Chapter 4 - THE GHOST IN THE HOUSE
Daniel spun around, his instincts instantly kicking into overdrive. The doorway to Leo’s room was empty, but the shadows in the long, cavernous hallway outside seemed to lengthen.
Maya was sitting up on the floor, rubbing her temples, looking pale and exhausted. "The memory is fresh now," she whispered. "The shock of gaining his sight brought back the exact moment his brain shut down. He sees the truth, Mr. Ashford."
Daniel grabbed Leo by the shoulders, grounding him. "Leo, look at me. Breathe. Tell me exactly what you remember. Who did you see?"
Leo was crying, wiping his eyes with his charcoal-stained hands, smearing black streaks across his face. "We were driving home from the concert, Dad. It was raining. Right before the big truck hit us, our tire exploded. But right before the tire popped, I saw someone standing under the bridge. The headlights hit his face. He was holding a little black box with a red light."
"A remote detonator," Daniel whispered, a sickening realization dawning on him. The police had found shrapnel in the tire, but they assumed it was debris from the road. It had been an assassination attempt.
"Who was he, Leo? Did you recognize him?"
Leo nodded, his chin trembling. "He lives here, Dad. He comes into my room sometimes when you're at work. He thinks I can't hear him, but he smells like expensive tobacco and mint. It's Uncle Julian."
The name felt like a physical blow to Daniel's chest. Julian.
His stepbrother. The man he had trusted to run his empire. The man who had sat by Leo’s hospital bed for weeks, offering words of comfort, pretending to weep over the boy’s lost sight.
"Are you sure, Leo?" Daniel’s voice was dangerously calm, the calm before a catastrophic storm. "Are you absolutely certain?"
"It was him, Dad," Leo sobbed. "He looked right at us. He wasn't smiling. He looked... he looked like he wanted us to die."
Daniel stood up. The grief that had consumed him for the last two years instantly evaporated, replaced by a cold, blinding, lethal rage. Julian hadn't just tried to kill him; he had stolen two years of life from an innocent child. He had blinded an eight-year-old boy to cover up his greed.
"Maya," Daniel said, his voice dripping with ice. "Take Leo. Go down the back stairs to the kitchen. Find your mother and stay there. Lock the door. Do not come out until I come get you."
Maya nodded, her young face grave. She scrambled up and took Leo's hand. "Be careful, Mr. Ashford. A man who lives in the dark knows all the places to hide."
Daniel walked out of the bedroom and strode down the long hallway. His footsteps were silent on the heavy carpet. His mind was calculating. Julian was the COO. If Daniel and Leo had died two years ago, Julian would have inherited the entire Ashford estate and the controlling shares of Ashford International. Because Leo survived, Julian had to play the long game, slowly manipulating the board to restructure the company and strip Daniel of his power.
He reached the top of the grand staircase and looked down into the foyer.
Julian was there, standing by the front door, talking in a hushed, urgent tone to Marcus, the head of house security. Marcus was holding a file folder.
"I don't care how you do it," Julian was whispering to Marcus. "Get that gardener and her freak child out of this house. Fire them immediately. If they refuse to leave, use force."
"Is there a problem, Julian?"
Daniel’s voice rang out from the top of the stairs, echoing off the limestone walls.
Julian snapped his head up, his composure smoothing over instantly like oil on water. "Daniel! Ah, no problem at all. Just maintaining protocol. I was just telling Marcus that we need to keep the estate clear of... distractions. Especially today."
Daniel walked down the stairs, one deliberate step at a time. His eyes never left Julian's face. "You're right. Distractions are dangerous. Especially when you're trying to steal a company."
Julian’s eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Daniel reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped just three feet from his brother. "Marcus, leave us."
Marcus looked between the two brothers, hesitating. He was on Julian's payroll, a fact Daniel was about to discover the hard way.
"Marcus," Julian said, his voice dropping all pretense of warmth. "Stay right where you are."
Julian looked at Daniel, a sinister, arrogant smirk slowly creeping onto his face. "You look tense, Daniel. Did the little gardener girl fail to work her magic? Did she break your heart again? You really need to accept reality. Leo is blind. And tomorrow, you lose the company. It's over."
"Leo isn't blind anymore, Julian," Daniel said softly.
May you like
Julian froze. The smirk vanished, replaced by a sudden, stark pallor. "What?"
"He can see," Daniel whispered, stepping closer, his presence predatory. "And he remembers the man under the bridge two years ago. He remembers the remote detonator. He remembers you."
