Nobody spoke.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
My uncle stood at the edge of the garden as though he had every right to be there.
But he didn't.
According to everything I had ever been told, he had died ten years ago in the same fire that had destroyed the Morgan warehouse.
Yet he was standing in front of me.
Alive.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakably him.
I looked at my father.
He had lost all the color in his face.
"You…"
My uncle smiled.
"Surprised?"
My father stepped forward.
"You should have stayed away."
"I tried."
His eyes moved toward me.
"But your daughter deserves to know the truth."
I felt Adrian's hand close around mine.
My father noticed.
"Get away from her."
Adrian didn't move.
My uncle laughed quietly.
"Still trying to control everything, brother?"
Brother.
The word sounded strange.
I had spent years believing this man was dead.
Now he was standing in our garden, speaking to my father like no time had passed.
I looked at him.
"Why did everyone say you died?"
His expression changed.
"Because your father wanted the world to believe I was dead."
My father interrupted.
"Don't listen to him."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because he's a liar."
My uncle's smile disappeared.
"A liar?"
He looked at my father.
"Tell her what happened after the fire."
My father said nothing.
My uncle turned to me.
"I survived that night."
I swallowed.
"How?"
"Someone pulled me from the burning building."
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"I never saw his face."
My heart raced.
"Then what happened?"
"I disappeared."
"Why?"
"Because your father wanted me gone."
I looked at my father.
"Is that true?"
He didn't answer.
My uncle continued.
"After the fire, your father told everyone I had died. He used my disappearance to hide what really happened that night."
"What happened?"
He looked at Daniel.
"Ask the Morgans."
Daniel lowered his eyes.
My uncle smiled bitterly.
"They know."
I turned to Daniel.
"Do you?"
He nodded slowly.
"Some of it."
"What does my marriage have to do with all this?"
My uncle looked directly at me.
"Everything."
My stomach tightened.
"Your father made a deal after the fire."
"What deal?"
"He promised your hand in marriage."
I stared at him.
"To whom?"
My uncle's eyes shifted toward Daniel.
"His family."
I shook my head.
"I was a child."
"Exactly."
Daniel stepped forward.
"I never agreed to this."
My uncle looked at him.
"But your father did."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"And that's why I tried to stop it."
I looked at him.
"You knew?"
"I knew there was an agreement."
"And you still came into my life?"
"I didn't know who you were at first."
I felt betrayed.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
He looked away.
"Because by the time I understood everything, I had already fallen in love with you."
Silence.
My eyes filled with tears.
I looked at Adrian.
He squeezed my hand.
My father suddenly spoke.
"Enough."
Everyone turned.
He looked at my uncle.
"You came here to destroy my family."
"No."
My uncle's voice was calm.
"I came here because the wedding is no longer just a wedding."
He looked at me.
"It's a transaction."
My heart sank.
"What transaction?"
He stepped closer.
"Your marriage to Daniel will transfer control of something your father has spent ten years protecting."
"What?"
He smiled sadly.
"Everything your father inherited from the night of the fire."
I stared at him.
"What did he inherit?"
My uncle's expression darkened.
"A fortune."
He paused.
"And a secret."
The garden became silent.
Then he looked at my father.
"Tell her."
My father remained silent.
My uncle's voice dropped.
"Or I will."
I looked at my father.
For the first time in my life, he looked afraid.
And I realized something terrifying.
Whatever secret had survived that fire…
my marriage was the key to unlocking it.