Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The phone kept ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The name on Vincent Hale’s screen remained visible.
Elena.
Adrian Vale stared at it like it was a ghost standing in front of him.
Fifteen years.
Fifteen years since the last time he heard that name.
Fifteen years since his sister disappeared.
Fifteen years since his family told him Elena Vale had died in a car accident on a mountain road outside the city.
There had been a funeral.
There had been a coffin.
There had been tears.
There had been a grave.
Adrian remembered every detail.
Because he was the one who placed the first handful of dirt onto it.
And now Vincent was holding a phone that said Elena was calling him.
"Answer it."
Adrian's voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
Vincent didn't move.
"Vincent."
The second time Adrian said his name, the entire room felt colder.
Vincent slowly looked up.
"You don't understand what happens if I answer."
Adrian walked closer.
"No."
His eyes locked onto Vincent.
"I don't understand why my dead sister is calling your phone."
The maid lowered her head.
Lily held onto her mother's hand.
Nobody wanted to speak.
Because everyone in that room understood the same thing.
A dead woman had just opened a door that was supposed to stay closed forever.
The phone stopped ringing.
For three seconds, there was silence.
Then it rang again.
This time, Vincent looked at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
"Put it on speaker."
Vincent hesitated.
Then he answered.
Nobody spoke.
At first, there was only static.
A faint sound.
Like someone breathing.
Then a woman's voice came through.
"Vincent."
Adrian felt his entire body freeze.
He knew that voice.
He had not heard it in fifteen years.
But he would recognize it anywhere.
"Elena."
Vincent's voice cracked.
For the first time in years, Adrian saw fear in the man who had always been fearless.
The woman's voice became softer.
"You were never supposed to let him find Lily."
The little girl immediately looked at her mother.
The maid closed her eyes.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Elena."
The line went silent.
Then the voice answered.
"Adrian."
Hearing his own name from his sister nearly broke something inside him.
Not because he believed it.
Because some part of him had always hoped it.
"Where are you?"
A long pause followed.
"I can't tell you that."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they will know I failed."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Who?"
The woman didn't answer.
Instead, she said something that made Vincent look down.
"Vincent knows what happened to Father."
The room exploded into silence.
Adrian turned slowly.
His eyes moved toward Vincent.
"Is that true?"
Vincent didn't respond.
That was enough.
Adrian grabbed the edge of the table.
All the anger he had buried for fifteen years came back at once.
"My father died because of a car accident."
Nobody corrected him.
Because everyone knew that wasn't the truth anymore.
"My father died because someone wanted him gone."
Vincent finally spoke.
"Adrian."
"No."
Adrian raised his hand.
"Not another lie."
The phone remained on speaker.
Elena's voice returned.
"Listen to me."
Adrian looked at the phone.
"Why did you leave me?"
The question came out before he could stop it.
The room became silent.
Even Vincent looked away.
For fifteen years, Adrian had told himself he didn't care.
That he was stronger than grief.
That he had accepted losing her.
But seeing Lily.
Seeing the pendant.
Hearing her voice.
Everything he buried came back.
"Why did you let me believe you were dead?"
The woman on the phone was silent for a long time.
Then:
"Because I was trying to keep you alive."
Adrian closed his eyes.
A thousand memories rushed through his mind.
Elena sitting beside him when they were children.
Elena telling him their family was not what everyone believed.
Elena warning him that their father's empire had secrets hidden beneath every success.
Elena disappearing the same week she promised she would tell him the truth.
"I don't believe you."
The words came out cold.
But his voice betrayed him.
Elena knew.
She always knew him.
"You should."
"Why?"
"Because Lily is the proof."
Adrian looked at the child.
The little girl was watching him.
Confused.
Scared.
Holding her mother's hand.
"What is Lily to you?"
Another silence.
Then Elena said:
"She is the reason I survived."
The maid started crying.
Adrian noticed.
"You know my sister?"
The woman nodded slowly.
"My name is Clara."
Adrian looked at her.
"How long have you known her?"
"Since before Lily was born."
"And you worked for me?"
Clara lowered her eyes.
"Yes."
The answer surprised him.
Adrian had hundreds of employees.
People came and went.
But he remembered every person who betrayed him.
And every person who saved him.
"You were in my house."
Clara nodded.
"I was there the night your sister disappeared."
The room became silent again.
Adrian felt his anger turn into something sharper.
"You were there."
"Yes."
"You knew she was alive."
Clara looked at Lily.
"I knew."
"And you said nothing."
"I was protecting her."
Adrian laughed once.
A humorless sound.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
He looked around the room.
"Everyone says they were protecting me."
He pointed at Vincent.
"My best friend lied to me."
He pointed at Clara.
"My employee lied to me."
He looked at the phone.
"My sister let me bury an empty coffin."
Nobody answered.
Because there was no defense.
The call suddenly became distorted.
Elena's voice became weaker.
"Adrian, you need to leave that room."
Adrian frowned.
"What?"
"Now."
The urgency in her voice changed everything.
"Why?"
"They know."
The lights in the conference room flickered.
Every man in the room immediately reached for their weapons.
Adrian noticed.
Vincent noticed.
They both knew.
Someone was coming.
Elena continued.
"Someone tracked Lily."
Adrian looked at the child.
The little girl suddenly became the most important person in the room.
"Who?"
"They were never looking for me."
Static filled the phone.
"They were looking for—"
The call cut off.
Adrian stared at the dead screen.
Then the sound came.
A soft electronic beep.
The security system.
Someone had opened the private elevator.
No one in the building could access that elevator without Adrian's permission.
Except one person.
Vincent slowly looked toward the door.
Adrian noticed his expression.
"Who is it?"
Vincent didn't answer.
The elevator bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
The men in the room raised their weapons.
Clara pulled Lily behind her.
Adrian stood in front of them.
The elevator doors opened.
A figure stepped out.
Someone Adrian had not seen in fifteen years.
Someone wearing the same silver pendant Lily carried.
Someone who looked exactly like the woman from his memories.
May you like
And then the person whispered:
"Adrian... you were never supposed to find out the truth."
