed.
"What?"
"My father's private vault."
Amelia stared at him.
"There's a vault?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Under the family mansion."
They packed everything and returned to the car.
But before Liam could start the engine, Amelia noticed a folded piece of paper beneath the memory box.
She picked it up.
It wasn't old.
The ink was fresh.
She unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written.
You were never supposed to find the key.
Amelia's blood ran cold.
"Liam."
He read it.
His expression hardened.
"They knew we'd come here."
"How?"
He looked around the park.
"Because someone has been following us."
Amelia's heart raced.
A car was parked several meters away.
The windows were dark.
Liam immediately started the engine.
"We're leaving."
The car behind them started too.
Liam accelerated.
The other car followed.
Amelia turned around.
"They're following us!"
"I know."
Liam drove faster.
The two cars moved through the city.
The black car stayed behind them.
Amelia held onto the seat.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere they won't expect."
"Where?"
Liam looked at her.
"My father's vault."
She stared at him.
"Now?"
"Now."
He stepped on the accelerator.
Because if someone was willing to follow them in broad daylight, they had no intention of waiting three days.
The Blackwood mansion was almost empty when they arrived.
Liam used a private entrance beneath the house.
Amelia followed him down a narrow staircase.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
Finally, they reached a steel door.
Liam took out the silver key.
He inserted it.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room filled with documents, boxes, and old files.
Amelia looked around.
"This is where your father kept everything?"
"Everything he didn't want anyone to find."
Liam switched on the lights.
They began searching.
Minutes passed.
Then Amelia noticed a box with her father's name.
She froze.
"Liam."
He came over.
The box was labeled:
THOMAS ROSE — CONFIDENTIAL.
Her father's name.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside were bank statements.
Contracts.
Photographs.
Letters.
And a document with her father's signature.
Amelia read the first page.
Then she looked at Liam.
"My father worked with your father."
"I knew they knew each other."
"No."
She shook her head.
"They were partners."
Liam took the document.
His eyes moved across the page.
"This is a business agreement."
"How much money?"
"Millions."
Amelia felt dizzy.
"My father didn't have millions."
"Apparently, he did."
She continued searching.
Then she found another document.
It was dated three months before her father's death.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Suddenly, her face changed.
"Liam."
"What?"
"My father wanted to leave the partnership."
"Why?"
She handed him the document.
He read it.
"He discovered the money was being stolen."
"By who?"
Liam looked at the next page.
His expression became hard.
"Damian."
Amelia's heart sank.
"Your brother stole the money?"
"It looks like it."
"Then my father found out."
"Yes."
"That's why he died."
Liam looked at her.
"We don't know that."
"But it makes sense."
Her voice trembled.
"My father discovered what Damian was doing, and then he died."
Liam took her hand.
"We'll find proof."
Amelia looked at him.
For a moment, neither moved.
She was exhausted.
Frightened.
Confused.
And somehow, being close to Liam made everything feel slightly less terrifying.
She whispered, "I missed you."
Liam froze.
Amelia immediately looked away.
"I shouldn't have said that."
He gently turned her face toward him.
"Don't take it back."
Her eyes met his.
"I missed you too."
He moved closer.
Neither of them spoke.
Their faces were inches apart.
Amelia could feel his breath.
For one moment, she forgot about Damian.
The threats.
The photographs.
The past.
There was only Liam.
His hand moved gently to her cheek.
"Tell me to stop."
She didn't.
His lips were almost touching hers when a loud sound came from outside.
They immediately separated.
Liam reached for his phone.
The security alarm had been triggered.
Someone had entered the mansion.
Liam grabbed Amelia's hand.
"We have to go."
They ran toward the exit.
But when they reached the staircase, they heard footsteps above them.
Someone was coming down.
Liam pulled Amelia into the darkness beside the wall.
They held their breath.
A man's voice echoed through the hallway.
"I know you're here."
Amelia's eyes widened.
She knew that voice.
Damian.
Liam's expression hardened.
The footsteps came closer.
Damian appeared at the top of the stairs.
He slowly descended.
"Liam."
Liam stepped out.
"Damian."
For seven years, the brothers had lived apart.
Now they stood face to face.
Damian smiled.
"You finally found the vault."
Liam's fists tightened.
"You killed our father."
Damian laughed softly.
"No."
He looked at Amelia.
"But I know who did."
Amelia's heart stopped.
"Who?"
Damian smiled.
"Your father."