Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Knew My Mother
The woman stepped out of the hidden room.
"Emily."
She said my name like she had known me my entire life.
I couldn't move.
The woman standing in front of us looked to be in her late fifties.
Her dark hair was streaked with gray.
Her face carried years of exhaustion.
But there was something familiar about her.
Not her appearance.
Something else.
The way she looked at me.
The way she looked like she was seeing someone she had lost a long time ago.
Daniel raised his hand.
"Don't move."
The woman stopped.
She looked at the security officer.
Then at Adrian.
And finally back at me.
"I don't have much time."
Adrian's expression changed.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
"You."
The woman's eyes moved toward him.
"You finally brought her here."
The room went silent.
I looked between them.
"You know each other?"
Neither answered.
That was enough.
I stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman swallowed.
"My name is Claire Morgan."
The name meant nothing to me.
But Adrian reacted.
He took a step back.
"No."
Claire looked at him.
"You thought I was dead."
My heart started beating faster.
"What is happening?"
Claire reached into her coat pocket slowly.
Daniel immediately moved.
But Adrian stopped him.
"Wait."
That surprised me.
Because Adrian Blackwood did not seem like a man who trusted easily.
Claire pulled out an old envelope.
It was worn.
Yellowed.
Like it had been hidden for years.
She handed it to me.
"This belonged to your mother."
My fingers touched the envelope.
And immediately, I knew.
The handwriting.
The same handwriting from the note.
The same handwriting from every birthday card.
My mother's handwriting.
I looked at Claire.
"How do you have this?"
She looked down.
"Because she gave it to me the night she disappeared."
The words hit me.
"The night she disappeared?"
Claire nodded.
"Your mother knew someone was watching her."
I looked at Adrian.
He didn't deny it.
"She came here because she trusted Adrian," Claire continued.
"But she knew she couldn't trust everyone around him."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single page.
My mother's words.
Emily,
If you are reading this, something went wrong.
I stopped reading.
My vision became blurry.
I hadn't seen her handwriting in years.
Not on a card.
Not on a piece of paper.
A real message.
A message meant for me.
I forced myself to continue.
There are things about my death you were never told.
My hands started shaking.
Claire watched me silently.
Adrian looked away.
I continued.
I wanted to protect you from the truth.
But if they found out what I knew, they would come after you.
A tear fell onto the paper.
I hated that I cried.
I hated that after all these years, my mother could still break my heart with a few sentences.
The final line was shorter.
And it was the one that destroyed me.
Trust Adrian Blackwood.
I looked up.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
I held the letter.
"No."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Emily..."
"My mother trusted you?"
My voice became louder.
"She trusted you, and you let her disappear?"
His face tightened.
"I tried to find her."
"But you failed."
The room went quiet.
Claire looked at Adrian.
"You never told her everything."
Adrian looked at her.
"I was trying to protect her."
Claire shook her head.
"That's what Sarah said before she realized protection can become another kind of prison."
The words stayed in the air.
I looked at Claire.
"What happened to my mother?"
She hesitated.
And that hesitation terrified me.
"Claire."
She looked at me.
"Your mother discovered that someone inside Blackwood International was using the company to hide illegal activities."
My stomach tightened.
"What kind of activities?"
"Money transfers. Secret accounts. Information leaks."
"Who?"
Claire looked toward Adrian.
"Someone close."
Again.
That phrase.
Someone close.
I was tired of secrets.
"TELL ME WHO."
My voice echoed through the archive room.
Nobody spoke.
Then Adrian finally said:
"Victor Hale."
The name landed heavily.
I looked at him.
"Who is that?"
Adrian's face hardened.
"My former partner."
"Former?"
"He helped build this company."
Claire nodded.
"And he was the last person seen with Sarah before she vanished."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Why isn't he in prison?"
Adrian looked away.
"Because we never had enough proof."
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
"My mother risked her life for proof."
I held up the card.
"And now I have it."
Everyone looked at the memory card.
The same small black card that had started everything.
Adrian walked toward me.
"Emily, listen to me."
"What?"
"That card is dangerous."
"Because it proves what happened?"
"Because someone killed to keep it hidden."
The room became silent.
I looked at the card.
Then at Adrian.
"Who else knows I have it?"
His expression changed.
That was the answer.
Someone else knew.
"Adrian."
He looked at me.
"Who?"
Before he could respond, the lights went out.
Everything disappeared.
The archive room went completely dark.
Someone screamed.
Not me.
Not Claire.
Someone outside.
Then we heard footsteps.
Fast.
Coming closer.
Daniel pulled out his flashlight.
"Everyone stay where you are."
The emergency lights flickered on.
Red.
Dim.
The archive room looked different.
The hidden door was still open.
But Claire was gone.
I froze.
"Where did she go?"
Nobody answered.
Adrian looked toward the doorway.
"Impossible."
Daniel moved forward.
"She couldn't have disappeared."
Then I noticed something.
The envelope.
The one Claire gave me.
It was still in my hand.
But the letter was gone.
Someone had taken it.
Only one thing remained inside.
A small photograph.
I pulled it out.
And my blood turned cold.
It was a picture of my mother.
Standing outside Blackwood Tower.
The night she disappeared.
But she was not alone.
Someone was standing beside her.
Someone I recognized.
Someone I had seen just moments earlier.
I slowly turned toward Adrian.
May you like
Because the person standing next to my mother in the photograph...
was Adrian Blackwood.
