Chapter 10 - The Woman Beside the Mafia Boss
The woman in the video was me.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
I stared at the screen, waiting for someone to laugh.
To say it was a mistake.
A misunderstanding.
Anything.
But nobody did.
Because everyone in that room knew.
The person standing beside Adrian Navarro in that old recording looked exactly like me.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same scar on my left hand.
A scar I had carried since childhood.
My breathing became uneven.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
Then again.
"No."
Jonah looked at the screen.
Then at me.
His expression wasn't suspicion.
It was fear.
"Clara."
I shook my head.
"That's not me."
My mother covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
And that reaction destroyed the last piece of doubt I had.
Because my mother wasn't confused.
She wasn't surprised.
She knew.
"Mom."
She looked at me.
"Tell me."
Her lips trembled.
"Clara..."
"Tell me what I'm looking at."
The room felt smaller.
The walls felt closer.
My entire life had become a collection of questions.
Who was my father?
Why did my mother disappear?
Why did Adrian Navarro know me?
Why was Jonah connected to everything?
And now...
Why was there a video of me before I was old enough to remember?
My mother slowly sat down.
"I didn't want you to find out this way."
I stared at her.
"Find out what?"
She looked at Jonah.
Then back at me.
"The truth about your childhood."
Jonah stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
My mother looked at him.
"You need to understand something."
Her voice was shaking.
"Adrian didn't just protect Jonah."
She looked at me.
"He protected Clara too."
I felt my heart stop.
"Protected me from what?"
Nobody answered.
Again.
That silence.
That terrible silence.
I looked at Jonah.
"Everyone keeps knowing things about my life except me."
My voice cracked.
"I am tired of being the last person to know."
Jonah walked toward me.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like I was something fragile.
But I wasn't.
Not anymore.
"I know."
I looked at him.
"No, you don't."
The words hurt.
But they were true.
"You lost a father."
I swallowed.
"I lost my entire identity."
Jonah stopped.
For once, he had no defense.
No explanation.
No solution.
Just silence.
And somehow...
That was the most honest thing he had ever given me.
Marcus looked at the video again.
"There's something else."
Nobody looked at him.
"Adrian wouldn't have recorded this without a reason."
He pointed at the screen.
"Play it again."
Jonah restarted the video.
This time, we watched carefully.
Adrian stood beside me.
But there was something different.
The first time, I only saw myself.
Now I noticed everything else.
The room.
The background.
The documents on the table.
The expression on Adrian's face.
He wasn't smiling.
He looked worried.
Terrified.
Then Adrian spoke.
"If Clara is watching this, it means the plan failed."
My mother closed her eyes.
Jonah looked at her.
"What plan?"
She didn't answer.
The video continued.
"Clara, if you are seeing this, I need you to remember something."
The younger version of me in the video looked directly into the camera.
Like she understood.
Like she knew.
"You were never hidden because you were weak."
A pause.
"You were hidden because you were powerful."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody answered.
Adrian continued.
"There is something inside Clara's memory that someone wants."
Jonah frowned.
"Memory?"
The video showed Adrian placing a small object on the table.
A necklace.
The same necklace I was wearing.
My hand immediately touched it.
Adrian's voice continued.
"This is the key."
The screen flickered.
Then went black.
Everyone froze.
Marcus immediately checked the laptop.
"What happened?"
Jonah looked at him.
"Can you fix it?"
"I don't know."
I stared at the necklace.
The answer had been around my neck my entire life.
My mother saw where I was looking.
"Clara."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She looked terrified.
"Take it off."
The way she said it made my skin crawl.
"Why?"
"Because if someone knows you have it..."
She stopped.
Too late.
The sound of breaking glass came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
Security immediately moved.
Jonah grabbed my hand.
"Stay close."
This time, I didn't argue.
Not because I needed protection.
Because I knew something was coming.
Something bigger than all of us.
The security team returned less than a minute later.
One man held a small device.
"Mr. Navarro."
Jonah looked at it.
"What is that?"
The guard hesitated.
"A tracking device."
My blood went cold.
Jonah's eyes moved toward my necklace.
Slowly.
"No."
My mother whispered.
"He found us."
Jonah looked at her.
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Because suddenly every phone in the room started ringing.
One by one.
The same unknown number.
Marcus picked up first.
His face changed.
Then he handed the phone to Jonah.
Jonah listened.
For several seconds.
Then his expression became completely empty.
That scared me more than anger.
"What did they say?"
Jonah looked at me.
And I knew.
Whatever he heard...
It was about me.
"Jonah."
He slowly lowered the phone.
"The person who has been searching for you..."
A pause.
"Is not after the necklace."
I waited.
"Then what do they want?"
Jonah looked toward the security cameras.
His voice became quiet.
"They want what is inside you."
I froze.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, every screen in the penthouse turned on again.
A new video appeared.
Not Adrian.
Not my mother.
A different person.
Someone sitting in darkness.
Someone whose voice made Jonah immediately recognize them.
The person smiled at the camera.
And said:
"Hello, Clara."
The screen became brighter.
The face slowly appeared.
May you like
And Jonah whispered the name that made everyone in the room freeze...
"Elena."
