CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Daniel arrived at his father's mansion earlier than usual on Saturday morning.
He had barely stepped into the sitting room when he heard voices coming from Richard's private study.
"I'm not giving you another opportunity to ruin my family," Richard said sharply.
Another man replied, "Your family? You should have thought about that before you allowed the truth to remain buried."
Daniel stopped outside the door.
He recognised his father's voice, but the other man's voice was unfamiliar.
"Leave Grace and her daughter out of this," Richard warned.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then the stranger spoke again.
"You can't protect them forever, Richard. Especially not now that your son has become involved."
Daniel's heart began to pound.
His son?
Was the man talking about him?
He moved closer to the door, but before he could hear anything else, the study door opened.
Richard stood before him, his expression hardening.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you."
"Then you should have announced yourself."
Daniel looked past his father. A man in a dark suit stood near the desk, holding a leather folder. His face was partly turned away, but Daniel caught a glimpse of a scar near his eyebrow.
"Who is he?" Daniel asked.
"Someone you don't need to concern yourself with."
The stranger gave Daniel a thin smile.
"Your father is right. Some matters are best left alone."
Daniel stared at him. "Funny. That's exactly what people say when they're hiding something."
The man's smile disappeared.
Richard stepped forward. "That's enough. You should leave."
Daniel shook his head. "Not until you tell me why Robert Cole is threatening Aisha and her mother."
At the mention of Robert's name, the stranger's expression changed.
Only for a second, but Daniel noticed.
Richard noticed too.
"Get out," Richard said quietly.
Daniel had never heard his father speak in that tone before.
He left the mansion furious, but his mind was racing. He immediately called Aisha and told her what had happened.
They agreed to meet that afternoon at a small restaurant in Lekki.
When Aisha arrived, Daniel was already waiting.
"My father knows more than he's telling us," he said.
"So does my mother."
Daniel showed her a photograph he had secretly taken of the stranger as he left the mansion.
Aisha studied the man's face.
"Do you know him?"
"No. But I intend to find out."
She zoomed in on the photograph. The scar near his eyebrow was clear.
Then she noticed something else.
A silver ring on his right hand, engraved with a strange symbol.
"I've seen that symbol before," she whispered.
"Where?"
Aisha searched through her phone and opened an old photograph of her mother standing beside Richard years ago. In the background, almost hidden behind them, stood a man wearing the same ring.
Her eyes widened.
"Daniel, this man was around my mother before you and I even knew each other."
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Whatever had happened between Grace, Richard and Robert was older and more complicated than either of them had imagined.
And now they had a face connected to it.
Aisha saved the photograph.
"We need to find out who he is."
Daniel nodded.
"Together."
This time, when their hands touched across the table, neither of them pulled away immediately.