Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The video froze.
For three seconds.
Nobody moved.
Then the screen went black.
The room became silent.
Not normal silence.
The kind of silence that comes after someone says something impossible.
Adrian Vale stood in front of the computer, staring at the empty screen.
His face had changed.
The powerful man who controlled an empire was gone.
The man standing there looked like someone who had just watched a ghost appear.
I looked at him.
"Who was that?"
He didn't answer.
"Adrian."
Still nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Finally, he whispered:
"My brother."
The words shocked me.
Because nobody had ever mentioned a brother.
Not the staff.
Not the news.
Not Adrian himself.
I looked at Margaret.
She looked away.
That told me everything.
She knew.
"You told me your wife died because of curiosity," I said quietly.
Adrian didn't look at me.
"Yes."
"And now I'm starting to understand why."
He turned.
His eyes were cold again.
But this time, I could see the pain underneath.
"Clara, you need to leave."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You need to take Noah and leave this house."
I almost couldn't believe what I heard.
"You hired me to find answers."
"I hired you to protect my son."
"And running away protects him?"
His expression tightened.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"Then explain it."
He didn't.
That was the problem with Adrian Vale.
Every answer created another question.
I looked at Noah.
The little boy was still staring at the computer.
"Is that the man from your drawings?"
Noah nodded.
My heart sank.
Because the person behind Elena in the video wasn't just someone from Adrian's past.
Noah had seen him before.
"Who is he, Noah?"
The boy whispered:
"Uncle."
Adrian closed his eyes.
Like he had been waiting for that moment.
"Adrian's brother?"
I asked.
He nodded slowly.
"Lucas Vale."
The name meant nothing to me.
But the reaction around the room said everything.
The security guards looked nervous.
Margaret looked terrified.
"You said he was dead."
Adrian looked at me.
"He was."
I waited.
He continued.
"At least, that's what everyone believed."
I walked toward the desk.
The computer screen was still black.
"Why would Elena record a message about him?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Because Lucas was supposed to inherit everything."
I looked at him.
"And you?"
"I was never supposed to lead the family."
The room felt colder.
Adrian walked to the window.
"My father built the Vale organization around Lucas. He was older. Smarter. More ruthless."
He paused.
"Then one night, Lucas disappeared."
"What happened?"
Adrian looked down.
"Everyone thought he died."
"But you didn't?"
His silence was my answer.
I looked at Noah.
The child who had been called dangerous.
The child everyone blamed.
And suddenly I wondered how much he had seen.
How much he had carried.
"Why didn't you tell me about him?"
Adrian's expression changed.
"Because if Lucas is alive, then Noah is in danger."
"Why?"
He looked at the notebook.
At Elena's drawings.
At the message she left.
"Because Lucas knew something about my son that even I didn't know."
The words made my stomach tighten.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Before he could, the mansion lights suddenly went out.
Everything disappeared into darkness.
The security system alarm started.
The guards immediately reached for their weapons.
Noah grabbed my hand.
"He's here."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
The boy stared toward the hallway.
"Uncle Lucas."
A second later, the emergency lights turned on.
Red lights flashed across the room.
Adrian moved instantly.
"Everyone stay here."
The security guards followed him.
I grabbed his arm.
"You're leaving us?"
His eyes met mine.
"No."
A pause.
"I'm making sure he can't reach you."
Then he walked away.
I hated that I trusted him.
Because five minutes ago, I wasn't sure if he was protecting Noah or hiding the truth.
Now I knew one thing.
He was afraid.
And Adrian Vale was not afraid easily.
Margaret locked the door behind him.
I looked at her.
"How long have you known?"
She didn't pretend anymore.
"Since the beginning."
"Since Noah was born?"
She nodded.
"Elena discovered Lucas was alive before Noah turned one."
I stared at her.
"Why didn't she tell Adrian?"
Margaret looked toward the hallway.
"Because she didn't know if Adrian was part of it."
The answer hurt more than I expected.
"You believed Adrian could hurt his own son?"
"No."
Her voice softened.
"I believed someone could make him do it."
I looked at Noah.
The boy was sitting on the floor, holding his notebook.
I walked toward him.
"Noah."
He looked up.
"Did you see your uncle?"
He nodded.
"When?"
He looked toward the locked door.
"Before Mommy disappeared."
My breathing stopped.
"Where?"
The boy pointed upstairs.
"My room."
I looked at Margaret.
She looked shocked.
"That's impossible."
Noah shook his head.
"He came through the secret door."
The room went silent.
"Secret door?"
Noah nodded.
"Mommy showed me."
I looked around.
A mansion this large.
A hidden room.
A secret passage.
A dead man who might be alive.
Nothing about this family was normal.
"Where is it?"
Noah stood.
Slowly.
He walked to the bookshelf.
Then he touched one of the books.
The shelf moved.
I froze.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Hidden inside the wall.
My heart started racing.
Noah looked at me.
"Mommy told me never to go there."
"Why?"
His eyes filled with fear.
"Because the last time she went inside..."
He stopped.
I waited.
"What?"
He whispered:
"She came back crying."
I looked into the dark passage.
Then at Margaret.
"Did Adrian know about this?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Elena trusted me with many things."
She looked at the passage.
"But not this."
That made no sense.
If Elena hid something from everyone, why leave clues for me?
Why choose a nanny she never met?
Unless...
She knew someone like me would eventually come.
I stepped closer to the passage.
A cold breeze came from inside.
Something moved in the darkness.
I stopped.
"Did you hear that?"
Margaret looked terrified.
"No."
But she was lying.
We both knew it.
A sound came again.
A soft movement.
Like someone walking.
I grabbed Noah's hand.
"Stay behind me."
We entered the passage.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Documents.
Notes.
Proof that Elena had been investigating something inside her own home.
Then I saw a picture.
I stopped.
It showed Adrian.
Lucas.
And another person.
A woman.
I picked it up.
Margaret looked over my shoulder.
Her face went pale.
"No."
I looked at her.
"Who is she?"
She didn't answer.
Because she was staring at the date written underneath.
A date from four years ago.
One year after Elena's supposed death.
And the woman in the photograph...
was Elena.
Alive.
The passage continued deeper.
At the end was another door.
A small metal door.
Unlike the others.
This one was new.
Someone had recently used it.
I reached for the handle.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
A photograph.
I opened it.
My blood went cold.
Because the picture showed Adrian standing in front of that same door.
Taken only seconds ago.
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And underneath the photo were four words:
"Don't let him open it."
