Chapter 6 - The Friend Who Knew Too Much
The city had never looked so different.
From Roman Coyle’s office window, everything below appeared calm.
Cars moved through the streets.
People walked beneath glowing signs.
Restaurants were full.
The world continued like nothing had happened.
But my world had stopped.
Because six years of my life had just been questioned in a matter of minutes.
My mother wasn’t dead.
My ex wasn’t chasing me because he was angry.
And the necklace I thought was nothing more than a memory…
was actually a key.
A key to something powerful enough that people were willing to destroy lives for it.
I stood frozen near Roman’s desk.
“I don’t understand.”
My voice sounded distant.
“If that necklace was so important… why didn’t anyone take it before?”
Roman looked at me carefully.
“Because they didn’t know you had it.”
“But Trent knew.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Roman’s expression became darker.
“That’s what we need to find out.”
The bodyguard returned from the side room.
His face told us everything before he spoke.
“We lost him.”
Roman’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“Trent Miller left the hotel five minutes after the elevator incident.”
“Where?”
“He switched vehicles twice.”
My stomach tightened.
“He knew how to disappear?”
The bodyguard nodded.
“He wasn’t running like someone afraid.”
Roman looked toward the city.
“He was running like someone who completed his mission.”
Those words made me feel sick.
Because they meant something.
Trent hadn’t failed.
He had succeeded.
And I had no idea what he had taken.
I touched my empty neck.
The place where the necklace had always rested.
A necklace my mother gave me when I was thirteen.
A necklace I wore when I was scared.
A necklace I touched whenever I missed her.
I suddenly felt like I had lost the last piece of her.
“Tell me everything.”
Roman looked at me.
“About what?”
“My mother.”
Silence.
Then Roman nodded.
“Okay.”
He walked to the desk.
For the first time since I met him, he looked tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he had carried a burden for years.
“Her name was Elena Bennett.”
I smiled sadly.
“I know.”
“No.”
Roman looked at me.
“You know the mother she wanted you to know.”
That hurt.
Because I had spent years believing I knew everything about her.
But maybe I only knew the pieces she left behind.
“She was investigating a group called The Meridian Circle.”
“The Meridian Circle?”
“A network of executives, politicians, and criminals who controlled money, information, and influence.”
I stared.
“My mother was investigating criminals?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone close to her was involved.”
“Who?”
Roman hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Who?”
He looked away.
“My father.”
The room became silent.
I didn’t expect that.
“You mean…”
“My father was one of the founders of The Meridian Circle.”
I stared at him.
“And you?”
“I spent years trying to destroy what he built.”
The irony hit me.
The daughter of the woman who exposed the organization.
The son of the man who created it.
Both of us trapped by the same secret.
“What happened six years ago?”
Roman sat down.
“My brother found evidence against them.”
His voice became quieter.
“He was going to expose everyone.”
“And?”
“They killed him.”
My chest tightened.
“I’m sorry.”
Roman looked surprised.
Maybe because I meant it.
Most people probably didn’t say that to him.
They probably saw the powerful businessman.
The dangerous man.
Not the person underneath.
“My mother found out.”
Roman continued.
“She helped me gather evidence.”
“Then why did she disappear?”
“Because she discovered there was a traitor.”
“Inside the organization?”
“No.”
Roman looked at me.
“Inside our investigation.”
My heart sank.
“Someone working with you?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Roman didn’t answer.
Again.
That silence.
That terrible silence.
“You still don’t trust me enough to tell me.”
Roman looked at me.
“I don’t know if telling you would put you in more danger.”
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I was exhausted.
“I’m already in danger.”
Roman didn’t disagree.
That scared me.
A phone vibrated.
The bodyguard checked it.
Then handed it to Roman.
Roman read the message.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward us.
A photograph.
My breath stopped.
It was Trent.
Standing outside an abandoned warehouse.
And around his neck…
was my mother’s pendant.
“He has it.”
Roman’s voice was cold.
The bodyguard looked at the picture.
“He wants us to see it.”
“Exactly.”
“Why?”
Roman stared at the image.
“Because this is not a threat.”
“What is it?”
“A challenge.”
I felt anger replacing fear.
“He’s playing with us.”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
Roman looked at me.
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
I frowned.
“No?”
“You stay here.”
I stepped closer.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Yes, I do.”
The arrogance in his voice annoyed me.
“You’re not my boyfriend.”
“No.”
His eyes met mine.
“And that’s exactly why you should listen.”
The words stopped me.
Because he wasn’t trying to control me.
He was trying to protect me.
There was a difference.
But I was tired of being protected by people who never told me the truth.
“I spent my whole life with people making decisions for me.”
My voice shook.
“My mother hid things from me. Trent controlled everything I did. Everyone keeps telling me what I can’t handle.”
I looked at him.
“I’m done.”
For a moment, Roman said nothing.
Then something changed.
A small shift.
Respect.
“You’re right.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You’re right.”
Roman picked up his coat.
“You deserve the truth.”
The bodyguard looked surprised.
Roman continued.
“But you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“If Trent has that pendant, he isn’t alone.”
The elevator doors opened.
A team of security personnel entered.
All wearing black suits.
I stared.
“How many people work for you?”
Roman ignored the question.
“Enough.”
I almost smiled despite everything.
Almost.
Roman handed me a small phone.
“What is this?”
“A secure line.”
“So you expect me to call you?”
“I expect you to call if anything happens.”
I looked at him.
“You sound like someone who thinks something will happen.”
Roman’s face became serious.
“Something already happened.”
The words chilled me.
“What?”
He looked at the security monitors.
A technician walked in.
“Mr. Coyle.”
Roman turned.
“We found the breach.”
“What breach?”
The technician looked uncomfortable.
“Someone accessed the hotel security system three weeks ago.”
My blood froze.
“Three weeks?”
The same time my bruises started.
The same time Trent changed.
The same time everything became worse.
Roman looked at the screen.
“Show me.”
The technician pulled up footage.
A person entering the Azure Hotel.
Wearing a maintenance uniform.
The face was hidden.
But then the camera caught the person turning slightly.
My breathing stopped.
Because I recognized the person.
“No.”
Roman looked at me.
“You know him?”
I couldn’t speak.
Because the person on the screen…
was someone I trusted.
Someone who had worked beside me every day.
Someone who had comforted me when Trent hurt me.
Someone who had told me I deserved better.
The technician enlarged the image.
The face became clearer.
And I whispered the name.
“Daniel…”
Roman looked at me.
“Who is Daniel?”
My voice barely worked.
“My coworker.”
The room became silent.
Then Roman asked:
“Are you sure?”
I stared at the screen.
“Yes.”
Because there was no mistake.
The man who had secretly entered the hotel.
The man who had access to restricted areas.
The man who had been watching everything.
Was Daniel Reed.
The person I trusted most after my mother was gone.
The technician continued.
“There’s more.”
Roman looked back.
“What?”
The technician hesitated.
“Daniel wasn’t just accessing the hotel.”
He opened another file.
“He was accessing Mr. Coyle’s private records.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“And?”
The technician looked at me.
“He searched one file.”
A pause.
“Norah Bennett.”
My entire body went cold.
Because suddenly the list of people hiding secrets around me grew longer.
My ex.
My mother.
Roman.
And now Daniel.
Everyone seemed to know something about me.
Except me.
Roman closed the file.
Then he looked at me.
“Norah.”
“Yes?”
His voice was calm.
But serious.
“Before we find Trent…”
A pause.
“We need to find out why Daniel has been searching for you.”
I swallowed.
Because deep inside…
I already knew.
May you like
The nightmare wasn’t following me.
It had been standing beside me the entire time.
