Chapter 4
The drive to Arthur’s house took twenty-two minutes. Neither of them spoke. The hum of the car engine and the soft, rhythmic breathing of baby Leo were the only sounds filling the cabin. Rebecca stared out the side window, watching the endless stream of amber streetlights blur into streaks of gold against the dark glass. Every bump in the road sent a jolt of pain through her jaw, but her mind was racing too fast for the physical discomfort to matter.
When Arthur pulled the sedan into the gravel driveway of his modest, single-story ranch home, the familiar sight brought an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashing over Rebecca. The house looked exactly as it had when she was a teenager—warm, cluttered with stacks of old blueprints and historical journals, smelling faintly of old paper and pine cleaner.
"Let me take him," Arthur said gently, cutting the engine and stepping out into the chilly night air to open Rebecca’s door.
"I've got him, Dad," Rebecca replied, her voice cracking slightly as she unbuckled the carrier.
Inside, the house was a sanctuary of yellow light. Arthur immediately set about making tea while Rebecca settled into the oversized armchair in the study, unwrapping Leo to check him over. The baby was sleeping peacefully now, his tiny chest rising and falling in regular rhythms, completely oblivious to the earthquake that had just upended his world.
Arthur walked in holding two steaming ceramic mugs, placing one on the side table before pulling up a wooden stool to sit directly across from his daughter. He looked older under the harsh study lamps—the lines around his eyes deep canyons of worry, his grey hair slightly rumpled.
"You need to see a doctor about your mouth, Becky," Arthur said softly, his gaze dropping to her swollen lip. "Internal tissue damage needs proper cleaning before it gets infected."
"I'll be fine," she murmured, wrapping both hands around the hot mug, letting the warmth seep into her freezing fingers. "Dad... we need to talk about what Julian said before we left. About the business contracts and the savings."
Arthur shook his head, taking a slow sip of his tea. "Let Julian worry about his corporate games. My priority is keeping you and Leo safe under this roof. But... what did he mean by secrets? He looked at you like he had a leash wrapped around your neck."
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Rebecca set her mug down with a sharp clatter against the wooden coaster. The memory of the broken smartphone in her father’s coat pocket flared in her mind. Julian hadn't just been angry about a domestic argument; he had been terrified of what was stored inside that device.
"He’s hiding something massive," Rebecca said, leaning forward. "For the past six months, he’s been taking late-night calls in the garage. He transferred our joint savings into an offshore account under a corporate shell. And tonight... tonight I found out why."
