Chapter 6 - The Mother Who Never Left
The woman standing in the doorway did not move.
Neither did Simone.
For twelve years, Simone had imagined this moment.
Sometimes she imagined running into her mother’s arms.
Sometimes she imagined screaming.
Sometimes she imagined asking a thousand questions.
But she never imagined feeling nothing.
Because the shock was too large.
Her mind could not process what her eyes were seeing.
The woman standing in front of her looked older.
Tired.
Different.
But Simone knew those eyes.
She knew that face.
She knew that voice.
"Simone..."
The woman whispered her name again.
And that single word destroyed every wall Simone had built around herself.
Her lips parted.
"Mom?"
The entire ballroom froze.
Richard lowered his head.
Margaret started crying.
Clara covered her mouth.
Because the truth that everyone had buried for twelve years was standing in front of them.
Alive.
Alessandro watched Simone carefully.
He had seen powerful people break.
He had seen enemies beg.
He had seen people lie without hesitation.
But he had never seen someone look as lost as Simone did in that moment.
The woman slowly stepped forward.
"I wanted to come sooner."
Simone did not move.
"You were alive."
The woman stopped.
The pain in her eyes answered before her words did.
"Yes."
Simone laughed softly.
But there was no happiness.
"All this time?"
Her mother looked down.
"Yes."
"You watched me grow up without you?"
A tear moved down the woman’s face.
"I did not have a choice."
Simone shook her head.
"Everyone says that."
Her voice became sharper.
"Everyone always says they had no choice."
The words hurt.
But her mother accepted them.
Because she knew Simone had the right.
"I know what I did to you."
Simone stared at her.
"No."
A pause.
"You don't."
The room became silent.
"You don't know what it feels like to think your own mother left because you weren't enough."
Her mother closed her eyes.
That sentence hurt more than any accusation.
"Simone..."
"I waited."
Her voice cracked.
"Every birthday."
She looked away.
"Every Christmas."
Another pause.
"I thought maybe one day you would come back."
Her mother began crying.
"I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?"
The question remained in the air.
Nobody had an answer.
Until finally, her mother whispered:
"Because every time I tried, someone tried to kill me."
The ballroom went silent.
Simone stared.
"What?"
Her mother looked around the room.
At Richard.
At Margaret.
At Clara.
Then at Alessandro.
"The night I disappeared wasn't an accident."
Alessandro immediately became more alert.
"What happened?"
Her mother looked at him.
"You are Alessandro Romano."
It was not a question.
He nodded.
"Yes."
She looked worried.
"Then you already know how dangerous this world can be."
Alessandro said nothing.
Because she was right.
Simone looked between them.
"What does he have to do with this?"
Her mother looked at her.
"He is the reason you are still alive tonight."
Nobody spoke.
Simone frowned.
"What?"
Her mother took a deep breath.
"Your family wasn't the only one searching for you."
A cold feeling moved through Simone.
"Who else?"
Before her mother could answer, Daniel stepped forward.
"She means the Vescari family."
Several people in the room reacted.
Even Alessandro's expression changed.
Simone noticed.
"You know them?"
Alessandro looked toward Daniel.
"Unfortunately."
Her mother looked at Alessandro.
"The Vescari family believed Simone was the key to finding something Edward hid."
Simone looked confused.
"What did Edward hide?"
Her mother glanced at the necklace.
"The truth."
Daniel opened the folder again.
Inside was another photograph.
He handed it to Simone.
It showed Edward Bellamy.
But this time, he was not alone.
He was standing beside Alessandro’s father.
Simone looked at Alessandro.
"You knew him?"
Alessandro stared at the photograph.
His expression changed.
"My father."
The room became quiet.
Simone looked at him.
"You never told me."
Alessandro looked at her.
"We met tonight."
A pause.
"And until this moment, I didn't know your story was connected to mine."
The revelation changed everything.
Two families.
Two secrets.
One missing truth.
Simone looked at her mother.
"What was Edward protecting?"
Her mother reached into her bag.
She removed an old journal.
The cover was damaged.
The pages were worn.
But Simone immediately recognized it.
Because she had seen it before.
In her childhood home.
Her mother’s journal.
"I thought it was lost."
Her mother handed it to her.
"Your father hid it."
Simone looked toward Richard.
He did not deny it.
The betrayal hurt more because he didn't.
She opened the journal.
The first pages were ordinary.
Notes.
Memories.
Family moments.
Then she reached a page marked with a small symbol.
A black circle.
Inside were three names.
Edward Bellamy.
Alessandro Romano.
And one more.
A name Simone had never heard before.
She read it slowly.
"Victor Hale."
Her mother’s face changed.
Because she knew that name.
Alessandro noticed.
"Who is Victor Hale?"
Nobody answered.
Simone looked up.
"Mom?"
Her mother looked terrified.
Not worried.
Not nervous.
Terrified.
"That name should never have been written in that journal."
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked around.
Then every phone in the ballroom received a notification at the same time.
One sound.
One message.
Simone looked down at her phone.
Unknown number.
Only one sentence.
You finally found your mother.
Her heartbeat increased.
Another message appeared.
Now she will tell you why she really left.
Simone stared at the screen.
Then a third message arrived.
A photograph.
Her fingers froze.
Because the picture showed the woman standing beside her.
Her mother.
Taken only minutes earlier.
From inside the ballroom.
Someone had been watching them.
And then another message appeared.
Look behind you.
Simone slowly turned around.
And standing at the entrance was the man from the photograph.
May you like
The man whose name had been hidden for twelve years.
Victor Hale.
