The room suddenly felt far too small.
Nadia stood between Raka and Arman while the laptop screen still showed her father's face, frozen at the final second of the recording.
"The real reason?" Nadia repeated.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Arman didn't answer.
Raka stepped forward instead.
"It's time you talked."
Arman shot Raka a sharp look.
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"I know more than you think."
"Then say it."
Raka clenched his fists.
But Nadia cut them off.
"Stop."
They both fell silent.
Nadia looked at Arman.
"I want to hear it from you."
Arman let out a long breath.
He sat down on the couch.
"It all started with your father."
Nadia remained standing.
"What did my father do?"
"He discovered that someone was moving money out of the Arunika Project."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Raka cut in. "You do know."
Arman looked at him.
"I only found out after it was too late."
Nadia looked from one of them to the other.
"Explain it from the beginning."
Arman was silent for a moment.
"The person who took the money used several shell companies. Your father found the evidence."
"And then?"
"He wanted to report it."
Nadia swallowed.
"But he died."
Arman nodded.
"Yes."
"Because of an accident?"
Arman didn't answer.
Raka said quietly, "It wasn't an accident."
Nadia closed her eyes.
For years, she had believed the same story.
Her father had been sick.
His condition had worsened.
Then the accident happened.
Everyone said it was fate.
It turned out it wasn't.
"Who killed him?"
Arman looked at Nadia.
"I don't know."
Nadia shook her head.
"Stop lying."
"I'm not lying."
"Then why are you afraid?"
Arman fell silent.
Raka took out his phone and showed her a photo.
"Because he knew who the culprit was."
Nadia looked at the photo.
A man stood beside her father.
His face was blurry, but his clothing and build were clearly visible.
"Who is he?"
Raka answered,
"Someone who worked for your company."
Nadia looked at Arman.
"Your company?"
Arman nodded.
"He hasn't worked there in a long time."
"What's his name?"
Arman sighed.
"Surya."
The name made Nadia frown.
"Surya?"
"The former chief financial officer."
Nadia had heard the name before.
But only once.
"Where is he now?"
Arman answered quietly,
"He's dead."
Nadia fell silent.
"So the person who killed my father is dead too?"
"Not necessarily."
Raka said it firmly.
Arman immediately looked at him.
"Don't start again."
"I found something."
Raka pulled out another photo.
A photo of an old house.
"This is Surya's house."
Nadia looked at the date on the photo.
Three months ago.
"If he's dead, why do you have a photo of his house?"
Raka looked at Arman.
"Because someone still lives there."
Nadia felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
"Who?"
Raka didn't answer.
Arman stood up instead.
"We have to go."
"Why?"
"Because now they know we've found the recording."
Suddenly, the lights in the house went out.
Darkness.
Nadia flinched.
"Arman?"
"Don't move."
The sound of something falling came from the front room.
Raka immediately moved closer to Nadia.
"Stay behind me."
"What's happening?"
"I don't know."
Footsteps sounded.
One.
Two.
Three.
Coming closer.
Arman turned on his phone's flashlight.
The beam swept across the living room.
Empty.
But the back door stood open.
Night air swept in, carrying the sound of rustling leaves.
Raka moved toward the door.
"Don't."
Arman stopped him.
"We don't know who's out there."
Raka turned around.
"Exactly."
Nadia hugged herself.
"Please don't go."
Raka looked at her.
For a moment, the tension between them disappeared.
Only concern remained.
"I won't leave you."
Arman heard him.
His expression changed.
But before he could say anything, something was thrown in from outside.
It landed right on the floor.
A phone.
The screen lit up.
There was a video recording.
Arman froze.
Raka stared at the screen.
Nadia moved closer.
The video began.
Surya appeared on it.
He looked much younger.
An office stood behind him.
Surya's voice came through clearly.
"If this recording is ever found, it means I've failed."
Nadia held her breath.
Surya continued.
"I'm not the one who took the money."
Arman closed his eyes.
Raka looked at him.
"Keep watching."
Surya said,
"The person who ordered me around is someone you would never suspect."
The video paused for a moment.
Then Surya said a name.
Nadia immediately looked at Arman.
Arman didn't move.
The name wasn't his.
It wasn't Raka.
It wasn't Maya.
It was the name of someone who had been very close to Nadia since childhood.
Someone she had always considered family.
Nadia whispered,
"That can't be."
Raka looked at her.
"You know him?"
Nadia nodded slowly.
Tears began to fall.
"He is..."
Nadia's voice broke off.
Arman finished for her.
"The man who raised you after your father died."
Nadia looked at her husband.
"Uncle Bima."
The name echoed through the room.
The man who had always come whenever Nadia needed help.
The man who had paid her school expenses after her father died.
The man who always said he only wanted to protect Nadia.
His name was in the recording.
Raka looked at Arman.
"You knew?"
"I suspected him."
"Since when?"
"For the past two years."
Nadia stared at Arman, her eyes full of hurt.
"And you never told me?"
"I was trying to find proof."
"You used me as bait instead."
Arman lowered his head.
"I know."
Nadia wiped away her tears.
"Everyone used me."
No one answered.
Then the phone on the floor vibrated.
A message appeared.
> *Now you know who I am.*
Nadia stared at the screen.
A second message appeared.
> *But you still don't know why your father had to die.*
Raka picked up the phone.
A third message appeared.
> *And you still don't know what really happened on the last night of his life.*
Nadia felt her body weaken.
Arman immediately grabbed her arm.
"Nadia."
She slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me."
Arman fell silent.
Nadia looked at Raka.
"If we want to learn the truth..."
Raka nodded.
"We have to find Uncle Bima."
Arman said,
"He must know we've seen this recording."
"Good."
Nadia stared at the phone screen.
"Then he also knows I won't stop."
The next morning, Nadia went to Uncle Bima's house.
The house looked exactly as she always remembered it.
A white fence.
A small garden.
A mango tree in front of the porch.
A place that had once felt safe.
Now it felt strange.
Nadia knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
She knocked again.
"Bima?"
The door turned out to be unlocked.
Nadia opened it slowly.
"Uncle?"
The house was empty.
But an envelope sat on the living room table.
Her name was written on it.
**For Nadia.**
Her hands trembled as she opened the envelope.
Inside was an old photograph.
A photo of her as a child with her father.
On the back of the photo was a message:
**"I'm sorry I never told you that I wasn't the person who saved your family."**
Nadia turned the photo over.
There was a second sentence.
**"I was the one who destroyed it."**
Suddenly, she heard the back door close.
Nadia turned around.
Uncle Bima stood there.
His face was calm.
He didn't look surprised.
He only said,
"You finally came."
Nadia took a step back.
"Why, Uncle?"
Bima smiled sadly.
"Because there are some truths you were never supposed to know."
Nadia stared at him.
"Did you kill my father?"
Bima was silent for a long time.
Then he answered,
"No."
Nadia breathed a sigh of relief.
But his next answer shattered that hope.
"Your father killed himself."
Nadia froze.
"Because he knew who I really was."
Bima looked at Nadia with deep regret in his eyes.
"And he left one final message."
"What did it say?"
Bima pointed to a wooden box on the table.
"For you."
Nadia opened the box.
Inside was a small key.
And a slip of paper.
**"Find the basement in our old house."**
Nadia stared at the key.
She knew which house he meant.
Her childhood home.
The house that had been empty for years.
And for the first time, Nadia realized that maybe she had never truly known her own family.
Bima looked at her.
"If you open that room..."
He stopped.
"Don't go alone."
Nadia lifted her face.
"Why?"
Bima answered quietly,
"Because the final answer is waiting there."
Outside the house, a car stopped.
Raka got out.
But before he could knock on the door, someone appeared behind him.
Someone carrying a weapon.
And Nadia had no idea that her journey toward the truth had just turned into a life-or-death threat.