Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The photograph was still warm from the printer when I picked it up.
That was the part that bothered me the most.
Not the picture.
Not the name written beneath it.
The fact that someone had taken that photograph only minutes earlier.
Someone had been inside Pier 19.
Someone had been watching me.
I held the paper between my fingers and stared at the image.
My face looked back at me.
Standing in the exact place where I was now.
Looking at the same hidden room.
The same locked door.
The same secret someone had spent years protecting.
My mind raced through every possibility.
But one question kept coming back.
How?
How could someone have predicted that I would find this room?
How could someone have known I would be here?
Unless...
They had planned every step.
I turned toward Elena.
"How long have you known about this place?"
She shook her head immediately.
"I didn't."
"Then how did you know about the files?"
"I didn't know there would be files."
Her voice cracked.
"I only knew I had to bring the key here."
I looked at the silver key still sitting in my hand.
"Who gave it to you?"
She hesitated.
Again.
That hesitation told me everything.
"Elena."
She looked away.
"I need the truth."
"I am telling you the truth."
"Not all of it."
The silence between us became heavier.
Finally, she took a slow breath.
"Isabella found me three months ago."
I froze.
"Three months?"
She nodded.
"She was different from what I expected."
"What does that mean?"
"It means she wasn't hiding because she was afraid."
I stared at her.
"Then why did she disappear?"
Elena looked down.
"Because she was trying to protect you."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it sounded impossible.
"My sister vanished twelve years ago."
"I know."
"Everyone told me she died."
"I know."
"Then explain how she was protecting me."
Elena looked directly at me.
"Because she discovered the same thing I did."
"What?"
"Someone inside your organization was stealing from you."
The words hung in the air.
I looked back at the photographs on the wall.
There were dozens.
Pictures of meetings.
Pictures of my employees.
Pictures of locations.
But every picture had one thing in common.
Me.
Someone had been studying my life.
Tracking my movements.
Waiting.
"Who?" I asked.
Elena's face tightened.
"I don't know his real name."
"His?"
She nodded.
"But Isabella knew him."
I stepped closer.
"What was his name?"
Elena whispered:
"Marcus Vale."
The name hit me instantly.
Not because I knew him.
Because I didn't.
And that was worse.
A stranger could betray you.
An enemy could attack you.
But someone who existed in the shadows?
Someone powerful enough to manipulate your world without you knowing?
That was a different kind of threat.
I looked through the files on the table.
Financial records.
Photographs.
Documents.
Then I found something else.
A handwritten note.
The handwriting was familiar.
My sister's handwriting.
I knew it immediately.
My hands started shaking.
Victor,
If you are reading this, it means I failed to stop him.
Do not trust anyone who tells you I am gone.
The people closest to you are the ones who helped bury the truth.
I read the words again.
Then again.
The people closest to me.
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
Because suddenly, every conversation from the last few years felt different.
Every handshake.
Every promise.
Every person who stood beside me.
Someone had been lying.
But who?
I folded the note carefully.
Elena watched me.
"You believe me now."
I didn't answer.
Because believing her meant accepting something I wasn't ready to accept.
My entire life had been built on control.
I knew my enemies.
I knew my allies.
I knew exactly where every piece belonged.
But now I was looking at a board I didn't recognize.
And someone else was moving the pieces.
A sound came from outside the hidden room.
A footstep.
Then another.
Elena's expression changed.
"They found us."
I turned off the light immediately.
The room went dark.
We stayed completely still.
The footsteps moved closer.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Whoever was coming wasn't searching.
They already knew where we were.
I reached inside my jacket.
I carried a weapon for situations exactly like this.
But something stopped me.
Because the person outside didn't sound like an attacker.
They sounded like someone who wanted us to hear them coming.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then the door opened.
A man stepped inside.
I prepared myself.
But then I saw his face.
And I lowered my weapon.
Because I knew him.
"Victor."
My jaw tightened.
"Daniel."
The man who had lied to me earlier stood in front of me.
The man who claimed Elena was a thief.
The man who brought her to Pier 19.
He looked different now.
Not nervous.
Not afraid.
Tired.
Like he had been carrying a secret for years.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
Daniel looked at Elena.
Then back at me.
"Trying to keep you alive."
I almost moved toward him.
Almost.
"That's your explanation?"
"No."
He looked at the photographs covering the walls.
"It's the truth."
"You lied to me."
"Yes."
The answer came too quickly.
That surprised me.
Daniel didn't defend himself.
Didn't make excuses.
He simply accepted it.
"Why?"
His eyes lowered.
"Because if I told you the truth before tonight, you would have done exactly what you're about to do now."
"What?"
"Go after Marcus Vale."
The name made Elena step back.
"You know him?"
Daniel looked at her.
"I know what he's capable of."
"Who is he?" I asked.
Daniel stayed silent.
Then he walked toward the table.
He picked up one of the documents.
"Marcus Vale was never interested in taking money from you."
I watched him carefully.
"Then what did he want?"
Daniel looked at me.
"He wanted everything."
The room became quiet.
"Your company."
"My connections."
"Your reputation."
Then he placed the document down.
"And eventually..."
He paused.
"Your life."
I stared at him.
"Why would he go through all this?"
Daniel looked toward the photograph of Isabella.
"Because Isabella found out what he was planning."
My heart tightened.
"And she survived."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
For the first time, Daniel looked afraid.
Not nervous.
Not uncomfortable.
Afraid.
"Victor..."
"What?"
He looked at the door behind me.
"Before I answer that, you need to understand something."
"What?"
"Isabella wasn't hiding from Marcus Vale."
I waited.
"She was hiding from you."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I stepped forward.
"Why?"
Daniel opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, every light in the warehouse suddenly turned off.
Complete darkness.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared on the screen.
One sentence.
One name.
May you like
And my blood went cold.
Because the message was from Isabella.
