05

The weight of the morning pressed heavily on me as I entered my office. My head still throbbed with Dante’s words, each phrase replaying in my mind like a discordant melody. A leaked file. Financial transactions. My father.

I sat in my chair, fingers sifting through the papers piled on my desk. I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything until I understood what was happening. I needed to act, but how? Confront my father? Go back to Dante?

My breathing grew heavy. For years, I’d blamed Dante for everything. He was the villain, the manipulator, the reason for our ruin. But now, everything was in question.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Before I could respond, Dante walked in. He looked tense, his steps firm and calculated as always, but there was something different in his posture—a sharpness even more pronounced.

“Olivia,” he began without preamble, “we need to talk.”

“I think we’ve talked enough, Dante,” I replied, trying to mask the weakness in my voice. “What else do you have to tell me? That my father is the mastermind behind a corruption network?”

He ignored my sarcasm, closing the door behind him. “I understand that you’re confused. But if you want answers, you have to be willing to face the truth.”

I stood, crossing my arms. “You keep talking about truth, but all you do is drop hints and keep me in the dark. If you know something about my father, just say it.”

Dante sighed, running his fingers through his hair in a gesture that almost looked like frustration. “The leaked file isn’t a coincidence, Olivia. Someone is playing a game, and both you and I are on the board.”

“And what does that mean?”

“It means someone wants to take us down,” he said, his eyes locked on mine. “And they’re using your father’s name to do it.”

The room went silent for a moment, the weight of his words hitting me like a stone.

“Are you saying he might be innocent?” my voice came out low, hesitant.

Dante took a step closer, the intensity in his gaze almost burning me. “I’m saying we can’t assume anything until we find out the truth.”

Dante insisted we needed to work together to uncover who was behind the leak. Reluctantly, I agreed. He sent a team to analyze the file and trace its origin, while I delved into old documents he provided.

Hours passed in a blur. As I read through the reports, an uncomfortable feeling settled over me. Some numbers, some transactions… they started to make sense, but not in a good way.

Dante appeared again in the late afternoon, holding a tablet. “We found something,” he said, handing me the device.

I quickly scanned the report on the screen. A series of transactions linked my father’s name to offshore companies and suspicious contracts. Everything looked legitimate at first glance, but something didn’t add up.

“This doesn’t make sense,” I murmured, handing the tablet back. “My father would never do something like this. He wasn’t that kind of man.”

“I’m not saying he was,” Dante replied, his voice softer. “But someone was using his name. Either he knew, or he was manipulated.”

My throat tightened. The idea that my father could be involved, even indirectly, was too much to process.

After leaving Dante’s office, I knew what I had to do. I had to confront my father.

I arrived at his house that evening, the same house I grew up in. The facade was unchanged, but the weight of the past seemed to linger over the place.

He opened the door with a tired smile, but his expression shifted when he saw my face. “Olivia, what happened?”

“Can we talk?” I asked, trying to keep my composure.

He invited me in, and we sat in the living room. For a moment, I glanced at the family photos on the wall, memories of simpler times. But that wasn’t why I was here.

“Dad, I need to know the truth,” I began, looking at him directly.

He frowned. “About what?”

“About the financial transactions in your name. About the file that was leaked.”

He went pale, his eyes widening. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t lie to me,” my voice grew firmer. “There are records linking you to suspicious contracts. Offshore companies. I need to know if it’s true.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then he sighed deeply, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

“I don’t know how this happened,” he finally said, his voice trembling. “But, Olivia, I never… I was never part of anything illegal. I swear.”

“Then who was using your name?” I asked, feeling the anger and desperation rising within me.

“I don’t know,” he said, almost in a whisper. “But I promise I’ll find out.”

As I left my father’s house, I felt a mix of relief and frustration. He seemed genuine, but the evidence was hard to ignore. And if he was telling the truth, someone had used him as a pawn.

When I arrived at my apartment, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Dante: “We need to talk. Something important has come up.”

My heart raced. I knew the next meeting with Dante could bring answers—or more questions. But for now, all I could do was wait for the next piece of the puzzle.