Chapter 5 - The Man My Father Warned Me About
The phone stopped ringing.
But nobody moved.
The message remained on the screen.
“Do not trust the man standing closest to you.”
I stared at those words until they blurred.
Because the person standing closest to me was Cassian Voss.
The man who had protected me.
The man who had watched me play when everyone else laughed.
The man who had been the only person in that ballroom who looked at me like I was a human being instead of a servant.
My mind refused to accept it.
“No.”
The word came out quietly.
Cassian looked at me.
Not angry.
Not offended.
Just surprised.
“Elena.”
I stepped back.
The distance between us suddenly felt necessary.
Everyone noticed.
The guests whispered again.
The same people who had laughed at me earlier were now watching my fear.
Vivian looked almost relieved.
Julian looked terrified.
That was what confused me most.
If Cassian was the danger…
Why did Julian look afraid?
Cassian slowly raised his hands.
“I didn’t write that message.”
“I know.”
My voice shook.
“But someone wanted me to see it.”
His eyes moved toward the phone.
“Yes.”
“Someone who knew this would happen.”
“Yes.”
The calmness of his answer made my heart beat faster.
“You’re not denying it.”
Cassian looked at me.
“Because denying something I don’t understand would be a lie.”
Nobody expected that answer.
Especially not me.
A powerful man like Cassian Voss was supposed to become angry.
He was supposed to threaten people.
He was supposed to demand explanations.
Instead, he stood there quietly, allowing everyone to question him.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Cassian…”
Cassian looked at him.
“You knew about Thomas.”
The old pianist hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Cassian’s expression hardened.
“How much did you know?”
Adrian looked ashamed.
“Not enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Adrian sighed.
“Your father trusted very few people.”
His eyes moved toward me.
“But he trusted Elena.”
I looked down at the phone.
The message was still there.
My father’s warning.
But why Cassian?
Why him?
I looked at Clara.
“You knew this would happen.”
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“You knew the phone would appear.”
Clara lowered her eyes.
“I knew your father left instructions.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Silence.
Then she whispered.
“I knew there was a possibility.”
My chest tightened.
Another secret.
Another person who decided what I could handle.
“How many things about my life does everyone know except me?”
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious.
Too many.
Cassian walked toward the piano.
The same piano where everything had started.
He looked at the keys.
Then at the music book.
“Your father hid something in the concerto.”
Clara nodded.
“Yes.”
“What?”
She opened the book again.
This time, she turned to the last page.
There was no music.
Only a list.
Names.
Dozens of them.
I looked closer.
Politicians.
Business owners.
Judges.
People whose names appeared in newspapers.
People everyone respected.
People everyone trusted.
And beside some names were dates.
Payments.
Locations.
My stomach turned.
“This…”
Daniel nodded.
“The archive.”
I looked at him.
“What was it?”
He answered quietly.
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That some of the most powerful people in Bellgrave built their influence through crimes nobody ever discovered.”
The ballroom became silent.
I looked around.
The people standing near me suddenly felt different.
The wealthy guests.
The important families.
The people who had laughed while I cleaned broken glass.
How many of them were connected?
Julian suddenly moved.
Just one step.
But Cassian noticed immediately.
“Don’t.”
Julian stopped.
His face was pale.
“You don’t understand.”
Cassian looked at him.
“I understand more than you think.”
Julian laughed nervously.
“No. You don’t.”
He looked at me.
“Elena, you need to listen to me.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
His expression cracked.
“Because your father was not the only person who was in danger.”
The room went quiet.
“What does that mean?”
Julian looked at Clara.
Then Daniel.
Then Cassian.
“I tried to warn him.”
Nobody moved.
“I tried to tell Thomas to stop.”
My heart froze.
“You knew?”
Julian looked at me.
“I knew something was happening.”
The anger inside me rose.
“Something?”
My voice became louder.
“My father lost everything.”
Julian looked away.
“I was young.”
“You were old enough to take the money.”
His face changed.
The accusation landed.
Because it was true.
“I needed it.”
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“You needed my father’s treatment money?”
Julian closed his eyes.
“No.”
“Then what?”
He didn’t answer.
And that silence was the final betrayal.
Cassian stepped forward.
“Where is the rest of the archive?”
Julian looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
Cassian’s expression didn’t change.
But everyone felt the threat.
“You’re lying.”
Julian swallowed.
“I’m not.”
Then the ballroom lights went out.
Completely.
Someone screamed.
The darkness swallowed everyone.
For a few seconds, there was chaos.
People moved.
Chairs fell.
Glass shattered.
I heard footsteps.
Fast footsteps.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I tried to pull away.
Then a familiar voice whispered:
“Don’t make a sound.”
My entire body froze.
Because it wasn’t Cassian.
It wasn’t Daniel.
It wasn’t Adrian.
It was Julian.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving you.”
I pulled my arm back.
“After everything?”
“I don’t have time to explain.”
The emergency lights turned on.
Red.
Dim.
Terrifying.
Cassian was no longer beside me.
Clara was gone.
The music book was missing from my hands.
I looked at Julian.
“You took it.”
His expression changed.
“No.”
He looked toward the entrance.
“I didn’t.”
Then everyone heard it.
A sound from the hallway.
A door opening.
Slowly.
Everyone turned.
A figure stood outside.
Holding the black music book.
The person stepped into the red light.
May you like
And when I saw the face, I forgot how to breathe.
Because the person holding my father’s final secret was someone who should have been dead for twenty years...
