Chapter 5 - The Truth Behind The Disappearance
The door handle moved again.
Slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Someone was trying to enter.
Brett reacted before I even realized what was happening.
He pushed me behind him.
Elena moved toward the wall.
The three of us stood frozen in the darkness.
The only light came from the city outside the broken window.
My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it.
Brett held his weapon steady.
His eyes never left the door.
Then the handle stopped moving.
Silence.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Nothing.
I almost believed whoever was outside had left.
Then the door unlocked itself.
Not forced.
Not broken.
Unlocked.
Brett’s expression changed.
Because there was only one person who could open that door without setting off the security system.
Someone who had access.
Someone who belonged inside.
The door opened.
And a man walked in.
I recognized him immediately.
Alexander Vale.
He looked completely calm.
Almost amused.
Like he had been invited.
Brett lowered his weapon slightly.
But not because he trusted him.
Because he was shocked.
"How did you get in here?"
Alexander smiled.
"Your security has always been impressive."
He glanced around the damaged office.
"Unfortunately, your attention has always been easier to manipulate."
Brett stepped forward.
"You sent the messages."
Alexander didn't deny it.
"Yes."
The honesty was almost worse.
My hands tightened.
"You ruined that gala."
Alexander looked at me.
"No."
His eyes moved over my face.
"I revealed what Brett has been hiding."
Brett's voice became colder.
"Leave."
Alexander ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Elena.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
"You're still alive."
Elena stared at him.
"Disappointed?"
A strange silence filled the room.
Because that reaction told me something.
They knew each other.
Not as enemies.
Not as strangers.
Something older.
Something more complicated.
Alexander looked away.
"I thought Marcus solved this problem years ago."
Brett moved instantly.
"Watch your words."
Alexander smiled.
"There he is."
He looked at Brett.
"The same protective brother who couldn't save her the first time."
The room changed.
Brett's face became unreadable.
But I saw it.
The pain.
The memory.
The wound that never healed.
"Don't."
Elena's voice was quiet.
Alexander looked at her.
"You should tell him."
Brett's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me what?"
Alexander walked closer.
"The truth about the night Elena disappeared."
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Elena.
She looked down.
That was enough.
She knew.
She knew the truth.
"Elena."
Brett's voice was softer now.
"Tell me."
She didn't answer.
"Please."
That word shocked me.
Brett Ashford didn't beg.
Not for anyone.
Not ever.
Elena closed her eyes.
"When I found out about Marcus, I tried to expose him."
Brett waited.
"He found out before I could."
She swallowed.
"And he gave me a choice."
"What choice?"
"Disappear."
The answer was quiet.
But it destroyed something inside Brett.
"You could have come to me."
Elena looked at him.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Marcus showed me something."
She looked toward me.
"Something about your family."
My blood went cold.
"My family?"
Elena nodded.
"Your father wasn't just investigating Marcus."
She looked at Brett.
"He was investigating someone else."
Brett frowned.
"Who?"
Elena hesitated.
Then said:
"Someone inside your own organization."
The silence was heavy.
Brett stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Elena shook her head.
"That's exactly why they succeeded."
I watched Brett process the words.
Because if there was one thing he believed more than anything, it was loyalty.
His entire empire was built on it.
The idea that someone close to him had betrayed him?
That was worse than any enemy.
"Who?"
Elena looked at the floor.
"I don't know."
Brett’s expression hardened.
"But you have a suspicion."
She didn't answer.
That meant yes.
"Who?"
This time, his voice carried power.
Elena looked at me.
And my stomach tightened.
"Gianna's father found out first."
I froze.
"What?"
Elena continued.
"Your father discovered that someone was moving money through fake companies."
My mind raced.
"The documents."
She nodded.
"He was framed."
Brett looked at the papers on the desk.
"He was made to look guilty."
"Yes."
"By Marcus."
"No."
Elena’s answer shocked both of us.
"Marcus helped cover it."
She paused.
"But he wasn't the person who started it."
The room went silent.
A bigger enemy.
A hidden enemy.
Someone who had been there all along.
Brett walked slowly toward the desk.
"Who had access?"
Elena looked at him.
"Your closest people."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Brett's expression changed.
Because he understood.
Everyone around him.
Every person who had stood beside him.
Every person he had trusted.
One of them had destroyed two families.
My phone vibrated.
Again.
Everyone looked at it.
I didn't want to answer.
But I knew I had to.
The message appeared.
A photograph.
This time, it wasn't old.
It was recent.
Taken today.
It showed Brett and me leaving the ballroom.
Holding hands.
The angle was from above.
Someone had been watching.
The message below said:
"You still don't understand who betrayed you."
Then another photo loaded.
My fingers went numb.
Because this picture was older.
Much older.
It showed my father.
Standing outside the Ashford family estate.
Beside a woman.
My mother.
And beside them...
Brett’s father.
They were all smiling.
Like they knew something.
Like they were part of something bigger.
But that wasn't what made me afraid.
It was the person standing behind them.
The person whose face had been partially hidden.
The person whose hand rested on my father's shoulder.
Because I recognized the watch.
I recognized the ring.
I recognized the man.
Brett saw the picture.
And for the first time since I met him...
He looked terrified.
"Who is that?" I whispered.
Brett didn't answer.
His eyes stayed locked on the image.
Because the person behind my father was someone Brett trusted for years.
Someone who had been beside him since the beginning.
Someone who knew every secret.
Then Elena whispered:
"Brett..."
He looked at her.
May you like
And she said the name neither of us wanted to hear.
"Your mother."
