Chapter 3 - The Woman My Family Tried To Erase
The message remained on Dominic's phone screen.
"Ask Mara why she lied about who she really was..."
He read it once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
The workshop was still dark.
The only light came from the emergency lamp near the entrance, casting shadows across the gowns hanging around them.
Mara stood frozen.
Celeste stood beside the door.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that room understood the same thing.
Someone had been watching.
Someone knew exactly what was happening.
Dominic slowly lowered his phone.
"Who sent this?"
No answer.
His eyes moved between the two women.
"Mara."
She looked at him.
There was pain in her expression.
Not because of the message.
Because she knew something he didn't.
"What does it mean?" Dominic asked.
Mara opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
That hesitation told him more than words could.
"You know."
Her eyes dropped.
"I know something."
Dominic stepped closer.
"Then tell me."
Before Mara could answer, Celeste moved forward.
"Dominic, don't do this here."
His head turned.
"Don't do what?"
"Destroy everything because of one message."
Dominic stared at his sister.
"One message?"
He pointed at the notes.
"The notes."
He pointed at the dresses.
"The returned gowns."
Then he looked at Mara.
"My wife leaving our house with a suitcase."
His voice became quieter.
"And you still want me to believe this is nothing?"
Celeste looked away.
For years, Dominic had seen his sister as the person who protected him.
Tonight, she looked like someone protecting herself.
"Mara," Dominic said.
"Tell me the truth."
Mara looked at the old envelope in Celeste's hand.
Then she looked back at him.
"I didn't lie to you."
Dominic's expression softened slightly.
"But?"
Mara swallowed.
"But I didn't tell you everything."
The words landed heavily.
Dominic had expected betrayal.
He had expected anger.
But somehow, hearing that his wife had hidden something hurt more.
"Why?"
Mara looked around the workshop.
At the dresses.
At the memories.
At the life she had tried to build.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of me?"
Her eyes immediately changed.
"No."
That answer came too quickly.
"Never you."
Dominic believed her.
That was the hardest part.
Because every instinct he had told him Mara was telling the truth.
"So what were you afraid of?"
Mara looked at Celeste.
"Your family."
The room went silent again.
Celeste's jaw tightened.
"That's enough."
Dominic turned.
"No."
His voice was firm.
"Not anymore."
Celeste looked at him.
"You don't understand what you're asking."
"Then explain."
She didn't.
And Dominic noticed.
Everyone had always explained things to him.
Business partners.
Employees.
Enemies.
But his own family had started answering him with silence.
That was new.
Mara slowly took the envelope from Celeste's hand.
Celeste tried to stop her.
"Mara."
But Mara held it tightly.
"I should have shown him months ago."
Dominic watched as his wife opened the envelope.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young woman stood outside a small restoration studio.
Dominic looked closer.
The woman was Mara.
But younger.
Much younger.
Standing beside an older man.
A man Dominic didn't recognize.
On the back of the photograph was handwriting.
One sentence.
"She deserves a life where nobody knows what she lost."
Dominic looked up.
"Who is this?"
Mara became quiet.
"My father."
The answer surprised him.
"You never talked about him."
"I know."
"Why?"
Mara looked at the photograph.
"Because everyone who knew him wanted me to forget him."
Dominic frowned.
"What happened?"
Mara sat down slowly.
For the first time that night, she looked less like someone hiding something.
She looked like someone carrying something too heavy for too long.
"My father owned a small design company."
Dominic listened.
"He wasn't rich. He wasn't powerful. He didn't have people protecting him."
She touched the photograph.
"But he had something your family wanted."
"What?"
"Proof."
Dominic's expression changed.
"Proof of what?"
Mara looked at him.
"That people close to powerful families can destroy lives and make everyone believe nothing happened."
The words created a cold silence.
Dominic looked at Celeste.
His sister didn't move.
But her face had changed.
She knew where this was going.
"My father worked with your family before I met you."
Dominic froze.
"My family?"
Mara nodded.
"Years ago."
"What kind of work?"
"Fashion investments. Private collections. Luxury brands."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"And?"
Mara looked down.
"And one day, my father's company disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"Contracts were canceled."
"Accounts were frozen."
"Partners stopped answering."
She looked at the dresses around them.
"He lost everything."
Dominic stared.
"Who did this?"
Mara didn't answer immediately.
That silence was enough.
"Your family."
Dominic stepped back.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
Not anger.
Denial.
"My family didn't..."
He stopped.
Because he remembered something.
A conversation years ago.
His father telling him never to ask about certain old business matters.
Celeste telling him some companies failed because they were poorly managed.
Small details.
Things he ignored.
Because they were in the past.
Mara watched him.
"I didn't know you when it happened."
Dominic looked at her.
"I know."
"You weren't involved."
"Then why hide it?"
"Because when I met you, I didn't know you were a Serrano."
Dominic went still.
"When did you find out?"
"After I fell in love with you."
The answer hurt.
"But by then, I was already afraid."
"Afraid I would leave you?"
"No."
Mara looked directly into his eyes.
"Afraid you would believe them instead of me."
Dominic had no response.
Because that was the question he was now asking himself.
Would he?
Would he have believed his wife?
Or would he have protected his family first?
The silence answered for him.
Mara looked away.
"I saw what happened to my father."
She spoke softly.
"I knew how easy it was for powerful people to rewrite the truth."
Dominic stepped closer.
"Mara, I am not them."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you trust me?"
Her eyes filled.
"Because every time I tried to tell you, something happened."
"What?"
"Your family would suddenly be kind."
Dominic frowned.
"Kind?"
"They would invite me to dinner."
"Buy me gifts."
"Act like they loved me."
She looked at him.
"Then they would remind me exactly where I came from."
Dominic felt his hands tighten.
"What did Celeste say?"
Mara looked at his sister.
Celeste remained silent.
"Mara."
Finally, Mara answered.
"She told me you married me because you wanted something different."
Dominic looked at Celeste.
"That's not true."
Celeste said nothing.
"She told me your friends laughed behind my back."
Still silence.
"She told me one day you would regret choosing me."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Celeste."
His sister finally spoke.
"You don't understand."
"No."
Dominic shook his head.
"I don't."
Celeste looked at him.
"Because Mara didn't tell you the whole story."
Mara turned.
"What?"
Celeste reached into her bag.
She pulled out another envelope.
"This."
Dominic looked at it.
"What is that?"
Celeste looked at Mara.
"The reason your father never wanted you to find her."
Mara's face changed.
"What did you say?"
Dominic stepped forward.
"Find who?"
Celeste didn't answer.
She placed the envelope on the table.
The name written on the front was visible.
Not Mara's name.
Not her father's.
Someone else's.
Someone Dominic recognized.
Someone who had been dead for twelve years.
Dominic reached toward the envelope.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Only breathing.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
"Dominic Serrano..."
He froze.
Because he knew that voice.
It belonged to someone who should never have been able to call him.
The voice continued:
"Your wife was not the only person your family tried to erase..."
May you like
The call ended.
And the envelope on the table slowly began to open by itself because someone had already been inside the workshop...
