The Memory Keeper: Twisted Roots

Years of waiting.

Years of watching from the shadows, biding my time, keeping my anger tucked away like a carefully sharpened knife, ready to be wielded at the right moment. And now, that moment has arrived.

I stand at the edge of everything I've ever worked for—everything my father fought for—and I see it slipping through my fingers, slipping into the hands of the Stantons. Khai. My daughter. The very blood I've spent so many years trying to reach, to claim, to shape into the person who would help me take back what was stolen from us.

But she doesn't know the truth.

She doesn't know what they did.

The Stantons—the snakes that took her from me. They raised her to be one of them, to walk their path of lies and power. To forget the Whitmore name and everything it stands for. They poisoned her with their own version of the truth, warped her perception of who she was, who her real family is. They manipulated her into thinking she belongs with them, that she's one of them.

But she's not.

She's mine.

And that's why they're using her against me.

Khai. They took my daughter and made her believe their lies. They fed her stories, told her that I was the enemy, that I was the villain in our family's history. They twisted her mind, turned her into a weapon for their own gain. And now that she's too far gone to see the truth, they're using her to get what they want—what I've always had the right to take back.

The Stantons have always seen themselves as untouchable, invincible, but I see the cracks. I see the lies they've built their empire on. And Khai? She's the key to bringing it all down. She's the weak link in their chain, the disruption they never saw coming.

I've been patient. I've waited years for this. Now, it's time to make my move.

I won't let them use her like this. Not again.

They've already taken so much from me—my father, my legacy, my peace of mind—but they won't take my daughter. Not without a fight.

The plan is already in motion. Every step calculated, every move precise. They don't know it yet, but Khai's already been pulled into a game she doesn't understand. I'll bring her back. And when I do, the Stantons will have no choice but to watch as everything they've built crumbles at their feet.

Khai will be ours again. The business will be mine again. And I will have my revenge.

The time for waiting is over.

Frederick's POV

The soft echo of footsteps approached, and I turned, hearing her familiar voice. "Darling, it's late, come to bed now."

I smiled, the warmth of her presence grounding me in the chaos that always swirled in my mind. Victoria. The one person who had been by my side, through it all.

I reached over to my office desk, my fingers brushing over the small baby picture that sat framed in front of me. It was a photo of Khai when she was just a little girl, her tiny hands reaching out, eyes full of innocence. Victoria held her in the picture, cradling her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

I stared at it, the weight of the years pressing down on me.

"She doesn't know yet," I muttered, the words barely audible.

Victoria walked up behind me and rested her hand on my shoulder. "She will, darling. She'll know the truth soon. Everything we've worked for... it will all make sense to her."