Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
“Tessa.”
The voice came again.
Soft.
Familiar.
Impossible.
Tessa stood frozen in the darkness of the kitchen.
Every instinct told her to run.
But her heart told her something else.
Because that voice belonged to the one person she trusted more than anyone.
“Eda?”
The room stayed silent.
Then the lights flickered back on.
The kitchen was empty.
No woman.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
Only the note sitting on the counter.
Ronan looked around carefully.
“She’s not here.”
Tessa didn’t move.
“She was.”
“Tessa.”
“I heard her.”
Ronan studied her face.
He believed her.
That surprised her.
“You believe me?”
He looked toward the dark hallway.
“After everything that happened tonight, I believe anything is possible.”
They searched every corner of Beaumont House.
Nothing.
No hidden doors.
No cameras.
No sign anyone had entered.
But one thing was certain.
Someone wanted Tessa to believe Eda was still alive.
And someone knew exactly how to hurt her.
At 2:00 a.m., Ronan brought Tessa to his private office.
The room was filled with old documents, security screens, and photographs.
Tessa looked around.
“You’ve been keeping all of this here?”
“For fourteen years.”
“You never stopped looking.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Ronan stared at a picture of his mother.
“Because everyone else accepted the lie.”
Tessa sat down.
“My whole life, I thought Eda was just an old woman who liked cooking.”
“She was much more than that.”
“What was she?”
Ronan opened a file.
Inside was a photograph from twenty years ago.
Eda standing beside Elena Callahan.
And beside them…
a young Victor Voss.
Tessa looked confused.
“Why were they together?”
“Because they were investigating something.”
“What?”
Ronan placed another document on the table.
Financial records.
Companies.
Bank transfers.
Millions of dollars missing.
“My mother discovered someone was moving money out of her businesses.”
Tessa looked closer.
“And she trusted Eda to help?”
“Yes.”
“Then why hide everything?”
“Because she found out the person behind it was powerful.”
“How powerful?”
Ronan looked at her.
“Powerful enough to erase an entire family.”
The next morning, Ronan received a message.
No number.
No name.
Only an address.
And four words.
COME ALONE OR DIE.
Tessa saw his expression.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
She immediately knew he was lying.
“You’re going somewhere.”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Ronan looked at her.
“This is not your fight.”
Tessa stood.
“Someone broke into my locker.”
A pause.
“Someone threatened me.”
She stepped closer.
“You don’t get to decide when it becomes my fight.”
For a moment, Ronan almost smiled.
Almost.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He grabbed his jacket.
“Stay behind me.”
Tessa followed.
“Not a chance.”
The address led them to an abandoned restaurant outside the city.
A place closed for over a decade.
Ronan walked inside.
The air smelled old.
Dust.
Mold.
Memories.
Then a voice came from the kitchen.
“You got taller.”
Ronan stopped.
His face changed.
Slowly, a woman stepped into the light.
Older.
Gray hair.
But alive.
Tessa covered her mouth.
Because she knew her.
The woman looked at her.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Tessa couldn’t speak.
“Eda?”
The old woman nodded.
“Yes.”
Tessa’s eyes filled with anger.
“You’re alive?”
Eda looked down.
“Yes.”
“Why did you let me think you were dead?”
Eda didn’t answer.
Because Ronan was staring at her.
“You knew.”
Eda looked at him.
“I knew you would come eventually.”
“You knew my mother was murdered.”
“Yes.”
“Who killed her?”
Eda’s eyes filled with pain.
“The same person who is trying to kill you now.”
Ronan stepped forward.
“Who?”
Eda whispered one name.
May you like
And when Ronan heard it…
his entire world collapsed.
