Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Was Never the Enemy
The screen showed Isabella.
Alive.
Watching us.
Nobody spoke.
For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the faint buzzing of the computer.
Cassian stared at his wife’s face.
The woman everyone believed had betrayed him.
The woman he thought had hidden the truth from him.
The woman who was supposed to be gone.
But she was there.
Looking directly at him.
"Hello, Cassian."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
Like she had been waiting for this exact moment.
Cassian stepped closer to the screen.
"Where are you?"
Isabella did not answer.
Instead, she looked at me.
"Elena."
My body froze.
Even through a screen, she looked at me like she was standing right in front of me.
"I know you hate me."
I swallowed.
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know what I felt anymore.
Anger.
Pain.
Confusion.
Everything had become mixed together.
Isabella continued.
"But you need to listen before you decide what I did."
Cassian’s jaw tightened.
"You don't get to ask for anything."
Her expression changed.
Not anger.
Sadness.
"You still sound like your father."
That sentence made him stop.
The woman on the screen looked away.
"For years, I waited for you to remember."
Cassian looked at me.
Then back at the screen.
"Remember what?"
Isabella didn't answer immediately.
Then she said:
"The night your father disappeared."
The room became silent.
Cassian’s face hardened.
"I remember."
"No."
Her voice was soft.
"You remember what they wanted you to remember."
Nobody moved.
I felt a cold feeling in my chest.
Because that was exactly what had happened to me.
My entire life had been built on missing pieces.
Isabella continued.
"Your memories were changed."
Cassian looked at the folder on the floor.
The memory removal report.
His face became darker.
"Who did it?"
She looked directly at him.
"The same person who killed your father."
A pause.
"The same person who tried to kill Elena's parents."
Thomas stepped forward.
"Who?"
Isabella looked at him.
And for the first time...
she looked afraid.
"You already know."
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
Isabella whispered:
"Your brother."
The room went silent.
Cassian froze.
"My brother is dead."
Isabella looked down.
"I know."
A chill went through me.
Because everyone kept saying the same thing.
Dead.
Impossible.
Gone.
And every time...
they were wrong.
Cassian stared at the screen.
"Explain."
Isabella took a breath.
"Your brother didn't die."
Thomas looked shocked.
"But the accident..."
"Was planned."
Nobody spoke.
Cassian walked backward.
Like the truth physically pushed him away.
"No."
Isabella looked at him.
"I saw him leave the burning car."
My mother covered her mouth.
Thomas whispered:
"That night..."
Isabella nodded.
"Everyone thought there were two bodies."
Cassian looked at her.
"There were not."
My head started spinning.
Another dead person.
Another lie.
Another hidden enemy.
Cassian pressed his hands against the desk.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Because he threatened Rosa."
Everyone looked toward the doorway.
The little girl was standing there.
I hadn't noticed her enter.
Her face changed when she heard her name.
Cassian immediately moved toward her.
"Rosa."
She ran into him.
He held her tightly.
Isabella watched through the screen.
"I knew if I told you the truth, you would go after him."
Cassian looked at the screen.
"Of course I would."
"Exactly."
Her voice broke.
"And that was what he wanted."
The room became quiet.
Because everyone understood.
This was never just about revenge.
It was about control.
"He wanted you angry," Isabella continued.
"He wanted you to destroy everyone around you."
Cassian looked at the photos on the wall.
The files.
The evidence.
All the things designed to make him hate.
"He manipulated me."
Isabella nodded.
"Yes."
Then she looked at me.
"And he manipulated Elena too."
I stepped closer.
"What does he want from me?"
Isabella became quiet.
That scared me.
Because everyone had been afraid.
But Isabella was afraid differently.
"He wants what your father left behind."
"The evidence?"
She shook her head.
"No."
A pause.
"He wants the key."
I looked down at my bracelet.
Cassian noticed.
"The bracelet."
Isabella nodded.
"Your father didn't hide the evidence inside the bracelet."
I frowned.
"Then what is inside?"
She looked at me.
"The location."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"The location of what?"
Isabella didn't answer.
Instead, she said:
"The one thing that can destroy him."
The computer screen suddenly flickered.
Isabella looked behind her.
Her expression changed.
Someone was there.
"Cassian."
Her voice became urgent.
"Listen to me."
He stepped closer.
"What?"
"You cannot trust anyone in that mansion."
Everyone went still.
Even Thomas.
"What are you saying?"
Isabella looked around nervously.
"He's already inside."
The screen went black.
The connection ended.
Nobody moved.
Then the security alarm started.
Again.
But this time...
the sound came from upstairs.
Cassian immediately grabbed Rosa.
"Stay with Elena."
I looked at him.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm finding him."
"No."
He stopped.
I stepped closer.
"You said nobody alone."
For a second, he looked surprised.
Then he nodded.
Together, we moved upstairs.
The mansion had become a maze.
Every hallway felt dangerous.
Every shadow looked alive.
Cassian checked his phone.
"No cameras."
Thomas looked around.
"He disabled the entire system."
Cassian stopped.
"How?"
Thomas looked at him.
"Because he knows the house."
The answer was worse than anything else.
Someone who knew the mansion.
Someone who knew the security.
Someone who knew the family.
We reached the main hall.
Nothing.
No guards.
No movement.
No sound.
Then we saw it.
A trail.
Not blood.
Not footsteps.
Photographs.
Old photographs scattered across the floor.
I picked one up.
It was my family.
Another.
Cassian’s family.
Another.
Both families together.
Then the final picture.
A picture I had never seen before.
A young Cassian.
A young me.
And between us...
a man.
His face was scratched out.
But someone had written underneath.
"Your brother was never gone."
Cassian took the photo from my hand.
His face changed.
Because he recognized something.
The ring.
The watch.
The scar.
A detail hidden in the corner.
"He was here."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
Cassian didn't answer.
Because the mansion doors suddenly locked.
Every exit.
At the same time.
Then the lights turned off.
A voice came from the speakers.
A voice we had heard before.
A voice that belonged to the person who had been controlling everything.
"Hello, little brother."
Cassian froze.
The voice continued.
"I've waited a long time for you to remember me."
A pause.
Then:
"Turn around."
Cassian slowly looked toward the staircase.
May you like
Someone was standing there.
And the man at the top of the stairs was holding a photograph of my parents.
