Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Held The Secret
Claire stood in the middle of Bellhaven.
The same place where she had worked beside me.
The same place where she had smiled at me every night.
The same place where she had asked if I was okay.
But now she was holding a folder with Mia's name written across it.
And everyone was looking at her.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Sebastian slowly stepped forward.
"Claire."
She looked at him.
Not afraid.
Not surprised.
Almost disappointed.
"You were always smarter than people thought, Sebastian."
My stomach tightened.
I looked between them.
"You knew?"
Claire looked at me.
For a second, her expression softened.
And that was somehow worse.
Because the woman I trusted was looking at me like she felt sorry for me.
"Lena..."
I stepped back.
"Don't."
Her face changed.
"I never wanted you involved."
I laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
"You called me."
Silence.
"You sent those messages."
Claire looked away.
That was enough.
The answer was there.
Sebastian moved between us.
"What happened to Mia?"
Claire held the folder tighter.
"You still think this is about Mia?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Then explain."
Claire looked around the restaurant.
At the guests.
At the employees.
At the place where everything started.
"This place was never just a restaurant."
Nobody spoke.
She continued.
"Bellhaven was built on secrets."
My hands felt cold.
"What does that mean?"
Claire looked at me.
"It means Mia discovered something she shouldn't have."
Sebastian's voice became dangerous.
"What did she discover?"
Claire opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Records.
Names.
She placed everything on the nearest table.
"The original ownership files."
Sebastian picked up the first document.
His expression changed.
I had never seen him look that shocked.
"What?"
Emma stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Sebastian didn't answer.
I looked at the paper.
I couldn't understand all the details.
But I saw one name.
Victor Cross.
And beneath it...
Another name.
Sebastian Vale.
My heart stopped.
"Sebastian..."
He immediately looked at me.
"It's not what you think."
But I had already seen his reaction.
"You knew Victor."
A long silence followed.
"Yes."
The answer hurt.
Because it was another secret.
Another thing he had kept from me.
"How long?"
"Years."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
His expression changed.
"Because I was trying to protect you."
I shook my head.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
My voice became quieter.
"But somehow I am always the last person to know the truth."
Claire watched us.
Then she spoke.
"That is exactly why Mia trusted you, Lena."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
"Because you weren't part of their world."
She looked at Sebastian.
"You weren't powerful. You weren't connected. You were invisible."
The word hurt.
But it was true.
"I don't understand."
Claire slowly opened another file.
Inside was a picture.
A picture of Mia.
But she wasn't at Bellhaven.
She was standing outside a building.
A hospital.
The same hospital where I had been photographed.
I felt my breathing stop.
"Why is she there?"
Claire looked at me.
"Because that was the night everything changed."
Sebastian looked at the photo.
"When did you get this?"
Claire ignored him.
She looked only at me.
"Lena, three months ago, Mia didn't disappear."
My heart started racing.
"What are you saying?"
Claire lowered her voice.
"She was taken."
The room went silent.
Every sound disappeared.
The music.
The conversations.
Everything.
I looked at Sebastian.
He wasn't surprised.
And that terrified me.
"You knew."
His eyes met mine.
"I suspected."
"You suspected?"
My voice broke.
"Mia was alive and you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't know where she was."
"But you knew she wasn't gone."
He looked away.
That was enough.
I stepped back.
I didn't know who to trust anymore.
Not Claire.
Not Sebastian.
Maybe not even myself.
Because everyone had been carrying pieces of the truth while I was just trying to survive.
Claire closed the folder.
"There is something else."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She reached inside and removed a small flash drive.
"Mia left this."
Sebastian immediately noticed it.
"Where did you get that?"
Claire looked at him.
"She gave it to me."
My eyes widened.
"You knew Mia was alive?"
Claire didn't answer.
That was another confession.
"You talked to her."
Claire looked down.
"Yes."
The room felt like it was spinning.
"When?"
"The night she disappeared."
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Her eyes became full of guilt.
"Because she asked me not to."
Sebastian stepped closer.
"What did she say?"
Claire looked at the flash drive.
Then at me.
"She said if anyone found out she was alive, they would kill Lena next."
My body froze.
The words felt heavier than anything else.
Me.
Not Sebastian.
Not Claire.
Me.
I was the target.
Claire handed the flash drive to Sebastian.
"There is a video."
Sebastian took it.
"Where?"
"Not here."
Before anyone could move, the lights suddenly went out.
The restaurant disappeared into darkness.
People gasped.
Someone screamed.
Sebastian immediately grabbed my hand.
"Stay close."
A few seconds later, emergency lights turned on.
But something had changed.
The table where Claire placed the folder was empty.
The documents were gone.
The flash drive was gone.
And Claire was no longer standing there.
I looked around.
"Where did she go?"
Nobody answered.
Then Sebastian's security team rushed inside.
"Mr. Vale."
Sebastian turned.
"What happened?"
The guard looked nervous.
"The back exit was opened."
"By who?"
The guard hesitated.
Then handed him a small piece of paper.
Sebastian read it.
His expression changed instantly.
I saw fear.
Real fear.
"What does it say?"
He didn't answer.
I took the paper from his hand.
Only one sentence was written.
"Ask Lena why she was really at the hospital that night."
I looked up.
"What hospital?"
Sebastian stared at me.
Not with suspicion.
With confusion.
Like he had just discovered there was a part of my own life I didn't remember.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A voice came through.
A woman's voice.
Weak.
Shaking.
A voice I knew.
A voice I had spent three months believing I would never hear again.
Sebastian slowly handed me the phone.
May you like
And then Mia whispered:
"Lena... you need to know what they did to you."
