Chapter 208.

Her expression changed immediately. "What?"

Adrian swallowed. Nothing would ever compare to this. Nothing could break him, but Emilia could.

He held her a little closer. "Before I tell you, I need you to understand something."

Emilia waited.

"None of this is your fault."

Her brows drew together. "What isn’t?"

Adrian took a slow breath. "Your father." His voice came out as a whisper. Almost inaudible.

She froze.

The word alone seemed to change something in the room.

"My father?"

Adrian nodded. "Emilia..." He paused. Then he said it as gently as he could. "Your father is alive."

She stared at him with deep confusion.

Her lips parted slightly. "What?"

Adrian’s hand moved slowly over her arm. "Your father is alive."

Emilia blinked twice, then she gave him a tiny laugh. The kind of laugh people made when something was too absurd to understand.

"No."

Adrian didn’t move.

She looked at him again. "No."

"Emilia—"

"My father died." Her voice was quiet. "He died. We buried him. There was a funeral."

"I know."

"My mother told me."

"I know."

"My father is dead."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. "He wasn’t."

Emilia stared at him. A strange little smile appeared on her face. A smile of disbelief.

"You’ve been spending too much time around Christian."

Adrian didn’t smile.

Her smile slowly disappeared. She studied his face. "You aren’t joking."

"No."

The room seemed to become unnaturally quiet.

Emilia sat up.

Adrian released her immediately.

She stared at the floor. Her fingers moved restlessly against the fabric of her pants.

"Alive?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

Adrian hesitated. "As far as I know..."

He stopped.

"He’s been alive all this time." Emilia looked at him. "All this time?"

"Yes."

She shook her head. "That’s impossible."

"I know it sounds impossible."

"No." She stood.

Adrian watched her.

"No, you don’t understand." Her breathing changed. She began pacing. "My father died."

"Emilia."

"He died."

Adrian stayed where he was. "He didn’t."

She turned toward him. "Then why did everyone tell me he did?"

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

Because there was too much. Too much to tell her. Too much that would make the ground beneath her feel even less stable.

Finally, he said softly, "Because Dante wanted everyone to believe he was dead. Be needed to buy time."

Emilia stared at him. She swallowed. "And you knew."

The question wasn’t angry. Not yet. It was fragile.

Adrian nodded. "I knew he was alive."

Emilia looked away.

"Not long after I started investigating what happened to my family."

She slowly turned back. "So you knew."

"I did."

"And you didn’t tell me."

Adrian’s chest tightened. "I wanted to."

"But you didn’t."

"No."

Her voice became quieter. "Why?"

Adrian stood.

He approached her slowly. Emilia eyes hardened, and she took three steps back. Adrian clenched his jaw, and stopped several feet away.

"Because I didn’t know where he was."

Emilia said nothing.

"I knew he had survived. I knew he was connected to the financial network I was investigating. But I didn’t know where he was."

He paused.

"And I didn’t know whether telling you would put you in danger."

Emilia looked at him. "Danger? Put me in danger with my father?"

Adrian nodded.

"Dante has been moving money through companies and accounts connected to Blackwood."

Her brows furrowed. "What does Blackwood have to do with him?"

"Everything." Adrian’s voice remained soft.

"Why?"

"To hide it."

"Hide what?"

"Money." He took another breath. "Money that came from my company."

Emilia’s face went blank. She shook her head. "But why would he move money into a university?"

"Because it gave him layers of protection." Adrian explained carefully.

"Some of the money was disguised as legitimate funding. Investments. Donations. Transfers through companies that appeared unrelated to him."

"And the board?"

"They knew."

Emilia’s eyes widened. "The board knew?"

"Some of them did."

"How do you know?"

"I found the financial records." He continued gently.

"Payments went into their private accounts. There were communications between them and people working for Dante. There were meetings. Agreements. Documents."

Emilia’s face changed. She looked almost sick. "All this time..."

Adrian didn’t interrupt.

"All this time I thought..." She stopped. Her hand moved to her forehead. "I thought my father was dead."

Adrian watched her.

"I thought..." Her voice cracked. "I thought that was why everything happened."

He moved closer. "Emilia."

She stepped back, and then she began pacing again. She moved to one side of the room, and then the other.

Her mind was clearly trying to catch up.

"My father would do no wrong." She whispered it.

Adrian said nothing.

She stopped. Her eyes lifted to his. "Why were you investigating him?"

"He appeared in my investigations."

A bitter little laugh escaped her. "So that’s why you came here."

Adrian’s eyes softened. "Partly."

"Partly?"

"I came here because I needed to find the truth."

"And you found it."

"Yes."

She looked away. "I don’t know what to do with that."

Adrian didn’t try to give her an answer.

She continued pacing. Her hands trembled slightly. "He’s my father who was supposed to be dead."

She stopped. "And now he’s alive?"

Adrian nodded.

Emilia stared at him. For several seconds, she didn’t move. Then something inside her seemed to collapse.

She sat down on the edge of the bed.

Her eyes remained fixed on the floor. "I don’t remember his face properly."

Adrian’s heart clenched.

Emilia rubbed her palms against her thighs.

"I try." Her voice was barely audible. "I remember pieces."

She looked up. "I remember his voice. Sometimes."

Adrian sat beside her.

"I remember his hands." Her eyes filled. "I remember him holding me when I was little."

She swallowed.

"And then..." She stopped. "I remember him being gone."

Adrian’s gaze lowered.

Emilia stared at the floor again.

"I spent years believing I was mourning a dead man." Her voice trembled. "And now you’re telling me I was mourning someone who was alive. All because of some imvestigations?"

Adrian finally reached for her hand.

Emilia let him take it for barely a second. Then she violently pulled her hand away.

Adrian’s fingers fell empty against his lap.

She stood there, breathing unevenly.

"Are you trying to accuse a dead man so your whole investigation would make sense to you?"