Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Knew Everything
A woman stepped out of the darkness holding a gun, whispering: "Isabella, you should have stayed away." When Isabella Moretti discovered the woman who betrayed Adrian was carrying an old family key connected to his father's hidden vault, she found a number engraved on it. The number was the date of Adrian's mother's death. I suddenly realized this secret started long before my marriage.
The underground room became completely silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
I stared at the woman standing in the doorway.
For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Because she was someone I knew.
Someone I had trusted.
Someone who had smiled beside me at family dinners.
Someone who had held my hand and told me I was lucky to have Adrian.
"Lauren."
Her name left my mouth like a question.
But deep down, I already knew the answer.
Lauren Vale.
Adrian's cousin.
The woman who had been part of his family for years.
The woman who had always acted like she wanted nothing but peace.
She lowered the gun slightly.
Not enough to make me feel safe.
Only enough to show she wasn't planning to shoot me yet.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Lauren."
His voice was filled with disappointment.
Not surprise.
That scared me.
Because it meant Daniel had suspected her.
Lauren looked at him.
"You always were the emotional one, Daniel."
His jaw tightened.
"You were behind all of this?"
She smiled.
A small smile.
The kind of smile that hurt more than anger.
"You still think this is about me."
I looked between them.
"Then what is it about?"
Lauren's eyes moved toward me.
And somehow, that was worse.
Because there was no hatred there.
Only sadness.
"I spent years wondering when you would finally ask the right questions."
I felt my chest tighten.
"What questions?"
She walked slowly into the room.
The gun remained in her hand.
"The questions Adrian should have asked before he married you."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I looked at Daniel.
He avoided my eyes.
"Everyone knew?"
Nobody answered.
That was my answer.
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I didn't know what else to do.
"My entire marriage was a secret meeting I wasn't invited to."
Lauren stopped.
"You don't understand."
"No."
I looked at her.
"I understand perfectly."
My voice shook.
"You all knew something about me. About Adrian. About my life. And everyone decided I wasn't important enough to know."
For the first time, Lauren looked uncomfortable.
But only for a second.
Then the mask returned.
"You think Adrian hid things because he didn't trust you."
She looked toward the computer.
"But the truth is, he hid things because he was trying to save you."
I remembered Adrian's message.
Run.
I remembered his face outside the hotel.
The pain in his eyes.
The moment he chose to leave.
I hated that part of me still wanted to believe him.
Lauren placed the gun on the table.
Then she removed something from her coat.
An old brass key.
She dropped it beside the files.
Daniel immediately recognized it.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
Lauren looked at him.
"From the place your father died."
The room went cold.
Nobody mentioned Adrian's father casually.
Not anymore.
Not after everything.
I picked up the key.
It was heavy.
Old.
A number was engraved into the metal.
I looked at Daniel.
"What is this?"
His face became serious.
"That was the date."
"The date of what?"
He didn't answer.
Lauren did.
"The date Adrian's mother died."
My fingers loosened.
The key almost fell.
I remembered Adrian talking about his mother.
Not often.
Almost never.
He always changed the subject.
He said some memories were better left untouched.
But now I understood.
Some memories weren't forgotten.
They were buried.
"What does this open?"
Lauren looked at me.
"Something your husband spent eight years trying to find."
I looked at her.
"And you had it?"
She didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
A long silence followed.
Then Lauren said:
"Because I was protecting Adrian."
Daniel let out a bitter laugh.
"By destroying everything he loved?"
Lauren looked at him.
"You have no idea what I was protecting him from."
The computer suddenly turned on again.
Everyone turned.
The video file reopened.
But this time, it wasn't Adrian.
It was someone else.
An older man.
Adrian's father.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
My breath stopped.
The recording looked old.
Security footage.
A hidden camera.
Adrian's father was sitting behind a desk.
Talking to someone.
A woman.
The image quality was terrible.
But the voice was clear.
"She is the only person who can control Adrian."
I stepped closer.
My heart began beating faster.
The woman in the video answered.
"Then we make sure he loves her."
Nobody moved.
The room disappeared around me.
I watched the screen.
Unable to look away.
Because I knew that voice.
Everyone knew that voice.
It belonged to Lauren.
Daniel whispered:
"No..."
The video continued.
Adrian's father leaned forward.
"Once she enters his life, everything will change."
Lauren's younger voice replied:
"And if he discovers the truth?"
The old man smiled.
"Then we make sure he blames the wrong person."
The video stopped.
I stood frozen.
My entire body felt numb.
I looked at Lauren.
She looked different now.
Not like an enemy.
Not like a victim.
Like someone carrying a secret too heavy for too long.
"You planned my marriage?"
Lauren didn't answer immediately.
Then she said:
"Not exactly."
I stared at her.
"What does that mean?"
She looked at the key.
"It means someone planned it before I ever knew your name."
The underground room shook.
A loud sound came from above.
Someone had entered the building.
Victor moved toward the exit.
"We need to go."
Daniel didn't move.
He looked at Lauren.
"Who else knows about this place?"
Lauren's expression changed.
For the first time that night, she looked afraid.
"Nobody."
A second sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming closer.
Victor looked toward the door.
"That's impossible."
I grabbed the files.
"What?"
He stared at the lock.
"Because this entrance was hidden."
The footsteps stopped outside.
Everyone went silent.
Then a phone on the desk began ringing.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody wanted to answer.
But the screen showed the caller.
My heart stopped.
Because the name displayed was:
Adrian Vale.
Daniel slowly reached for the phone.
Before he could touch it, a message appeared.
Not from Adrian.
From someone else.
One sentence.
"Open the door. I brought the person who knows why Isabella was chosen."
May you like
The underground door handle began to turn.
And the person standing outside said my name.
