Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The mansion door opened slowly.
Nobody moved.
Not even Diane.
Because everyone standing in the rain knew one thing.
Someone was inside.
Someone who had been listening.
Adrian Blackwood raised his hand.
His guards immediately stepped forward.
The shadows behind the doorway remained still.
Then a man appeared.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar crossing his left eyebrow.
He wore a dark coat and held a cane in one hand.
My heart stopped.
Not because I knew him.
Because Adrian did.
The color disappeared from his face.
"Impossible."
The old man smiled.
A small, tired smile.
"That’s what everyone said twelve years ago."
The rain continued falling.
But nobody heard it anymore.
Adrian stared at him like he was looking at a ghost.
"Marcus."
The man looked at him.
"Hello, Adrian."
The name hung in the air.
Marcus.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
I looked between them.
"What is happening?"
Nobody answered.
That scared me more than anything.
Because for years, I had lived surrounded by people who lied.
Diane lied.
My father’s friends lied.
Everyone who knew something about my past lied.
And now I was standing in front of two powerful men who were looking at each other like they shared a secret that could destroy everything.
Adrian stepped forward.
"You died."
Marcus lowered his eyes.
"That was the idea."
Diane suddenly moved.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Her face had lost all color.
Marcus looked at her.
And the hatred between them was immediate.
"You look exactly the same, Diane."
Diane took a step back.
"I thought you were gone."
Marcus smiled.
"You were hoping I was."
The tension became unbearable.
I looked at Adrian.
"What does he have to do with me?"
Adrian didn’t answer.
Marcus did.
"He has everything to do with you."
My stomach tightened.
"No."
Marcus looked at me.
And there was something strange in his eyes.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Regret.
"I’m sorry, Nora."
Hearing my name from him felt wrong.
Like someone opening a door I had spent years trying to keep closed.
"How do you know my name?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus slowly reached inside his coat.
Adrian immediately grabbed his weapon.
"Don’t."
Marcus stopped.
"I’m not here to hurt her."
"Then prove it."
Marcus looked at me.
Then pulled out a small wooden box.
Old.
Damaged.
The kind of thing someone would hide.
He opened it.
Inside was a necklace.
A simple silver necklace.
My breath caught.
Because I knew it.
I had seen it before.
In my dreams.
In the few memories I had of my mother.
"My mother had that."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
I stepped closer.
"Where did you get it?"
His expression changed.
"Your father gave it to me."
The world became silent.
"My father?"
Marcus nodded.
"The night he died."
The words hit me harder than I expected.
I had spent years imagining my father’s last moments.
Was he scared?
Did he think about me?
Did he regret leaving me?
But nobody ever told me anything.
Nobody except Diane.
And she always said the same thing.
"He chose his mistakes over you."
A lie.
I could see it now.
It had always been a lie.
"What happened that night?" I asked.
Marcus looked at Diane.
"He found out the truth."
Diane immediately interrupted.
"Stop."
Nobody listened.
Marcus continued.
"Your father discovered that Diane had been moving money from his accounts."
I looked at Diane.
She didn’t deny it.
"He discovered she wasn’t just stealing from him," Marcus said.
My hands became cold.
"What else?"
Marcus looked at me.
"She was searching for something."
"What?"
He hesitated.
And that hesitation frightened me.
"Your inheritance."
I frowned.
"I don’t have an inheritance."
Marcus looked at Adrian.
Adrian finally spoke.
"Yes, you do."
I stared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
Adrian took a slow breath.
"Your mother’s family owned one of the largest private financial networks in Europe."
I laughed.
A small, broken sound.
Because it was impossible.
"My mother worked at a bakery."
Marcus looked sad.
"That’s what they wanted you to believe."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Nora."
"No."
I stepped back.
"I grew up wearing secondhand clothes. I lived in a house where I had to ask permission to eat. You’re telling me my mother was some kind of billionaire?"
Nobody answered.
Because they knew the answer was worse.
I wasn’t just lied to.
My entire identity had been replaced.
Adrian walked closer.
"Your mother was Elena Vale."
I looked at him.
"You said that wasn’t her real name."
He nodded.
"Because she changed it to protect you."
"From who?"
Adrian looked toward Marcus.
Then Diane.
Then me.
"From people who wanted your family’s power."
The words sounded unreal.
But the fear in their faces made them real.
Diane suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
It wasn’t a normal laugh.
It was desperate.
"You’re all acting like she’s some lost princess."
She pointed at me.
"Look at her."
My body froze.
"She’s nothing."
Adrian’s expression darkened.
"Careful."
"No," Diane continued.
"I spent twelve years making sure she stayed nothing."
The confession landed like a weapon.
My eyes burned.
"Twelve years?"
Diane realized what she had said.
Too late.
Adrian stepped toward her.
"What did you do?"
Diane looked at me.
And for one second, I saw something.
Not guilt.
Fear.
"I saved you."
The words made no sense.
"You destroyed my life."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I saved you from the people who wanted you dead."
Nobody moved.
The rain fell harder.
"What?"
Diane looked at Adrian.
"You think I’m the villain?"
Her voice cracked.
"You have no idea what Elena did."
My mother’s name.
Again.
Always my mother.
Always a mystery.
Marcus looked angry.
"Don’t you dare."
Diane ignored him.
"Your mother didn’t run away."
She looked directly at me.
"She left you because she knew what was coming."
I felt dizzy.
"No."
"She chose herself."
"No."
"She knew you would become a target."
"Stop."
"She knew you would be hunted."
I covered my ears.
But I could still hear her.
Because the worst lies were always mixed with pieces of truth.
Adrian moved toward me.
"Nora, don’t listen to her."
But I looked at him.
"Do you know?"
He went silent.
That silence was enough.
"You knew."
Adrian looked away.
And somehow that hurt more.
Because I had trusted him.
The stranger in the rain.
The first person who protected me.
And now I realized he had secrets too.
"I need answers."
Adrian’s voice softened.
"You will get them."
"When?"
"Tonight."
"All of them?"
A pause.
Then:
"Yes."
Marcus suddenly looked toward the mansion.
His expression changed.
"What is it?"
Adrian noticed.
"Someone else is here."
The guards turned.
A phone began ringing.
Not Diane’s.
Not Marcus’s.
Not Adrian’s.
Mine.
I froze.
Because I had thrown my phone away years ago.
The number on the screen was hidden.
Unknown.
My fingers trembled as I picked it up.
Nobody spoke.
I answered.
At first, there was only silence.
Then a woman whispered.
"Nora."
My entire body went still.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it only once.
Twelve years ago.
The night my father died.
The woman whispered again.
"Don’t trust Adrian Blackwood."
Adrian’s face changed.
And then the woman said the words that made him step back.
"I’m your mother."
The call ended.
May you like
Before I could breathe, the lights inside the mansion suddenly went out.
And the locked room upstairs opened from the inside.
