I unfolded it, expecting perhaps a note from Daniel, a final insult. Instead, a handwritten letter stared back at me, the ink slightly smudged from the rain.
“Antonio,
When you left, you thought you were losing everything. You were wrong. I have been waiting for this moment. The shares were never yours. They were always mine. The document you found was a forgery, a decoy to keep you occupied while I secured the real transfer. The real agreement is on my desk, signed by the board, and you will never see it because you are no longer a part of this family.
—Daniel
I stared at the words, the paper trembling in my hand. My heart pounded, not from fear, but from the sudden clarity that everything I had believed about the partnership, about my role, about the trust I had placed in Daniel, was a lie.
In that instant, the photograph of Laura slipped from my pocket, landing on the floor with a soft thud. I bent down, picked it up, and held it close. The smile on her face seemed to mock the betrayal, to remind me that the truth was deeper than any business deal.
