Chapter 6 - The Truth Behind The Person I Trusted
The message remained on my phone.
"Don't trust the man standing behind you."
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't even look back.
Because I already knew who was behind me.
Adrian.
The man I had loved.
The man I was supposed to marry.
The man who had spent the entire night helping me uncover the truth.
Or at least, that was what I believed.
I slowly lowered my phone.
The archive room became painfully quiet.
My mother was looking at Adrian.
Charles was looking at Adrian.
And Adrian was looking at me.
"Evelyn..."
His voice sounded different.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
I held up the phone.
"Did you send this?"
His face changed immediately.
"No."
"Then who did?"
Nobody answered.
That was becoming the pattern of my life.
Every question led to another secret.
Every secret led to another person hiding something.
I looked down at the folder in my hands.
The photograph inside was still there.
My father standing beside Adrian.
But something bothered me.
The picture was old.
Very old.
Adrian looked younger.
But he was smiling.
Standing beside my father like they trusted each other.
Like they were family.
"You knew him."
Adrian looked away.
"I knew your father."
"You told me you only knew his name."
"I was trying to protect you."
I laughed quietly.
There was no happiness in it.
"That sentence again."
I stepped closer.
"Everyone who lies to me says the same thing."
Adrian looked hurt.
But I couldn't stop.
Not anymore.
"My father trusted you."
He didn't deny it.
That hurt more.
"What happened?"
Adrian took a deep breath.
"When I was twenty-one, my father forced me to work for him."
"Victor Cole."
He nodded.
"My father had connections. He had power. He knew how to control people."
He looked at the photograph.
"Your father was the only person who challenged him."
Charles interrupted.
"Adrian."
But Adrian shook his head.
"No more secrets."
The room went silent.
"He found out Victor was hiding financial records. Evidence of crimes committed through several companies."
I looked at my mother.
"And my father disappeared because of that?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Not exactly."
My heart tightened.
"What does that mean?"
He looked at me.
"Your father wasn't taken because he knew too much."
A pause.
"He disappeared because he discovered who was helping Victor."
I felt cold.
"Who?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Then the lights in the archive room flickered.
Everyone looked toward the entrance.
The door moved slightly.
But nobody was there.
I grabbed the folder tighter.
"What else is in here?"
Adrian looked at the documents.
"Your father kept everything."
I opened another file.
Inside were hundreds of pages.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Names.
Dates.
At the bottom of one document was a signature.
My mother's signature.
I stopped.
"No."
My mother immediately stepped forward.
"Evelyn, listen to me."
I held up the paper.
"You signed this."
Her face turned pale.
"I had no choice."
"What was it?"
She looked at the document.
Then at me.
"It was an agreement."
"With who?"
She didn't answer.
I already knew.
"Victor Cole."
She closed her eyes.
The silence confirmed it.
I felt something break inside me.
My mother had not only hidden the truth.
She had been part of it.
"Why?"
The question came out quietly.
Not angry.
Just hurt.
"Why would you do this?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Because they threatened you."
I froze.
"What?"
She walked toward me slowly.
"When your father discovered the truth, Victor knew he couldn't control him anymore."
She looked at the photograph.
"So he found another way."
Her voice cracked.
"He threatened the only thing your father would sacrifice everything to protect."
Me.
I couldn't speak.
My mother continued.
"Your father made me promise that if anything happened to him, I would keep you away from the investigation."
"Why didn't you tell me he was alive?"
She looked down.
"Because I didn't know."
Everyone became silent.
I stared at her.
"What?"
She shook her head.
"I thought he was dead."
My eyes moved toward Adrian.
Then Charles.
"Then who knew?"
Nobody answered.
A sound came from the laptop.
A new video.
The screen showed my father.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
He was standing inside the same archive room.
The same room we were standing in.
The recording was dated two days after his disappearance.
Impossible.
My father looked directly at the camera.
"Evelyn, if you found this room, then you already know the first part of the truth."
I stepped closer.
His voice continued.
"But there is something your mother doesn't know."
My mother looked shocked.
The video continued.
"The person who helped me disappear was someone I trusted."
My eyes moved around the room.
Everyone became tense.
My father's voice became quieter.
"And that person was not my enemy."
A pause.
"They were trying to save me."
The screen glitched.
Then a second image appeared.
A document.
A transfer record.
A name.
The name made Adrian step backward.
Because it was his.
ADRIAN COLE.
My breathing stopped.
Charles whispered:
"No..."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"I didn't know."
I looked at him.
"What didn't you know?"
He didn't answer.
The video continued.
"Adrian, if you are watching this, I need you to remember one thing."
My father's expression changed.
"You were never the person who betrayed me."
Adrian looked shocked.
The room became silent.
Then the next sentence appeared.
"But you were the person who helped them find me."
Adrian's face lost all color.
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
He shook his head.
"I don't remember."
"How could you not remember?"
He stepped back.
"Because I was lied to too."
The archive room suddenly felt smaller.
Everyone had a secret.
Everyone had been used.
Then another message appeared on the laptop.
THE PERSON WHO ERASED ADRIAN'S MEMORY IS STILL ALIVE.
I froze.
"Erased his memory?"
Charles looked terrified.
My mother whispered:
"No..."
I turned toward her.
"You know about this?"
She looked at the floor.
"I knew someone was controlling everything."
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Then the archive door slammed shut.
Everyone turned.
The lock clicked.
From the other side.
Someone had locked us inside.
Adrian rushed toward the door.
It wouldn't open.
Charles grabbed the handle.
Nothing.
The laptop received another message.
A video started automatically.
A woman appeared on the screen.
Her face was hidden.
But her voice was calm.
"Hello, Evelyn."
My blood turned cold.
Because she knew my name.
"I know you have been searching for your father."
The woman moved closer to the camera.
"And I know you believe Adrian Cole is the person who can give you answers."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"Who are you?"
The woman ignored him.
Then she said:
"But before you trust anyone in that room..."
She paused.
The camera moved.
Showing a second person standing behind her.
Someone tied to a chair.
Someone we all recognized.
My mother screamed.
Because the person on the screen was Richard Carter.
My father.
Alive.
And the woman whispered:
"Evelyn, your father has been waiting for you."
The screen went black.
Then the final message appeared.
HE WAS NEVER HIDING FROM YOU.
HE WAS HIDING YOU FROM SOMEONE ELSE.
The archive door slowly unlocked.
May you like
And from the darkness outside, a voice called my name.
"Evelyn..."
