Chapter 5 - The Photograph Derek Tried to Hide
Their engagement became public the next morning.
Cassian's lawyer prepared a statement.
Clara hated every word.
But she hated the idea of Viktor reaching Noah more.
The announcement appeared online before noon.
CASSIAN ROSSI ENGAGED TO CLARA HAYES.
The photograph showed them leaving the building.
Clara looked terrified.
Cassian looked calm.
Within hours, the story spread across Manhattan.
Clara became a woman everyone suddenly knew.
She hated it.
At breakfast, Cassian sat across from her.
“You don't have to read anything.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“They called me a gold digger.”
Cassian's mouth tightened.
“They don't know you.”
“They think I trapped you.”
“They're wrong.”
She looked at him.
“You don't have to defend me.”
“I know.”
“But you do.”
“Yes.”
She lowered her eyes.
Noah sat between them, happily eating pancakes.
For the first time in weeks, he looked like a normal child.
That mattered more than anything.
Then Cassian's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“Bring it.”
He ended the call.
“What?” Clara asked.
“The storage unit.”
Her heart stopped.
They left immediately.
The storage facility was abandoned except for one guard.
Cassian's men surrounded the entrance.
Clara held Noah's hand.
They opened unit 317.
Inside were boxes.
Documents.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
And a suitcase.
Cassian opened it.
Stacks of money filled the bottom.
Clara stared.
“How much?”
“Enough to make people kill.”
Cassian opened another box.
Inside was a ledger.
Names.
Amounts.
Payments.
Viktor's name appeared repeatedly.
Derek's appeared beside it.
Clara felt sick.
Then Cassian found a photograph.
He froze.
“What?”
He handed it to Clara.
It showed Derek standing beside a woman.
Clara recognized her.
Her own mother.
But her mother had died when Clara was sixteen.
Clara's fingers shook.
“When was this?”
“Eight months ago.”
Impossible.
Cassian examined the photograph.
“Your mother may not have been who you thought she was.”
Clara backed away.
“No.”
A second photograph appeared.
Her mother.
Derek.
And another man.
Cassian went silent.
“Who is he?” Clara whispered.
Cassian looked at the name written on the back.
His expression darkened.
“Your father.”
Clara almost laughed.
“My father died before I was born.”
Cassian shook his head.
“No.”
He turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
And beneath it, a handwritten sentence:
CLARA CAN NEVER KNOW WHO HER FATHER IS.
Clara's world tilted.
“My entire life…”
Cassian caught her before she fell.
Noah began crying.
Clara immediately reached for him.
Cassian helped her steady herself.
Then one of his men ran inside.
“Boss.”
Cassian turned.
“What?”
“We found a second room.”
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“Behind the wall.”
They moved deeper into the unit.
A hidden door opened.
Inside was a single chair.
A table.
And a phone.
The phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
Cassian picked it up.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Ask Clara why her mother ran from us.”
Cassian's expression hardened.
“Who is this?”
The caller laughed.
“You'll find out.”
May you like
The line disconnected.
Then the hidden door behind them slammed shut...
