Chapter 6 - The Man Who Was Buried Alive
The voice came from the hallway.
"Your wife never told you who I really was."
Adrian Black didn't move.
Nobody did.
The recording device was still in his hand.
The room felt frozen.
Marcus immediately stepped in front of Adrian.
His weapon was already raised.
"Who are you?"
The footsteps stopped.
Then the man appeared in the doorway.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Adrian stared.
Because he knew that face.
He had seen it in photographs.
He had seen it in memories.
He had stood beside that man for years.
"Daniel..."
The name escaped quietly.
Daniel Russo looked at him.
A sad smile appeared on his face.
"I knew you would recognize me."
Adrian's eyes turned cold.
"You died."
Daniel looked down.
"That's what everyone was supposed to believe."
Emma covered her mouth.
Clara stepped back.
Even she looked shocked.
"You were alive?"
Daniel looked at Clara.
"Yes."
"Isabella knew?"
Daniel didn't answer.
That silence told Adrian everything.
His anger exploded.
"You knew my wife was in danger."
Daniel looked at him.
"I tried to protect her."
Adrian laughed once.
A cold, empty sound.
"You disappeared."
"I had to."
"You let me bury her."
Daniel looked away.
"And you think I didn't regret that every single day?"
Adrian stepped closer.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"You don't get to regret it."
The room became heavy.
Because everyone knew.
This wasn't just anger.
This was three years of pain finally finding someone to blame.
Daniel looked at the box on the floor.
The photo.
The recording device.
"You found it."
Adrian picked up the photograph.
"You knew about this?"
Daniel nodded.
"Isabella told me where she hid it."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Then why didn't you take it?"
"Because she didn't want me to."
"Why?"
Daniel looked toward the recording device.
"Because she knew I was part of the problem."
Nobody spoke.
Adrian froze.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel took a slow breath.
"Three years ago, Isabella discovered something inside your organization."
"Money?"
"More than money."
Daniel looked at him.
"Power."
Adrian waited.
"Someone was building a second operation behind your back."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Who?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I never found out."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You were my second-in-command."
Daniel nodded.
"And that's why I was the easiest person to blame."
Adrian stared.
"What?"
Daniel walked into the room.
"Think about it."
He pointed at the photograph.
"Who would you suspect first if everything disappeared?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Daniel.
The loyal friend.
The closest ally.
The man who knew every secret.
"He framed you," Emma whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
"Yes."
Adrian turned.
"Who?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"Someone who knew Isabella."
A cold feeling moved through Adrian.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"You still don't want to believe it."
"Believe what?"
"That the person closest to you betrayed you."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Say the name."
Daniel stayed silent.
Adrian grabbed his jacket.
"Say it."
Daniel finally looked up.
"Your brother."
The room went silent.
Adrian stopped.
"My brother is dead."
Daniel nodded.
"That's what he wanted everyone to believe."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Because there was a pattern.
Everyone who knew the truth had disappeared.
Isabella.
Daniel.
Now his brother.
Adrian looked at Clara.
"Did you know?"
She looked away.
That was enough.
His expression hardened.
"You knew."
Clara swallowed.
"I suspected."
"You suspected my brother was alive?"
"I suspected Isabella was investigating him."
Adrian felt betrayed.
Everyone had known pieces.
Everyone had held pieces.
Except him.
The man at the center of everything.
The man who was supposed to be impossible to fool.
And yet everyone had hidden the truth from him.
The recording device suddenly clicked.
Everyone turned.
It had started playing again.
Isabella's voice filled the room.
"Adrian, if Daniel is there, listen carefully."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Like he had heard this before.
"If you found Daniel, it means you already know I was right."
Adrian moved closer.
Her voice continued.
"Someone inside our family wanted everything you built."
A pause.
"And they knew the only way to take it was to remove me."
Adrian's face changed.
Emma held Leo closer.
The recording continued.
"Adrian, I need you to understand something."
Static.
Then:
"I was not killed because I discovered a secret."
Everyone listened.
"I was killed because I discovered who was behind it."
The recording stopped.
Nobody moved.
Adrian looked at Daniel.
"Who?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Isabella knew."
Adrian froze.
"Where?"
Daniel pointed toward the box.
"She left one more thing."
They searched the box again.
The key.
The photo.
The recorder.
Nothing else.
Then Emma noticed something.
"The key."
Everyone looked.
She picked it up.
"There is no lock on this."
Clara stepped closer.
"Turn it over."
Emma did.
A tiny number was engraved on the back.
"714."
Adrian frowned.
"What is that?"
Daniel's face changed.
He recognized it.
"No."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
Daniel stepped backward.
"That key shouldn't exist."
"Why?"
Daniel looked terrified for the first time.
"Because 714 was the room number Isabella used when she disappeared."
Adrian stared.
"Disappeared?"
Daniel nodded.
"Before the accident."
The room became silent.
Adrian felt his heart sink.
"Explain."
Daniel looked at him.
"Isabella wasn't killed the night of the crash."
Nobody breathed.
"She survived."
The words destroyed everything Adrian believed.
"What are you saying?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"She was alive after the accident."
Adrian's face went pale.
"Then why did I bury her?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Because he didn't need to.
The truth was already forming.
Someone had given him a body.
Someone had created evidence.
Someone had made sure Adrian believed Isabella was gone.
Emma whispered:
"Someone wanted her erased."
Daniel nodded.
"And they almost succeeded."
Adrian looked at the key.
"Room 714."
Daniel walked toward the door.
"We need to go there."
"Where?"
"The old hotel where Isabella stayed before she disappeared."
Adrian grabbed his coat.
Marcus followed.
But before they left, Adrian stopped.
He looked at Leo.
The boy was awake.
Watching everything.
"Daddy."
Adrian knelt.
"I'll bring answers back."
Leo touched his face.
"Bring Mommy back too."
The words broke him.
Because for the first time in three years...
Adrian wondered if that was actually possible.
An hour later, Adrian stood outside the abandoned hotel.
Room 714 was on the seventh floor.
The hallway was dark.
Dust covered everything.
Nobody had entered for years.
Or at least...
that was what they thought.
Daniel unlocked the door.
The key turned perfectly.
Adrian stepped inside.
The room was empty.
Almost.
There was a chair.
A table.
And a single photograph.
Adrian picked it up.
His hands started shaking.
Because the photograph showed Isabella.
Alive.
Holding Leo.
And standing beside her...
was a man Adrian thought he had buried years ago.
His brother.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
"Adrian..."
He froze.
Because he knew that voice.
It was Isabella.
The voice continued:
"If you are hearing this, don't trust Daniel."
Adrian slowly turned.
Daniel was standing behind him.
Holding something in his hand.
May you like
A gun.
And the door behind Adrian locked from the outside.
