Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
I couldn’t speak.
My father.
The man who spent my entire life protecting me.
Was hiding something about my mother’s death.
“You were there?”
My voice barely came out.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you tell me she was alone?”
My father looked devastated.
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
I stepped back.
“Protect me from what?”
He looked at me.
“From the truth.”
I shook my head.
“No. I’m done with secrets.”
My father nodded slowly.
“You deserve to know.”
He sat down.
“That night, your mother called me.”
“Because of Victor?”
“Yes.”
“She told me she had proof.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
My father looked toward the window.
“She knew Victor was stealing from the company. But she also discovered something worse.”
“What?”
“He wasn’t working alone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who was helping him?”
My father didn’t answer immediately.
And that scared me more.
“Dad.”
He finally spoke.
“Someone inside our family.”
My mind raced.
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“But Mom did?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is the proof?”
My father looked at the floor.
“That’s the part I don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Your mother told me she had hidden everything somewhere safe.”
“And?”
“She never told me where.”
The room became quiet.
Then Rachel suddenly stood up.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
She was staring at the letter.
“There’s something strange.”
She pointed.
“Look at the paper.”
I moved closer.
Tiny numbers were written in the corner.
A date.
And coordinates.
My father’s eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
He grabbed the paper.
“These coordinates…”
“Where?”
He looked at me.
“Your childhood home.”
I frowned.
“We’re standing in my childhood home.”
“No.”
His face became pale.
“Not this house.”
“Then where?”
He looked at the coordinates again.
“The old property.”
The one nobody talked about.
The one my mother owned before she died.
The one that had been abandoned for twenty years.
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Only breathing.
Then a voice whispered:
“You found her message.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
The voice laughed softly.
“You’re closer than you think, Elena.”
My grip tightened.
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“The person who watched your mother die.”
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because we all understood one thing.
The past wasn’t buried.
It had been waiting.
May you like
And now…
Someone wanted me to find it.
