Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind The Secret
The folder had my name on it.
Not Ethan’s.
Not Adrian’s.
Mine.
I stared at the black letters printed across the cover, trying to convince myself there was some mistake.
But there wasn’t.
The stranger standing across the restaurant had brought something that belonged to me.
Something I had never seen before.
Something that had been hidden from me.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Claire, don't open it."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His silence was the answer.
That scared me more than anything he could have said.
I turned toward the older man.
"Who are you?"
He smiled slightly.
"Someone who knew you before you knew me."
The way he said it made my skin crawl.
I grabbed the folder and pulled it toward me.
Adrian moved.
"Claire."
I ignored him.
For six months, everyone had decided what I deserved to know.
Ethan.
Mia.
Now Adrian.
Everyone had been protecting me from something.
But nobody asked if I wanted protection.
Nobody asked if I wanted the truth.
I opened the folder.
The first page was a photograph.
It was me.
Not a picture from social media.
Not a picture I remembered taking.
It was taken outside my apartment building.
I was carrying groceries.
I was smiling.
I looked completely unaware.
There was a date written underneath.
Four months before Ethan left.
I flipped the page.
Another photograph.
Me walking into a coffee shop.
Another.
Me sitting in my office.
Another.
Me sleeping on my couch.
My hands went cold.
"How long?"
My voice barely came out.
The stranger watched me.
"Longer than you think."
I looked at Adrian.
"Did you know about this?"
His face changed.
Not guilt.
Anger.
"No."
I looked back at the folder.
"Then why did you tell me not to open it?"
"Because I knew whoever gave you that folder wanted you scared."
The stranger laughed softly.
"And Adrian wants you confused."
Adrian turned toward him.
"Enough, Victor."
The name stopped me.
Victor.
Mia had mentioned that name once.
Only once.
A year ago.
I remembered we were having coffee when she received a call.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
When I asked who it was, she said:
"Nobody important."
But she deleted the number immediately.
I looked at the older man.
"Your name is Victor?"
He nodded.
"Victor Hale."
Adrian's expression became colder.
"Claire, don't listen to him."
Victor smiled.
"Interesting. After everything you did, you're still pretending you're the one protecting her."
I looked between them.
"What is going on?"
Neither answered.
My patience broke.
"No."
The room went silent.
"I am done being the person everyone moves around like a chess piece."
I placed the folder on the table.
"I want answers."
Victor looked impressed.
Adrian looked worried.
Good.
For once, both of them were uncomfortable.
I pointed at the photographs.
"Who took these?"
Victor answered.
"Ethan."
My heart stopped.
"No."
"He was watching the people watching you."
I shook my head.
"Ethan would never do this."
Victor looked at me carefully.
"You still love him."
It wasn't a question.
I hated that he was right.
But love didn't erase what happened.
"He left me."
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why are you acting like he was some kind of hero?"
Victor leaned forward.
"Because Ethan discovered something that could destroy powerful people."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
This time, nobody answered immediately.
That silence returned.
The same silence I had seen before.
The same silence that meant the truth was worse than I imagined.
Adrian finally spoke.
"Claire."
I looked at him.
"Before Ethan disappeared, he found out someone was using your identity."
My eyebrows tightened.
"What?"
Victor placed another document on the table.
A bank record.
My name.
My signature.
My account information.
But I had never seen it before.
"This isn't mine."
"I know," Adrian said.
I looked at him.
"Then why does it have my name?"
Victor answered.
"Because someone created a second version of your life."
I felt a chill.
"What does that mean?"
"It means someone has been using you as a cover."
The restaurant suddenly felt too small.
I looked at Mia.
She was standing quietly near the entrance.
Watching.
"Mia knew."
Adrian looked at her.
"Mia knew some of it."
I turned.
"Some?"
Mia stepped forward.
"Claire, please let me explain."
I laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because I didn't know what else to do.
"You had six months."
Her eyes filled.
"I was trying to keep you safe."
"By lying to me?"
She looked down.
"I thought if you knew the truth, they would come after you."
"They already did."
I held up the folder.
"They took pictures of me."
Mia's face changed.
Like she had hoped I would never see that.
"Who are they?"
She didn't answer.
Adrian did.
"The Caldwell Group."
I froze.
"Ethan's family?"
Adrian nodded.
I stared at him.
"Ethan told me his family was just wealthy."
"They are."
"Then why are we talking like they're criminals?"
Nobody corrected me.
That was worse.
Victor looked at Adrian.
"Tell her the rest."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"No."
Victor smiled.
"You don't get to decide anymore."
I looked at Adrian.
"What rest?"
He didn't speak.
I stepped closer.
"Adrian."
For the first time, he looked away.
And that told me everything.
"You knew something."
He slowly nodded.
"Yes."
"What?"
He took a breath.
"The night Ethan left you..."
I waited.
"He came to me."
My heart started racing.
"What did he say?"
Adrian looked at me.
"He said if anything happened to him, I had to protect you."
I felt my eyes burn.
"Why?"
Adrian's voice became quieter.
"Because Ethan believed you were the only person who could expose them."
I looked at the folder.
At my photographs.
At my fake documents.
At my name being used by strangers.
"I don't understand."
Adrian stepped closer.
"You were never random, Claire."
The words felt impossible.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, Victor's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
Everyone noticed.
"Who is it?" Mia asked.
Victor didn't answer.
He showed the phone to Adrian.
Adrian's face went pale.
I looked at the screen.
There was only one message.
One name.
One sentence.
I found Claire.
My stomach dropped.
"Who sent that?"
Adrian grabbed his coat.
"We need to leave."
I didn't move.
"Who sent it?"
He looked at me.
And for the first time since I met him, Adrian Russo looked afraid.
"The person Ethan was trying to hide you from."
The restaurant doors suddenly opened.
A group of men entered.
Everyone froze.
Adrian grabbed my hand.
"Claire, run."
But before we could move, one of the men stepped forward.
He wasn't looking at Adrian.
He wasn't looking at Victor.
He was looking directly at me.
Then he said the words that made my blood turn cold.
"Claire Morgan."
May you like
A pause.
"You finally found out who your real father was."
