CHAPTER 2 – THE EMPIRE OF LIES
The next morning, my father was already sitting in his office.
He looked relaxed.
Confident.
Untouchable.
He had no idea the walls around him were already collapsing.
I walked into the conference room carrying the same waterproof folder.
Every executive stopped talking.
My father smirked.
"Daniel, this isn't a place for soldiers."
I ignored him.
Instead, I plugged a flash drive into the projector.
One screen.
One spreadsheet.
One account.
Then another.
And another.
Millions of dollars had quietly disappeared during my deployment.
Every transfer led to shell companies owned by my father.
Every forged signature carried the name of a dead accountant.
Every approval had been faked.
The room fell silent.
My mother stood up.
"This is fabricated!"
"It isn't," another voice answered.
Everyone turned.
The company's outside auditor walked through the door, followed by two federal investigators.
"We've spent four months verifying every transaction."
My father's smile disappeared.
One investigator placed a thick folder on the table.
"Richard Collins, you're under investigation for fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion, and conspiracy."
Father laughed nervously.
"You have no proof."
I slid one final document across the table.
His own handwritten confession.
Months earlier, he had unknowingly signed an internal memo admitting he controlled every hidden account.
His lawyer slowly closed his briefcase.
"I advise my client not to answer any questions."
For the first time in my life...
My father looked afraid.
Claire returned home from the hospital that afternoon.
Lily smiled the moment she saw me.
Claire reached for my hand.
"I thought we'd lost everything."
I kissed her forehead.
"No."
"They only borrowed it."
"And now we're taking it back."
But I still hadn't uncovered the biggest secret.
The deeds proved something impossible.
The family estate...
Had never belonged to my father.
May you like
It belonged to someone else.
Someone who had disappeared twenty years earlier.
