**Chapter 8 — The Birthday Gift Hidden for Years**
The Birthday Surprise
Chapter 8 — The One File Lucas Never Meant Anyone to See
The forensic specialist continued scrolling through the hidden folder.
Most of the documents were organized by date.
Every movement of the Harrison family had been recorded.
Business meetings.
Vacations.
Charity events.
Birthday parties.
Even Sophie's ballet recitals.
Emily stared at the screen in horror.
"I never knew..."
Mercer believed her.
None of the files appeared to have been created by Emily.
Every document carried Lucas's encrypted digital signature.
Then another folder appeared.
Unlike the others, it required a password.
The specialist tried several combinations.
Nothing worked.
Mercer looked at Ethan.
"Did Lucas ever use a favorite number?"
Ethan thought for a moment.
"Try the date we met."
The specialist entered it.
Wrong.
Emily suddenly whispered,
"Try Ethan and my wedding date."
Everyone turned toward her.
The specialist typed the numbers.
The folder opened instantly.
Inside was only one video file.
No title.
No description.
Only today's date.
Mercer pressed Play.
Lucas appeared on the screen, sitting alone inside a hotel room.
He looked exhausted.
"If you're watching this..." he began, "...then everything has gone wrong."
He took a deep breath.
"I never loved Emily."
Emily's eyes widened in disbelief.
Lucas continued.
"She was never the target."
"The Harrison family fortune was."
The room fell silent.
"I was hired years ago to get close to Ethan. Marrying into the family wasn't part of the original plan... until someone realized Emily was lonely."
Ethan clenched his fists.
Lucas looked directly into the camera.
"But the person behind all of this..."
"...is someone Ethan has trusted for more than twenty years."
The video suddenly ended.
No name.
No explanation.
Only silence.
Mercer slowly closed the laptop.
Then he looked at Ethan with a grave expression.
"I don't think your biggest enemy is Lucas."
"I think he's only the middleman."
