Chapter 5 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The car stopped at a hidden underground entrance as Adrian whispered: "Nobody gets inside until I know who followed us." When Adrian Vale opened the secret security file, he discovered a missing person's record connected to Fiona's birth. But one line had been changed: "Status: Deceased." Adrian knew someone had rewritten history.
I stared at the phone screen.
The message remained there.
Ask Adrian why he buried the truth about Fiona's father.
And beneath those words was the name.
A name Adrian had whispered like he was seeing a ghost.
He's alive.
My mind couldn't process it.
"Who is alive?"
Adrian didn't answer.
He stared at the picture on his phone.
The picture of us inside the car.
The picture someone had taken without us knowing.
The picture proving we weren't safe.
"Adrian."
His eyes finally moved to mine.
"Do you know who sent this?"
He slowly locked his phone.
"Yes."
My heart dropped.
"Who?"
He looked at Fiona.
Then at me.
"I don't know if I should tell you."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because everyone kept deciding what I could handle.
Ethan.
My mother.
Now Adrian.
Everyone had pieces of my life.
Everyone except me.
"You don't get to protect me from the truth."
My voice was quiet.
"But I have to protect Fiona."
That stopped me.
Because he was right.
Everything changed when someone mentioned my daughter.
I looked at the sleeping child beside me.
The little girl who had no idea that adults were fighting over secrets connected to her birth.
"What do you know about her father?"
Adrian looked away.
"I knew him."
My breath caught.
"You knew him?"
"Yes."
"Who was he?"
Adrian closed his eyes for a moment.
Like he was fighting a memory.
"His name was Daniel Cross."
The name meant nothing to me.
But Adrian reacted as if it meant everything.
"Daniel was my closest friend."
Silence.
"Your friend?"
"Before Ethan."
I felt confused.
"Then why did Ethan's name appear everywhere?"
Adrian looked at the city outside the window.
"Because Ethan wanted everyone to believe Daniel disappeared."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel found something."
"What?"
Adrian hesitated.
Then:
"The truth about Ethan."
The car became silent.
I looked at him.
"You're telling me my husband erased someone's identity?"
"Yes."
"And you let him?"
His face changed.
The guilt was immediate.
That answer hurt more than anger would have.
"You did."
He nodded.
"I made a mistake."
I stared at him.
"What mistake?"
"I trusted the wrong person."
The car finally entered the underground garage.
The doors closed behind us.
For a moment, there was complete silence.
No cameras.
No strangers.
No people watching.
Just us.
Adrian opened the door.
"We're safe here."
I didn't move.
"Where are we?"
"My private residence."
I looked around.
The underground parking area was enormous.
Too large for a normal home.
Security cameras covered every corner.
Guards stood nearby.
This wasn't a house.
It was a fortress.
"You live like this?"
"People like me have enemies."
I looked at him.
"And people like me?"
His expression softened.
"People like you get hurt by people like me."
I didn't understand.
"What does that mean?"
He looked away.
"I was part of the reason Ethan got close to you."
The words hit me.
"What?"
Adrian didn't deny it.
"Six years ago, Ethan approached my company."
"Why?"
"Because of me."
I stepped back.
"You knew him before I married him."
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
"I didn't know you existed."
That answer stopped me.
He continued.
"Not until after."
"After what?"
He looked at Fiona.
"After Daniel disappeared."
My heart started racing.
"Wait."
I shook my head.
"No."
I didn't want to connect those things.
I didn't want the pieces to fit.
"My daughter was born after Daniel disappeared."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"And Ethan knew?"
"Yes."
"And you think Fiona is Daniel's daughter?"
Adrian didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
The silence was enough.
I felt like the ground disappeared beneath me.
Everything I believed about my marriage.
Everything I believed about my daughter's father.
Everything.
Gone.
I walked away.
I needed air.
I needed space.
I needed one minute where nobody was telling me my entire life was a lie.
I reached the window overlooking the city.
The lights below looked peaceful.
Almost cruel.
Because my world wasn't peaceful.
Not anymore.
Behind me, I heard Adrian's footsteps.
He stopped several feet away.
"I know you're angry."
"I'm not angry."
My voice was shaking.
"I'm exhausted."
He didn't speak.
"I spent six years believing I knew my own life."
I turned.
"And now everyone keeps giving me new versions."
"Blaire..."
"No."
I wiped my eyes.
"Tell me one thing."
"What?"
"Did Ethan ever love me?"
Adrian looked surprised by the question.
Then sad.
"I don't know."
That answer broke something inside me.
Because I realized nobody knew.
Maybe even Ethan didn't know.
A sound interrupted us.
A security alarm.
Adrian immediately turned.
The entire room changed.
The relaxed billionaire disappeared.
The protective man returned.
"What happened?"
One of the guards entered quickly.
"Mr. Vale, someone accessed the restricted archive."
Adrian's face hardened.
"Impossible."
"The system shows an authorized entry."
"Whose authorization?"
The guard looked uncomfortable.
Then handed him a tablet.
Adrian read the screen.
And froze.
I watched his expression.
"Who?"
He slowly turned the tablet toward me.
There was a name.
A name connected to the security clearance.
A name I recognized.
My hands went cold.
Because it belonged to someone who should have been on my side.
My mother.
"That's impossible."
Adrian looked at me.
"Your mother wasn't the only person hiding something."
Before I could respond, Fiona screamed.
A small terrified scream.
We both turned.
She was standing beside the hallway.
Holding something in her hand.
A small envelope.
My daughter's face was pale.
"Mommy..."
I ran toward her.
"What happened?"
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"The man gave me this."
My blood froze.
"What man?"
Fiona pointed toward the dark hallway.
"The man who said he was my daddy."
I stopped.
Adrian stopped.
Neither of us moved.
May you like
Because the hallway camera suddenly went black.
And the last person recorded entering the building was someone who had been declared dead six years ago...
