Chapter 4 - The Secret Room Behind The Wall
The door handle moved.
Slowly.
Everyone in the security room froze.
Adrian stepped in front of me immediately.
The woman who knew my mother grabbed my arm.
Her fingers were cold.
"Natalie."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Whatever happens, do not say your full name."
I looked at her.
"What?"
But before she could answer, the door stopped moving.
For three seconds, nothing happened.
Then a soft sound came from the other side.
A knock.
Three times.
Not loud.
Not rushed.
Almost polite.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
Nobody spoke.
One of his security men moved toward the control panel.
"Camera is offline."
Another man checked his weapon.
Adrian raised his hand.
"No."
Everyone stopped.
I looked at him.
"You know who it is?"
His jaw tightened.
"No."
That answer scared me more.
Because Adrian Vale was a man who always seemed to know what was happening.
The door handle moved again.
This time harder.
The woman beside me suddenly stepped forward.
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
"You know who is outside."
She didn’t respond.
"Tell me."
Her eyes stayed on the door.
"When your father was alive, he trusted only one person."
Adrian’s expression changed.
"My father?"
The woman nodded slowly.
"The person standing outside is the reason your father died."
The room went silent.
I looked at Adrian.
For the first time since meeting him, I saw real anger.
Not the controlled kind.
Not the professional kind.
Something personal.
"What is his name?"
The woman opened her mouth.
But before she could answer—
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
I heard movement.
Someone grabbed my hand.
I didn’t know if it was Adrian or someone else.
My heart raced.
Then emergency lights turned on.
Red.
Low.
Almost like a warning.
The door was still closed.
But there was something different.
A small envelope had been pushed underneath it.
Adrian stared at it.
Nobody moved.
Finally, he walked forward.
"Natalie, stay back."
I ignored him.
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because every time someone leaves something for you, your life changes."
That sentence made me stop.
But only for a second.
Because I was tired.
Tired of strangers knowing things about me.
Tired of my mother's secrets.
Tired of everyone deciding what I was allowed to know.
"I think my life already changed."
Adrian looked at me.
I stepped closer.
"If that envelope is about me, I have a right to see it."
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded.
Slowly.
He picked up the envelope.
There was no name on it.
No address.
No mark.
Just one symbol drawn on the front.
The same symbol from the old photograph.
Adrian saw it.
And his face changed.
"You know this symbol?"
I asked.
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
"You do."
The woman whispered:
"It belonged to the organization that your mother ran from."
I turned toward her.
"My mother?"
She nodded.
"Your mother wasn't just someone who disappeared."
My chest tightened.
"Then who was she?"
The woman looked at Adrian.
And Adrian looked back at her.
Like they were both carrying the same secret.
Finally, Adrian opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
A handwritten note.
He read it silently.
His expression became darker with every line.
"What does it say?"
He didn’t respond.
"Adrian."
He handed me the paper.
My hands shook as I took it.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the message was clear.
"Natalie Reeves was never supposed to survive."
I stopped breathing.
Below that sentence was another line.
"She knows where the file is."
I looked up.
"I don't know what file you're talking about."
Nobody answered.
Because Adrian was staring at me.
Not suspiciously.
Sadly.
"What?"
He looked away.
"Natalie..."
"What?"
His voice lowered.
"The file isn't something you have."
I waited.
"Then what is it?"
The woman closed her eyes.
Because she already knew the answer.
Adrian said:
"The file is your memory."
I felt the room tilt.
"No."
I shook my head.
"No, that's impossible."
"I know how it sounds."
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"I don't have missing memories."
Adrian didn't argue.
He just looked at me.
And somehow that was worse.
"You do."
I stared at him.
"How would you know?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"How would you know what I remember?"
The silence lasted too long.
Then he said:
"Because I was there when they took them away."
Everything stopped.
The words didn't make sense.
They couldn't.
I laughed once.
A small, confused sound.
"You were there?"
Adrian looked down.
"When you were eight years old."
My heart started beating faster.
"You saw me?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
His face tightened.
"I was supposed to protect you."
"Supposed to?"
The word hurt.
Because it sounded like he failed.
"What did you do?"
Adrian looked at the floor.
"I was too late."
The woman beside me touched my shoulder.
"Natalie, your mother knew someone would come looking for you one day."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because she hid something."
"What?"
The woman looked at the note.
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
She didn't answer.
The monitors suddenly flickered.
Everyone turned.
The security cameras came back online.
The lobby appeared on the largest screen.
But nobody was there.
The entrance was empty.
The elevators were empty.
The hallway was empty.
Then one camera changed.
A hallway on another floor.
A man was standing there.
Facing the camera.
He looked directly into the lens.
Like he knew they were watching.
Adrian moved closer.
The man's face was partially hidden.
But then he lifted his hand.
And held something up.
A photograph.
My photograph.
The same one I had received.
The man placed it against the camera.
Then mouthed three words.
I couldn't hear him.
But I could read his lips.
"She remembers now."
The screen went black.
The woman beside me whispered:
"No."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
Her face had lost all color.
"He found her."
"Who?"
The woman looked at me.
Not Adrian.
Me.
"The man who erased your memories."
I stepped back.
"Who is he?"
Nobody answered.
Then the security room speaker suddenly activated.
A voice came through.
Calm.
Familiar.
A voice I had never heard before.
But somehow recognized.
"Natalie."
My entire body froze.
The voice continued.
"You don't remember me."
A pause.
Then:
"But you were the one who asked me to hide the truth."
I looked at Adrian.
He looked terrified.
Because he knew something I didn't.
The speaker crackled again.
And the voice said my childhood nickname.
The nickname only my mother had ever used.
May you like
"Little Nat..."
The hidden door behind Adrian slowly unlocked.
