Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
The woman standing in front of me looked like someone who had walked out of a memory.
The same eyes.
The same small scar near her left eyebrow.
The same expression I had spent years trying to remember.
My mother.
Alive.
Standing ten feet away from me.
For seven years, I had repeated the same sentence in my head.
She's gone.
For seven years, I had forced myself to accept a goodbye I never got to say.
And now she was standing in front of me like death had simply been a mistake.
"Evelyn."
Her voice broke something inside me.
Because it was real.
Not a recording.
Not a dream.
Not a memory.
Real.
I looked at Lucian.
He was frozen.
That scared me more than anything.
Lucian Vale didn't freeze.
Not when threats appeared.
Not when enemies challenged him.
Not when people betrayed him.
But seeing my mother standing there?
That destroyed his control.
"You knew."
My voice came out quiet.
Nobody answered.
I looked at Lucian.
"You knew she was alive."
His eyes moved toward me.
"Evelyn..."
"No."
I stepped back.
"Don't say my name like that."
The pain in my chest grew.
"How long?"
My mother looked at Lucian.
Then at me.
Like she was afraid of what would happen next.
"Seven years."
The answer came from her.
I turned toward her.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"I've been watching you for seven years."
The hallway became silent.
Watching.
That word hurt more than I expected.
"Watching?"
My voice shook.
"You were watching me struggle?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I had no choice."
Everyone always said that.
Everyone who hurt me always had a reason.
Everyone who disappeared always had an explanation.
But I was tired of explanations.
"I had twelve dollars in my account."
My mother looked down.
"I know."
"I sold my laptop."
"I know."
"I worked nights cleaning rooms because I didn't have anyone."
Her face changed.
"I know."
The anger inside me finally broke through.
"Then you know everything."
I pointed toward her.
"You knew I was alone."
A tear fell down her face.
"I knew."
"And you stayed away."
"I was protecting you."
I laughed.
The same painful laugh I had used before.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I looked around the room.
"Everyone keeps destroying my life while telling me they're protecting me."
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could argue.
My mother took a step forward.
"I wanted to come back."
"But you didn't."
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
Her eyes moved toward Lucian.
And that was when I understood.
This wasn't only about her.
It was about him.
About the three years nobody wanted to explain.
About the secrets hidden in files.
About the people who disappeared.
"Tell me the truth."
My voice was low.
"I deserve that much."
My mother looked at Lucian.
He gave a small nod.
Like he knew there was no more hiding.
"My father was investigating Vale Industries."
I looked at Lucian.
"Why?"
Lucian answered.
"Because someone inside my company was using it for something illegal."
My mother continued.
"Your father found evidence."
"What kind?"
She hesitated.
"Evidence connecting powerful people to disappearances."
My stomach tightened.
"Disappearances?"
She nodded.
"People who tried to expose them."
I looked at Lucian.
"And you?"
His face hardened.
"I was trying to stop them."
"But you failed."
The words hit.
Because he didn't deny it.
"I was too late."
A heavy silence followed.
My mother walked closer.
"Your father tried to protect you."
"By leaving?"
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"By making everyone believe he left."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
She looked at Lucian.
"He changed the records."
My eyes moved between them.
"Lucian?"
He looked away.
"I helped your father hide you."
The words shocked me.
"You helped him?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
His expression changed.
Because the answer hurt.
"Because after your father disappeared, the people looking for him started looking for you."
I stared at him.
"And you thought letting me believe I was alone was better?"
"No."
His voice became quieter.
"I thought keeping you alive mattered more."
I hated how much I believed him.
I hated that underneath all the anger, I could see something else.
Regret.
Real regret.
My mother stepped closer.
"There is something you need to know."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She took a breath.
"The night your father disappeared..."
She paused.
"He wasn't alone."
The room went silent.
"Who was with him?"
My mother's eyes moved toward Lucian.
And Lucian's face changed.
Because he already knew.
"Who?"
My voice became sharper.
My mother whispered:
"Vanessa."
I turned.
Vanessa stood near the elevator.
Her expression was no longer calm.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
"No."
Lucian's voice was cold.
"Don't."
My mother looked at him.
"You need to know."
Vanessa shook her head.
"You don't understand what you're saying."
Lucian stepped toward her.
"I understand perfectly."
Something passed between them.
Something old.
Something painful.
"You were there."
The words came from Lucian.
Vanessa didn't answer.
"You were there the night he disappeared."
Still nothing.
My heart started racing.
"Vanessa?"
She looked at me.
"I didn't kill him."
Nobody asked that.
But her answer told us everything.
Lucian's expression became dangerous.
"What did you do?"
Vanessa looked at the floor.
"I tried to save him."
"From who?"
A tear appeared in her eyes.
"From you."
The entire room went silent.
Lucian looked like he had been hit.
"What?"
Vanessa looked at him.
"You think you were protecting Evelyn."
Her voice broke.
"But you were protecting the people who destroyed her family."
"No."
"You never knew the full story."
Lucian stepped forward.
"Explain."
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Because something changed.
A sound came from the hallway.
A phone vibrating.
Not ours.
A hidden phone.
Everyone turned.
The sound was coming from the file folder in my mother's hand.
She opened it slowly.
Inside was a small device.
A recording.
Lucian immediately recognized it.
"No."
My mother looked at him.
"What?"
His face turned pale.
"That was never supposed to be found."
She pressed the button.
A man's voice filled the hallway.
A voice I had never heard.
But Lucian recognized.
Everyone watched him.
Because the man's first words were:
"Lucian Vale was never the enemy."
A pause.
Then the recording continued.
"The person who destroyed Evelyn Hart's family is the one standing closest to her."
Lucian looked around.
Slowly.
Searching.
May you like
Then the voice said the name.
And everyone turned toward the same person.
