Chapter 2 - The Secret Hidden In My Mother's Pendant
The elevator doors opened.
A woman stood there holding a black leather folder against her chest.
She was older, probably in her late fifties, with silver strands running through her dark hair.
The moment she saw me, her eyes filled with tears.
"Nora..."
I froze.
Nobody had called my name like that in years.
Not like they were relieved.
Not like they had been searching for me.
Like they had been afraid they would never see me again.
Roman turned immediately.
His expression hardened.
"Rebecca."
The woman stepped out of the elevator slowly.
Her eyes moved from Roman to me.
Then to the broken necklace in my hand.
"I knew this day would come."
My fingers tightened around the pendant.
I didn't know this woman.
I didn't know Roman.
I didn't know why everyone in the corridor suddenly looked like they were standing in the middle of a secret they had spent decades protecting.
But I knew one thing.
My mother had hidden something from me.
And whatever it was...
It was connected to the most powerful man I had ever met.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The woman's lips parted.
"I'm Rebecca Hale."
She looked at the pendant.
"I was your mother's attorney."
The word hit me harder than I expected.
Attorney.
My mother never had an attorney.
At least, not one I knew about.
My mother was a seamstress.
A woman who spent her life fixing other people's clothes while wearing the same three sweaters until they fell apart.
She lived simply.
Quietly.
She never talked about powerful people.
She never talked about secrets.
She never talked about Roman Calder.
But apparently, she knew him.
Rebecca stepped closer.
"I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you the truth."
Selene laughed nervously.
"The truth?"
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked uncomfortable now.
For the first time since she walked into that corridor, she no longer looked like the woman in control.
"What truth?" Selene asked.
Rebecca didn't look at her.
"Not here."
Roman's voice was cold.
"You're right."
He looked around the corridor.
"Not here."
Then his eyes moved to me.
"Nora, can you walk?"
I almost laughed.
It was such a normal question coming from someone who seemed anything but normal.
A man whose name made hotel employees lower their heads.
A man who had just discovered something connected to my mother.
And he was asking if I could walk.
"I can walk," I said.
But when I tried to take a step, pain shot through my body.
Not from my cheek.
From fear.
Fear I didn't want to admit.
Roman noticed immediately.
He didn't touch me.
He didn't try to control me.
He simply removed his coat and held it out.
"You don't have to be afraid."
I stared at him.
"Why do you care?"
The question escaped before I could stop it.
Roman became silent.
For a moment, the cold expression disappeared.
"I should have found you sooner."
That answer confused me even more.
"Found me?"
He looked at the pendant.
"Your mother made me promise."
My breathing slowed.
"My mother?"
Roman nodded.
"She knew something was going to happen."
The corridor suddenly felt smaller.
"What happened to her?"
Nobody answered.
That silence told me more than words could.
My mother died five years ago.
At least, that was what everyone told me.
A car accident.
A rainy road.
A tragic mistake.
I had spent years accepting that explanation because I had no reason not to.
But now...
Roman Calder was standing in front of me with a photograph of my mother.
Rebecca Hale was saying she had been waiting to reveal the truth.
And Selene March looked terrified.
"She knew?" I whispered.
Roman looked away for a moment.
Then he said:
"Your mother knew someone would try to erase everything she left behind."
My heart sank.
"Someone?"
Roman looked directly at Selene.
The room went silent.
Selene's face changed.
"You can't seriously believe this woman."
Her voice shook.
"She was nobody."
The moment she said those words, Roman's expression became dangerous.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Selene swallowed.
Because she finally understood.
She wasn't speaking to a businessman.
She was speaking to someone who could destroy her entire world.
I looked at Selene.
"Why were you so interested in my necklace?"
She looked away.
That was enough of an answer.
Roman noticed too.
He turned to one of his men.
"Get the security footage."
The man nodded and walked away.
Selene stepped forward.
"You can't do this."
Roman looked at her.
"I already did."
A few minutes later, we were taken to a private office inside the hotel.
Not the manager's office.
Not a normal executive room.
Roman's private room.
The kind of place where every detail showed power.
Dark wood.
Expensive furniture.
Security screens covering one wall.
But the thing I noticed most was a framed photograph sitting on Roman's desk.
My mother.
I stopped walking.
Roman noticed.
"You recognize her."
It wasn't a question.
I moved closer.
The photograph showed my mother younger.
She was smiling.
Standing beside Roman.
Not like strangers.
Like family.
"When was this taken?"
"Twenty-two years ago."
I looked at him.
"Why was my mother with you?"
Roman didn't answer immediately.
Rebecca placed the folder on the desk.
"Because Celeste Bellamy saved Roman's life."
I looked at her.
"My mother?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Before Roman became the man everyone fears, he was just a young man trying to survive."
Roman looked uncomfortable.
He clearly didn't like talking about his past.
But he didn't stop Rebecca.
"Your mother helped him escape a situation that would have ended his life."
I stared at the picture.
"Then why didn't she tell me?"
Rebecca opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Old photographs.
Letters.
My mother's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
My hands began shaking.
"No..."
Rebecca looked at me.
"Your mother wrote these for you."
I touched the first letter.
The envelope had my name.
Nora.
My eyes filled with tears.
I had spent years believing my mother left me without answers.
Without goodbye.
But she hadn't.
Someone had hidden them.
"Why didn't I get these?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Roman answered.
"Because someone took them."
The room became silent.
"Who?"
Roman looked at me.
"We don't know yet."
I looked at the letters.
Then at the broken pendant.
"What is inside?"
Rebecca took a deep breath.
"Your mother didn't leave you jewelry."
She pointed at the tiny gold thimble.
"She left you a key."
I frowned.
"A key?"
Rebecca nodded.
"The pendant was designed to hide something."
She carefully opened a hidden compartment inside the broken piece of gold.
A tiny metal object fell into her hand.
Not a key.
A memory chip.
My entire body went cold.
My mother had hidden something inside the necklace I wore every day.
Roman picked it up carefully.
"Your mother wanted you to have this only when you were safe."
I looked at him.
"And how would she know when I was safe?"
Nobody answered.
Then the security monitor on the wall suddenly turned on.
One of Roman's men appeared.
"Boss."
Roman looked up.
"What happened?"
The man's face was serious.
"We found something in the footage."
Roman stood.
"What?"
The man hesitated.
"Someone entered Nora's locker three days ago."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
The screen changed.
A figure appeared.
A woman walking into the employee locker room.
Wearing expensive clothes.
Carrying a designer handbag.
I knew that posture.
I knew that confidence.
I knew that face.
Selene.
But then the video zoomed in.
And something fell from Selene's bag onto the floor.
A document.
With my mother's name written across it.
Roman stared at the screen.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
The voice on the other end was barely audible.
But I heard one sentence.
"Roman... she wasn't the only one looking for Nora."
Roman slowly turned toward me.
May you like
Because behind me...
the office door handle began to move.
