Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Photograph
My fingers froze around my phone.
The message was still there.
"Don't open the box. Your mother is still alive."
I read it again.
Then again.
Each time, the words became less impossible and more terrifying.
My mother.
Alive.
A woman who had supposedly died when I was twelve years old.
A woman whose funeral I remembered.
A woman whose ashes sat inside a small wooden box in my father's bedroom for years.
That was the story I had lived with.
That was the truth I had believed.
Until now.
"Mariana?"
Daniel's voice pulled me back.
I looked up.
He was standing beside me, watching my face.
"What happened?"
I locked my phone.
"Nothing."
The lie came out automatically.
Daniel noticed.
He always noticed.
"What did the message say?"
I looked at Richard.
Then Elena.
Neither of them knew.
At least I thought they didn't.
"I need to talk to you alone."
Daniel nodded.
We walked into the hallway.
The moment the study door closed behind us, he whispered:
"Tell me."
I showed him the message.
His expression changed instantly.
"Your mother is alive?"
"I don't know."
"But someone sent this."
"Yes."
"Who?"
I looked back at the study.
"I think that's the question everyone in this house has been avoiding."
Daniel ran a hand through his hair.
Everything about him had changed since the snake was discovered.
The confident man who always believed he understood his family was gone.
Now he looked like someone standing in the middle of a crime scene realizing he might have been part of the reason it existed.
"Mariana..."
"What?"
"I need to tell you something."
I waited.
"When I was younger, I remember my father and mother arguing about your family."
"My family?"
He nodded.
"My father mentioned your mother once."
My heart tightened.
"What did he say?"
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"He said she was dangerous."
I stared at him.
"Your father said that?"
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
"I was a kid."
He looked down.
"I thought it was just another argument between adults."
I turned away.
Because suddenly every memory from my childhood felt different.
Every unanswered question.
Every strange silence.
Every time my father changed the subject whenever I asked about my mother's death.
Maybe the biggest lie in my life had not started yesterday.
Maybe it started decades ago.
We returned to the study.
Richard was still standing beside the hidden drawer.
Elena sat silently.
Her hands were shaking.
I looked at her.
For the first time, she didn't look powerful.
She looked afraid.
"Open the box," I said.
Richard looked at me.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
I stepped closer.
"You said my father left it for me."
"Yes."
"Then why are you stopping me?"
His silence was enough.
Daniel moved beside me.
"Dad."
Richard closed his eyes.
"There are things inside that cannot be undone."
I almost laughed.
"Someone put a snake under my pillow."
My voice became sharper.
"Someone tried to kill me."
I pointed at the box.
"Whatever is inside there cannot be worse than that."
Richard looked at Elena.
She immediately looked away.
That small movement told me everything.
They both knew what was inside.
Richard slowly handed me the key.
It was old.
A small silver key attached to a faded blue string.
I unlocked the box.
Inside were several things.
A worn-out notebook.
A small flash drive.
A wedding photograph.
And an envelope with my name written across the front.
Not Mariana Salgado.
Just:
"To my daughter."
My hands started shaking.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was my father's.
My eyes blurred as I read the first line.
"Mariana, if you are reading this, then I failed to protect you."
I stopped.
Daniel placed a hand on my shoulder.
I continued.
"I need you to understand something. Your mother did not leave us. She was forced away."
My breath caught.
The room disappeared.
I could only see the words.
"Your mother discovered what the Whitmore family had been hiding for years."
I looked at Richard.
He looked down.
"Their business was built on secrets. People disappeared. Evidence vanished. Money changed hands."
I turned the page.
"My mistake was trusting the wrong person."
The sentence was underlined.
"Richard was not the person who betrayed me."
I looked up.
Everyone was silent.
I continued reading.
"The person I trusted was closer than anyone."
My heart started beating faster.
The next page was missing.
Someone had torn it out.
I flipped through the notebook.
Several pages had been removed.
"Who tore these out?"
Nobody answered.
Then Elena spoke.
Quietly.
"Your father was paranoid."
I turned toward her.
"Was he?"
She looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something behind her eyes.
Not anger.
Fear.
"You don't know what your father was involved in."
I stepped closer.
"No."
I held up the letter.
"But apparently you do."
Her face changed.
Just slightly.
Enough.
Daniel noticed too.
"Mom."
Elena stood.
"Daniel, you need to stop."
"Stop what?"
"Digging into things you don't understand."
He looked at her.
"You almost let my wife die."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"I never wanted her dead."
The room went silent.
The sentence hung in the air.
I stared at her.
"Almost?"
Elena realized what she had said.
Her expression changed.
Too late.
"What did you just say?"
She looked away.
"I meant..."
"No."
I stepped forward.
"You said you never wanted me dead."
My voice lowered.
"How did you know that was the plan?"
Elena couldn't answer.
Richard suddenly grabbed the folder from the table.
"Enough."
Daniel looked at him.
"No."
Richard's voice became harder.
"You don't know what you're dealing with."
"Then tell us."
Richard looked at me.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
He took a deep breath.
"Your mother disappeared because she found out about the insurance policy."
I frowned.
"What insurance policy?"
Richard looked at the box.
"The same one connected to your name."
I felt cold.
"What are you saying?"
Richard stepped closer.
"Your father didn't create that policy for you."
A pause.
"He created it because he knew someone would eventually come after you."
I looked at the flash drive inside the box.
"What's on that?"
Richard didn't answer.
But Daniel picked it up.
"We're going to find out."
Richard reached for it.
"No."
Daniel pulled back.
"Why are you afraid of a flash drive?"
Richard's face went pale.
Then his phone rang.
Everyone froze.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
He answered.
"How did you get this number?"
A pause.
Then Richard's hand started shaking.
He slowly lowered the phone.
"What is it?" I asked.
He looked directly at me.
"She's here."
The room went silent.
"Who?"
Richard couldn't speak.
Then the front door opened downstairs.
A woman's voice echoed through the house.
"Richard."
Nobody moved.
Because everyone in that room knew the voice.
Even me.
Even though I had not heard it in twenty years.
May you like
Richard whispered one name.
"Isabella."
