Chapter 6 - The Mother Who Never Died
The room went silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Elena stared at the screen.
The woman in the picture looked back at her.
She was younger.
Maybe twenty years younger.
But there was something familiar.
The shape of her eyes.
The small smile.
The way she held the baby.
Elena knew.
Somewhere deep inside, she knew.
"Who is she?"
Her voice barely came out.
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
That scared her.
Because Adrian always had answers.
Even when the truth was painful.
Even when the truth was dangerous.
But now...
He looked lost.
"Adrian."
He stepped closer to the screen.
His eyes never left the image.
"Her name was Isabella."
Elena swallowed.
"Was?"
Adrian closed his eyes.
"Everyone believed she died."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Everyone.
Another person who was supposed to be dead.
Another lie.
Another piece of her life hidden from her.
"My mother is alive."
It wasn't a question.
It was a realization.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"You knew about Isabella?"
Adrian didn't respond.
Marcus's expression changed.
"You knew."
"No."
Adrian finally spoke.
His voice was quiet.
"I knew her name."
Elena turned toward him.
"That doesn't make sense."
Adrian looked at her.
"I knew Thomas was protecting someone."
"Who?"
"I didn't know."
"You're lying."
The accusation came fast.
Everyone became silent.
Elena looked at him.
"You knew my father. You knew this necklace. You knew that picture existed. You knew someone was hunting me."
Her voice shook.
"But somehow you didn't know my mother was alive?"
Adrian accepted every word.
"I knew Thomas was hiding a secret."
He paused.
"I didn't know the secret was you."
Elena looked away.
The pain was not just about her mother.
It was about every birthday.
Every night she wondered why she was abandoned.
Every moment she believed nobody had chosen her.
All those years.
And someone had known.
Someone had always known.
The door suddenly opened.
Marcus's hand moved toward his weapon.
A woman entered.
One of his guards followed behind.
"Adrian."
The woman stopped.
Everyone turned.
Elena recognized her.
Claire.
She looked at the screen.
Then at Elena.
Then she whispered:
"No."
Adrian stared.
"Claire."
She stepped closer.
"That's impossible."
Elena looked between them.
"You know her?"
Claire didn't answer.
Her eyes were fixed on the photograph.
"I thought she was dead."
Adrian watched her carefully.
"You knew Isabella."
Claire looked uncomfortable.
"Yes."
"How?"
The question came from Elena.
Claire looked at her.
And for a moment, Elena saw something unexpected.
Guilt.
"I was there the night she disappeared."
The room became colder.
Elena stepped forward.
"What?"
Claire looked down.
"Your mother wasn't killed."
"Then what happened?"
Claire hesitated.
Adrian's voice became harder.
"Tell her."
Claire looked at him.
"You really want her to know?"
"Yes."
A long pause.
Then Claire spoke.
"Isabella discovered the same thing Thomas discovered."
Elena waited.
"The truth about the Voss family."
Adrian looked away.
Claire continued.
"Your father and Isabella found evidence that someone inside the family was planning something bigger than money."
"What?"
"Control."
The word felt heavy.
"They wanted power over everything Adrian had built."
Elena looked at Adrian.
"And you?"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"I didn't know."
Claire looked at him.
"Not at first."
That sentence bothered Elena.
"Not at first?"
Nobody answered.
Then Claire continued.
"The night Isabella disappeared, she left Thomas a message."
"What message?"
Claire looked at Elena.
"She said if anything happened to her, the child had to be protected."
Elena touched her necklace.
"Me."
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
The room remained silent.
Then Adrian walked toward the computer.
The recording was still paused.
The file showing Isabella remained open.
"There has to be more."
Marcus nodded.
"I'll run the file again."
He connected another device.
The screen flickered.
A hidden folder appeared.
Everyone stared.
A folder that wasn't there before.
The name was simple.
"ELENA."
Adrian looked concerned.
"Open it."
Marcus hesitated.
"Adrian..."
"Open it."
The folder contained three files.
One video.
One audio recording.
One document.
Elena looked at the names.
The document was first.
She opened it.
The text appeared.
A legal document.
A birth certificate.
Her name.
Elena Marlowe.
But below it...
Something was different.
Her father's name.
Thomas Marlowe.
Her mother's name.
Isabella Voss.
Elena stopped breathing.
Voss.
She looked at Adrian.
"No."
Adrian stared at the document.
He looked just as shocked.
"My mother was a Voss."
Claire nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Elena stepped back.
"So I'm related to you."
Adrian didn't answer.
Because they both knew.
The truth was bigger than anyone expected.
Elena was not just connected to Adrian.
She was family.
The document continued.
There was another name.
A guardian.
Someone assigned to protect her.
Someone who had watched over her entire life.
Marcus read it.
Then his face changed.
"What?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Who?"
Marcus slowly raised his eyes.
"The guardian."
A pause.
"It's me."
Nobody spoke.
Elena stared.
"You?"
Marcus looked devastated.
"I didn't know."
"How could you not know?"
"The file was encrypted."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Who created the encryption?"
Marcus looked at the screen.
Then whispered:
"Thomas."
The room became silent.
Thomas had planned everything.
Every secret.
Every protection.
Every person involved.
Elena looked at the final file.
The video.
She clicked it.
The screen showed Isabella.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Elena covered her mouth.
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this..."
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"Then they failed to keep you hidden."
Elena couldn't move.
The woman she had spent nineteen years mourning was speaking.
Alive.
Real.
Her voice continued.
"Elena, I need you to listen carefully."
A pause.
"Do not trust Adrian Voss."
Everyone froze.
Adrian stepped back.
Elena looked at him.
The video continued.
"He will tell you he protected you."
Isabella looked frightened.
"He will tell you he tried to save us."
Her voice broke.
"But the truth is..."
The screen suddenly glitched.
The video stopped.
Marcus tried to restart it.
Nothing.
Adrian stared at the frozen image.
Elena looked at him.
"What truth?"
Nobody answered.
Then the system alarm began.
A red warning flashed across the screen.
SECURITY BREACH.
Marcus immediately moved.
"Someone accessed the facility."
Adrian looked toward the door.
"How?"
Marcus checked the cameras.
His face changed.
"Because they didn't break in."
Elena felt cold.
"What do you mean?"
Marcus turned the monitor toward them.
The security footage showed the underground entrance.
A person walking through.
No weapon.
No disguise.
No fear.
They knew the codes.
They knew the building.
They knew exactly where to go.
The figure stopped in front of the camera.
Then slowly looked up.
The screen zoomed in.
Elena stopped breathing.
Because the person standing outside the room...
Was the woman from the video.
Isabella Voss.
May you like
Her mother.
And she was already inside.
