Chapter 7 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
Simone couldn't move.
The ballroom around her disappeared.
The voices.
The music.
The hundreds of people standing nearby.
Everything became distant.
Because the man standing at the entrance was the same man from the photograph.
The same man whose face had been hidden for twelve years.
Victor Hale.
He looked older than the picture.
Different.
But impossible to mistake.
Simone had spent years looking at that photograph.
The photograph her mother had hidden.
The photograph that appeared in the message.
The photograph that proved someone had been watching them.
And now...
The man from that photograph was standing in front of her.
Alive.
Victor slowly walked into the ballroom.
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody questioned him.
That frightened Simone more than anything.
Because people didn't ignore someone like that unless they knew exactly who he was.
Her mother stood frozen beside her.
The color had disappeared from her face.
"Victor..."
The way she said his name made Simone's heart drop.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Fear.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
Her mother looked at her.
"Simone..."
"No."
She stepped back.
"Not this time."
Her voice shook.
"I need the truth."
The ballroom became silent around them.
Victor stopped several feet away.
He looked at Simone.
And for a moment, his expression softened.
"You look exactly like her."
Simone's eyes narrowed.
"Like who?"
Victor looked at her mother.
"Your father."
The answer made the air disappear from her lungs.
"My father?"
Victor nodded slowly.
"The man who disappeared twelve years ago."
Her mother closed her eyes.
And that reaction told Simone everything.
Another secret.
Another missing piece.
She looked at her mother.
"You told me he died."
Her mother whispered:
"I thought he did."
Victor gave a quiet laugh.
"That is what everyone was supposed to believe."
Simone looked at him.
"Who are you?"
Victor looked around the ballroom.
At the powerful people watching.
At the families pretending not to listen.
Then back at her.
"I am the person who was there the night your life changed."
A chill moved through her.
"What happened that night?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached inside his coat.
Several people around them reacted instantly.
But he only pulled out an old envelope.
A small one.
Worn.
With faded handwriting.
Simone recognized the handwriting before she even saw the name.
Her mother's.
Her breathing stopped.
"Where did you get that?"
Victor looked at her.
"Your mother gave it to me."
Her mother stepped forward.
"Victor, don't."
The words shocked Simone.
Because her mother wasn't afraid of Victor.
She was afraid of what he would reveal.
Victor looked at her.
"You spent twelve years running."
A pause.
"How long did you think you could keep hiding the truth from her?"
Simone looked between them.
"Someone explain."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Victor walked closer.
"The night your father disappeared, he didn't leave you."
Simone felt tears forming.
"He was taken."
Her mother's face changed.
"Stop."
Victor ignored her.
"He discovered something about the Hale family."
Simone frowned.
"The Hale family?"
Victor nodded.
"The same family everyone thought disappeared after the accident."
A memory flashed through Simone's mind.
The old documents.
The hidden photographs.
The name Victor Hale.
The warnings.
"You were involved."
Victor looked at her.
"Yes."
The honesty surprised her.
"I was."
The ballroom became even quieter.
"But I wasn't the enemy."
Simone looked at her mother.
"Then who was?"
Victor handed her the envelope.
"Read it."
Her fingers shook as she accepted it.
She looked at her mother one last time.
Her mother looked away.
That hurt more than anger.
Because Simone realized...
Her mother was allowing this.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Only one page.
The handwriting was familiar.
Her father's handwriting.
Simone read the first line.
My daughter,
Her vision blurred.
She continued.
If you are reading this, it means your mother finally decided you were strong enough to know the truth.
Simone stopped breathing.
The words felt impossible.
Her father had written to her.
Not a memory.
Not a story.
A real letter.
Victor watched silently.
Her mother started crying.
The letter continued.
I never left you.
I need you to know that first.
I fought to come back.
But there was someone who made sure I never reached you.
Simone's hands tightened.
Who?
The next line answered.
The person you trusted the most.
Her heartbeat increased.
She looked up.
Everyone around her was watching.
Her mother.
Victor.
The guests.
Everyone.
She looked back at the letter.
The next sentence was partially damaged.
Only a few words remained.
I discovered that...
The rest was torn away.
Simone looked at Victor.
"That's all?"
Victor nodded.
"That's all I had."
"Then why bring me this?"
"Because there is another part."
Simone froze.
"Where?"
Victor looked toward the balcony above the ballroom.
"Someone else has it."
"Who?"
Victor's expression became serious.
"The person who has been controlling everything."
Her mother stepped forward.
"Victor."
This time, there was fear in her voice.
Real fear.
Victor looked at her.
"It's already too late."
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked upward.
The music stopped.
The screens around the ballroom went black.
Then one screen turned on.
A video appeared.
A man sitting in darkness.
Simone couldn't see his face.
But she knew the voice.
Because she had heard it her entire life.
The voice that comforted her.
The voice that gave her advice.
The voice she trusted.
The voice that suddenly made her blood run cold.
"Simone."
Her face turned pale.
The video continued.
"I know you found Victor."
Nobody spoke.
The man on the screen laughed softly.
"I knew you would eventually."
Victor stepped back.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Simone whispered:
"Who is that?"
Her mother grabbed her hand.
"Don't listen."
But the voice continued.
"Your mother has spent years telling you half-truths."
A pause.
"But she never told you why she really left."
Simone stared at the screen.
The man continued.
"Because she wasn't running from me."
The ballroom became silent.
"She was running from you."
Simone froze.
Her mother's hand tightened around hers.
Victor looked toward the exit.
Then the final words appeared on the screen.
A name.
A name that made her mother collapse into silence.
Because it was the name of the person who had been watching Simone from the beginning.
May you like
And when Simone read it...
She realized the person standing behind the entire mystery had already been inside her life.
