Chapter 4 - The Secret My Grandmother Buried
The note was still in Lucien's hand.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The restaurant remained frozen in darkness.
The emergency lights painted everything in a strange red glow.
The luxurious dining room that had looked elegant minutes earlier now felt like a place where secrets were waiting to be uncovered.
I stared at the handwriting.
I knew it.
I had seen it on birthday cards.
On old recipes.
On letters she kept hidden inside a wooden box beneath her bed.
My grandmother's handwriting.
But the words were impossible.
Marin, if you are reading this, you finally know why I lied to you.
My throat tightened.
"She wrote this for me?"
Lucien slowly nodded.
"I think she knew this day would come."
I looked at him.
"You knew my grandmother was involved in this."
He did not deny it.
"I knew she was protecting someone."
"Who?"
Lucien looked toward the empty kitchen.
"My brother."
The answer felt like a door opening inside my mind.
Everything I thought I knew about my family had suddenly become uncertain.
I had grown up believing my grandmother was just a quiet woman who loved gardening, old movies, and making tea every afternoon.
I never imagined she had been connected to a billionaire.
I never imagined she had been hiding someone.
I never imagined she had been part of a secret that lasted ten years.
The older man stepped closer.
"Read the rest."
I looked at him.
"You knew about this letter?"
He looked away.
"Yes."
"How?"
His silence answered before his words did.
"I helped her write it."
Lucien immediately turned toward him.
"You knew?"
The man nodded.
"She contacted me six months before she died."
My heart stopped.
"My grandmother knew she was going to die?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"She knew someone was watching her."
The restaurant suddenly felt smaller.
I opened the note.
There was more.
The handwriting became shakier as it continued.
Marin, I spent my entire life trying to keep you away from this world. If you are reading this, then I failed.
I swallowed.
But I need you to understand something. I never lied because I wanted to hurt you. I lied because I loved you.
My eyes burned.
I kept reading.
The man Lucien believes betrayed his family is not the person he thinks. The truth was hidden because the wrong people were looking for it.
I stopped.
I looked at Lucien.
He looked confused.
"The wrong people?"
The older man answered.
"The people who killed your brother."
Silence.
Lucien's face hardened.
"My brother was murdered."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
"Then tell me who did it."
The man looked at me.
And I realized something.
He was afraid.
Not of Lucien.
Not of the situation.
Of the answer.
"I don't know his name."
Lucien laughed bitterly.
"After ten years, that is what you tell me?"
"I know who gave the order."
The room became completely silent.
"Who?"
The man looked toward the entrance.
Then toward the security cameras above us.
"They are still watching."
I followed his eyes.
The small red light on one camera was blinking.
Recording.
Someone was watching.
Lucien noticed too.
"We need to leave."
The man shook his head.
"Too late."
A sound came from the front of the restaurant.
The main doors opened.
Several people entered.
Not guests.
Not customers.
Security.
Three men wearing dark suits walked inside.
The restaurant employees immediately stepped aside.
They knew them.
That frightened me more.
Lucien's face changed.
"They found us."
One of the men approached.
"Mr. Votan."
His voice was calm.
"Your car is ready."
Lucien stared at him.
"I did not request my car."
The man smiled.
"Your schedule changed."
I looked at Lucien.
He looked at me.
A silent warning passed between us.
Do not trust them.
The security man looked at me.
"And you must be Marin."
My stomach tightened.
"How do you know my name?"
He smiled.
"Your manager told us."
My manager.
The same man who was supposed to be dead.
The same man who disappeared from the kitchen.
The same man connected to Lucien's brother.
Something was wrong.
I stepped backward.
"Where is he?"
Nobody answered.
The security man's smile disappeared.
"Miss Whitlock, you should come with us."
"No."
The answer came from Lucien.
He stepped between us.
"She stays."
The security men looked at each other.
Then the oldest one spoke.
"Mr. Votan, you really have not changed."
Lucien's expression became cold.
"What does that mean?"
The man looked at him.
"You still protect the wrong people."
I felt confused.
"Wrong people?"
The security man looked directly at me.
"Your grandmother never told you what happened the night your parents disappeared?"
My entire body froze.
"My parents?"
Nobody had ever mentioned them.
Not like this.
My grandmother always said my parents died when I was young.
A car accident.
That was all.
I looked at Lucien.
He looked shocked.
"You knew?"
The security man smiled.
"Of course he knew."
Lucien turned.
"I didn't."
The man laughed.
"Then ask him why your grandmother chose his brother instead of saving your family."
My head spun.
The room was full of questions.
Every answer created another mystery.
I looked at Lucien.
"Did you know my parents?"
He did not answer immediately.
That hesitation hurt more than any lie.
"Lucien."
His eyes lowered.
"Yes."
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"You knew my family?"
"Marin..."
"No."
My voice shook.
"Tell me the truth."
He looked at me.
And for the first time since meeting him, the billionaire looked powerless.
"I knew your father."
The words were quiet.
"But I thought he died."
I stepped away.
"What was his name?"
Lucien opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, every phone in the restaurant suddenly vibrated.
Mine.
Lucien's.
The security men's.
Everyone's.
A message.
Same sender.
Unknown number.
I looked down.
My hands went cold.
The message contained one photo.
An old photo.
A photo of my grandmother holding a baby.
Me.
And standing beside her was a man I had never seen before.
But beneath the picture was one sentence.
Marin, ask Lucien why he helped erase your father's identity.
I looked up.
Lucien was staring at the message.
His face had changed.
Because he recognized the man in the photo.
He whispered one name.
A name I had never heard before.
May you like
Then the restaurant doors opened behind us, and the person standing there said...
"Marin, don't believe anything Lucien tells you."
