Chapter 3 - The Secret Inside the Video
The screen showed my face.
I stopped breathing.
For a few seconds, I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
It was me.
Standing in a place I recognized.
A place I had not thought about in years.
The video was grainy, recorded from a security camera angle. The image quality was poor, but there was no mistake.
The woman on the screen was me.
Younger.
Scared.
Holding a small suitcase.
Lucian looked at me.
Then back at the phone.
"Where was this recorded?"
My throat felt dry.
"I don't know."
But I did.
Somewhere deep inside, I knew.
The building.
The hallway.
The date in the corner of the screen.
Seven years earlier.
Before I lost everything.
Before I changed my name.
Before I learned how to disappear.
Lucian noticed my expression.
"You know this place."
I didn't answer.
"Evelyn."
His voice was firm.
Not angry.
Not accusing.
Demanding the truth.
I looked at the screen again.
The younger version of myself was standing outside a door.
A woman appeared beside me.
An older woman.
Someone I remembered.
Someone I wished I didn't.
My fingers tightened around the edge of the elevator wall.
"No."
Lucian noticed.
"What?"
I shook my head.
"This can't be here."
"Why?"
Because that place was supposed to be gone.
Because nobody was supposed to know.
Because I had spent years convincing myself that night never happened.
The video continued.
The younger me looked terrified.
The woman beside me handed me an envelope.
Then she whispered something.
The audio was damaged.
Only a few words could be heard.
"Don't trust..."
Static covered the rest.
Then the video suddenly stopped.
The elevator became silent.
Lucian stared at the black screen.
"Who was that woman?"
I looked away.
"I don't know."
It was a lie.
A terrible one.
And he knew.
"You do."
I didn't respond.
"Evelyn."
Something about the way he said my name made my chest tighten.
Not like a warning.
Like he was asking me to trust him.
That was the most dangerous thing about Lucian Vale.
Not his power.
Not his reputation.
It was the fact that when he looked at someone, it felt like he actually saw them.
I had spent years making sure nobody saw me.
"I was seventeen," I finally whispered.
Lucian stayed silent.
"I was seventeen when that video was recorded."
His expression changed.
"Why was someone filming you?"
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because the truth sounded impossible.
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
I looked at him.
"But it's the truth."
The elevator doors suddenly opened.
The security team rushed forward.
"Mr. Vale, are you safe?"
Lucian stepped out first.
Then he looked back at me.
A normal person would have walked away.
A normal person would have handed me over to security and forgotten about the maid with the broken cart.
But Lucian didn't.
"Cancel the rest of tonight's security rotation."
The guard looked confused.
"Sir?"
"Everyone leaves this floor."
The guard hesitated.
"Everyone?"
Lucian's eyes hardened.
"Did I stutter?"
"No, sir."
The team immediately moved.
I stood there, confused.
"You can't just clear an entire floor because of a video."
He looked at me.
"Someone knew exactly where you would be tonight."
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because he was right.
Someone had placed that note.
Someone had hidden the phone.
Someone had locked the elevator.
Someone had planned every second.
Including me finding Lucian.
"Why me?"
Lucian didn't answer.
That scared me.
Because powerful men always had reasons.
And I had a feeling his reason was connected to something I had forgotten.
The security team disappeared.
Within minutes, the entire private floor was empty.
Only the two of us remained.
The billionaire.
The maid.
The man who had everything.
The woman who had nothing.
But somehow, we were both trapped by the same secret.
"I need to know everything about you."
I looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Your full name."
"You already know it."
"Your history."
I froze.
"My history?"
"Yes."
I crossed my arms.
"Why?"
"Because someone is using it against you."
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to tell him he was wrong.
But I couldn't.
Because a part of me had always known someone might find me eventually.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
I looked at the city through the glass windows.
Thousands of lights.
Thousands of people.
And somehow, I had never felt more alone.
"My mother died when I was young."
Lucian listened.
"My father disappeared."
I swallowed.
"I was raised by relatives who didn't really want me."
His expression remained controlled.
But his eyes changed.
"Seven years ago, I found something."
"What?"
"I don't know."
That sounded ridiculous.
But it was true.
"I found documents. Names. Records."
"About what?"
I shook my head.
"I never understood them."
"Where are they now?"
"Destroyed."
"Are you sure?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
The silence returned.
Then Lucian walked toward the table and placed the phone down.
"You said your father disappeared."
I nodded.
"Did he ever work for Vale Enterprises?"
The question made my heart stop.
"No."
Too fast.
Too defensive.
Lucian noticed.
"Why did you answer so quickly?"
Because I remembered.
A name.
A file.
A photograph.
Something I had buried.
"I don't know."
He studied me.
"You keep saying that."
"Because I don't have answers."
"No."
His voice became softer.
"Because you're afraid of the answers."
I hated that he was right.
Before I could respond, his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed immediately.
This time, he couldn't hide it.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer.
"Lucian."
He looked at me.
"It's my security director."
"Is that bad?"
He answered the call.
"Speak."
A man's voice came through.
I couldn't hear everything.
Only pieces.
"Someone entered..."
"...old records..."
"...the restricted archive..."
Lucian's face became colder.
"What was taken?"
A pause.
Then the answer.
I saw his hand tighten around the phone.
"What file?"
Another pause.
His eyes slowly moved toward me.
And I knew.
Whatever the answer was...
It involved me.
"Evelyn Hart."
My entire body went still.
The security director had said my name.
The same way the note had.
The same way the video had.
Lucian ended the call.
"What?"
He didn't respond immediately.
"Lucian."
Finally, he spoke.
"The file they stole..."
My heartbeat grew louder.
"It was created seven years ago."
I waited.
"About a girl who disappeared after witnessing a murder."
The room seemed to shrink.
Because I knew what came next.
I knew before he said it.
"The girl's name was Evelyn Hart."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
Because there was only one explanation.
Someone had spent seven years hiding the truth.
And tonight...
They wanted Lucian Vale to find me.
I stepped backward.
"That's impossible."
Lucian looked at me.
"Why?"
Because I had never told anyone.
Because nobody knew.
Because the name I used now wasn't the name I was born with.
I opened my mouth.
But before I could answer, the private elevator behind Lucian made a sound.
A soft click.
The doors began to open.
Neither of us moved.
Because the elevator should have been empty.
May you like
The doors opened halfway.
And a voice from inside whispered my real name.
