Chapter 7 - The Truth Margaret Buried
"Jessica, you finally opened Margaret's office."
The voice coming from Luca's phone made my entire body freeze.
I knew that voice.
Not because I had heard it often.
Because I had heard it once before.
Years ago.
At my wedding.
A voice congratulating me.
A voice telling me I was lucky.
A voice belonging to someone I trusted.
Someone I never thought to question.
"Richard?"
Nobody moved.
The phone remained on speaker.
A quiet breath came from the other side.
Then the man answered.
"Yes, Jessica."
I looked at Richard.
He was standing near the doorway.
But his face was no longer calm.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
"You're here."
Richard slowly stepped backward.
"I didn't know he would call."
My eyes moved between them.
"You both know each other."
Nobody answered.
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I was exhausted.
Every answer created three more questions.
"Of course you do."
My voice shook.
"Everyone knows everything except me."
My mother looked at me.
"Jessica..."
"No."
I looked at her.
"Please don't tell me you were protecting me."
She stopped.
Because she knew.
I had heard that too many times.
The voice on the phone spoke again.
"Jessica, listen carefully."
I held the phone tighter.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"Someone who tried to stop Margaret from making the same mistake twice."
I frowned.
"What mistake?"
The voice became quieter.
"Trusting the wrong people."
Everyone looked at Luca.
His face changed.
"Turn it off."
I looked at him.
"What are you afraid I will hear?"
He did not answer.
That was enough.
I put the phone closer.
"Keep talking."
The man continued.
"Your aunt discovered the truth before she died."
My heart tightened.
"What truth?"
"That the people closest to you were not all there because they loved you."
The words hurt.
Because I knew exactly what he meant.
But I also knew something else.
People who tell you they know the truth are not always telling the truth themselves.
"Why should I believe you?"
A small silence.
Then the voice replied:
"Because Margaret left you proof."
I looked at Evelyn.
She immediately understood.
"The office."
Everyone turned toward her.
She nodded.
"The private office."
Rachel picked up the key.
"We need to go there."
Luca moved.
"No."
The word came too quickly.
Rachel looked at him.
"Why not?"
He hesitated.
Then said:
"Because some things should stay buried."
The room went silent.
My chest tightened.
Because Luca was no longer denying anything.
He was asking me not to look.
And that was worse.
I walked toward him.
"Eleven years."
He looked at me.
"Jessica..."
"Eleven years I stood beside you."
My voice became quieter.
"I defended you."
I remembered every person who warned me.
Every time someone said Luca was moving too fast.
Every time I ignored doubts because I loved him.
"And all this time, you knew my aunt was investigating you."
His eyes filled with regret.
"I never wanted to hurt you."
I shook my head.
"But you did."
Nobody spoke.
The children were upstairs.
I was grateful.
They did not need to see their family falling apart like this.
Rachel led us toward the hidden office.
The office was behind a wooden panel in the library.
A place I had walked past hundreds of times.
A place inside my own home that I never knew existed.
Evelyn inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room.
Not a luxurious office.
Not a secret treasure room.
Just a quiet place filled with documents.
Photographs.
Boxes.
Records.
A lifetime of things Margaret had hidden.
I stepped inside.
On the desk was one folder.
My name was written on it.
Jessica Sterling.
I touched it.
My hands were shaking.
Evelyn whispered:
"Your aunt prepared this for you."
I opened the folder.
The first page was a letter.
Jessica,
If you are reading this, then I was right.
You finally learned that love can sometimes hide danger.
I swallowed.
The next page contained photographs.
Luca.
Richard.
My mother.
All together.
Years before I met Luca.
I looked at my mother.
"You knew him before me."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"How?"
She sat down.
"Because Luca came to me."
The room became silent.
"What?"
She looked at the floor.
"Before he met you, he wanted access to information about Margaret's assets."
My heart broke.
Not suddenly.
Slowly.
Like something cracking from the inside.
Luca immediately spoke.
"That wasn't why."
I looked at him.
"Then why?"
He had no answer.
Again.
No answer.
My mother continued.
"He changed."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"He changed after he met you."
That confused me.
"You still believe that?"
She nodded.
"Because I saw it happen."
Luca looked away.
My mother continued.
"But changing does not erase what happened before."
Rachel picked up another document.
"This is a financial agreement."
I looked at it.
A partnership contract.
Between Richard and Luca.
The date was before our marriage.
But there was something else.
A hidden clause.
"If marriage occurs, access to Sterling family information may increase."
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Luca.
He closed his eyes.
"I was young."
I laughed.
"That is your explanation?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"I was desperate."
The honesty shocked me.
Because it was the first real answer he had given.
"My company was failing."
He continued.
"Richard introduced me to people who could help."
I looked at Richard.
"So you planned this?"
Richard shook his head.
"No."
But his voice lacked confidence.
"I introduced Luca to opportunities."
My mother looked at him.
"You introduced him to the wrong people."
Richard looked away.
The room became colder.
I turned the page.
Another document.
Another name.
A name I did not recognize.
But everyone else did.
My mother stopped breathing.
Rachel looked shocked.
Even Luca stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at the paper.
There was one sentence.
A handwritten note from Margaret.
The person who started this is not Luca.
He was only the door.
The real person has been standing behind him the entire time.
My hands tightened around the paper.
"Who?"
My mother whispered:
"Jessica..."
I looked at her.
"Who?"
She closed her eyes.
Then said:
"The person who introduced Luca to our family."
I looked at Richard.
Because I thought I knew the answer.
But then my phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
One photo.
A photograph of my aunt Margaret.
Alive.
Standing outside a building.
The date was after the day everyone told me she died.
Under the photo was one sentence:
"Your aunt never died when they told you she did."
I looked up.
Nobody noticed.
Everyone was staring at the photograph in my hand.
Then the office lights suddenly turned off.
Complete darkness.
A sound came from behind the wall.
A hidden door unlocking.
May you like
Slowly.
Someone had been inside the office the entire time.
