Chapter 9 - The Daughter Everyone Tried to Hide
The voice echoed through the locked ballroom.
"Give me my daughter back."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Simone stood frozen in the center of the room, staring toward the darkness behind Edward Bellamy.
Her grandfather.
The man who had always protected her.
The man who had always been there.
The man who now looked terrified.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
And Simone knew one thing.
Edward Bellamy was not afraid of many people.
The figure slowly stepped into the light.
Simone's heart stopped.
She knew that face.
She had seen it in old photographs.
She had seen it in dreams.
She had spent years trying to remember it.
"Father..."
The word escaped her lips.
Alessandro immediately turned toward her.
Victor went completely still.
Her mother covered her mouth.
Because standing in front of them...
Was Adrian Moretti.
Simone's father.
The man everyone told her was gone.
The man whose disappearance started everything.
The man she had spent twelve years believing abandoned her.
But he was alive.
Older.
Changed.
But alive.
Simone couldn't move.
Her entire life had been built around his absence.
Every birthday without him.
Every question nobody answered.
Every night she wondered why he left.
And now...
He was standing in front of her.
"Simone."
His voice broke.
Not because he was weak.
Because he was seeing his daughter again.
The little girl he lost.
The woman she became.
Simone stared at him.
"You were alive."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
The answer was simple.
Too simple.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You were alive."
Another nod.
"I was."
She laughed softly.
But there was no happiness in it.
"You let me believe you were dead."
Adrian looked down.
"I know."
The pain in his voice almost made her angry.
Almost.
"Do you know what that did to me?"
He closed his eyes.
"Every day."
"Every day?"
Her voice became louder.
"You weren't there."
"I know."
"You didn't see me grow up."
"I know."
"You didn't see me cry."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
Simone shook her head.
Because those words were not enough.
Nothing could bring back those years.
Nothing could return the childhood she lost.
Then Adrian looked at Edward.
And everything changed.
"You kept your promise."
Edward's expression hardened.
"Unfortunately."
Simone looked between them.
"You two knew each other."
Adrian looked at her.
"Yes."
Her chest tightened.
"Everyone knew."
Her mother stepped closer.
"Simone..."
"No."
She turned toward her.
"Not another secret."
Her mother stopped.
Simone looked around the room.
Every person she loved had hidden something.
Every person she trusted had decided what she was allowed to know.
She was tired.
"I want the truth."
This time, nobody interrupted.
Adrian nodded slowly.
"You deserve it."
He looked at Edward.
"All of it."
Edward remained silent.
Adrian continued.
"Twelve years ago, I discovered something about the Bellamy family."
Edward's eyes narrowed.
"Careful."
Adrian ignored him.
"I discovered that Edward wasn't the person controlling everything."
Everyone looked surprised.
Simone frowned.
"Then who was?"
Adrian looked at her.
"The person who raised you."
The room became silent.
Again.
Simone felt the familiar pain.
Another person.
Another secret.
But this time, she refused to break.
"Who?"
Adrian looked at her mother.
Then at Victor.
Then finally at Edward.
"Your grandfather wasn't protecting you from the world."
A pause.
"He was protecting the world from someone inside your family."
Edward's expression changed.
Simone noticed.
"Grandfather..."
Edward looked away.
And that was the first time Simone saw guilt.
Real guilt.
Adrian walked closer.
"When I found out, I tried to expose them."
"Who?"
Adrian looked toward the entrance.
But nobody was there.
"Someone who believed they owned both families."
Victor spoke quietly.
"The person behind the organization."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
Simone looked confused.
"What organization?"
Adrian reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
A photograph she had never seen.
He handed it to her.
Her hands trembled.
The picture showed her as a baby.
Her mother.
Adrian.
And another person.
Someone standing behind them.
Simone stared.
Because she knew that person.
Not from a photograph.
From memory.
A person who had been at every important moment of her life.
A person who had comforted her.
A person who had told her she was special.
Her breath caught.
"No..."
Adrian looked at her.
"Yes."
Simone shook her head.
"That's impossible."
Her mother whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Simone looked at her.
"What did you know?"
Her mother cried.
"I knew they were watching you."
"Who?"
Her mother couldn't answer.
Because Adrian did.
"The person who raised you."
The ballroom became silent.
Victor looked toward Edward.
"Where is he?"
Edward didn't answer.
Alessandro stepped forward.
"Who are we talking about?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Someone your family trusted too."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"Who?"
Before Adrian could answer...
The lights went out.
The ballroom disappeared into darkness.
A scream came from one of the guests.
Then silence.
Simone felt someone grab her hand.
She couldn't see who.
"Simone."
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
She pulled away.
"Who is there?"
No answer.
Then the emergency lights turned on.
Everyone looked around.
Edward was gone.
The envelope was gone.
And on the floor where he had been standing...
Was a single photograph.
Simone picked it up.
Her face changed.
Because the picture showed the person who had been hiding everything.
The person who had controlled every lie.
The person who had been watching her since childhood.
And on the back of the photograph were four words:
"Your mother knows why."
Simone slowly turned toward her mother.
Because for the first time...
Her mother looked more afraid than anyone in the room.
And then her mother's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
May you like
Her face turned pale.
Because the call was coming from a number that had been disconnected twelve years ago.
