Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH ABOUT MY MOTHER
I didn’t sleep that night.
I sat in my room holding the photograph.
My mother’s house.
The same house I remembered as a child.
The same place where my life changed forever.
My father found me at sunrise.
“You’re still awake.”
I looked at him.
“Dad…”
Something in my voice made him stop.
“What happened?”
I showed him the message.
The picture.
His face changed.
Not confusion.
Fear.
Real fear.
“You know something.”
He sat down slowly.
“Elena…”
“Tell me the truth.”
He looked away.
That hurt more than anything.
Because my father always looked me in the eyes.
Except now.
Now he couldn’t.
“What happened to Mom?”
Silence.
A long silence.
Then he whispered:
“Your mother knew something.”
My heart started racing.
“What?”
“She discovered someone was stealing from the company.”
I stared.
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to.
I already knew.
“Victor.”
My father closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The room felt smaller.
“My mother knew?”
“She was going to expose him.”
“Then why didn’t she?”
My father’s face filled with pain.
“Because she died before she could.”
I stood up.
“You told me it was an accident.”
“It was.”
“But now you’re saying—”
“I don’t know.”
His voice broke.
“That’s the truth, Elena. I never knew if it was an accident.”
I felt tears building.
“All these years…”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
He looked at me.
“From the same people who are trying to destroy you now.”
Before I could respond, Rachel rushed into the room.
“We found something.”
She placed a file on the table.
“Victor’s connection to Diego goes back three years.”
I opened the file.
Photos.
Emails.
Transactions.
Then one document.
A marriage agreement.
My name was on it.
My hands shook.
“What is this?”
Rachel looked serious.
“Diego didn’t marry you because of love.”
The words hurt.
Even though I already knew.
“He married you because of your inheritance.”
I stared at the paper.
Every memory.
Every promise.
Every kiss.
Everything felt fake.
Then Rachel pointed to the bottom of the document.
“There’s something else.”
I looked.
A signature.
Not Diego’s.
Not Victor’s.
Someone else’s.
Someone who approved the entire plan.
I whispered:
“Who signed this?”
Rachel looked at me.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
My father stood.
“Can we trace it?”
Rachel nodded.
“Yes.”
She hesitated.
“But there’s one problem.”
“What?”
“The person who signed it…”
She took a breath.
“Works inside your father’s company.”
The room went silent.
Another betrayal.
Another secret.
Another person close to me.
And then my phone rang.
This time…
It was Diego.
I answered.
“What do you want?”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“You’re looking for answers.”
I said nothing.
He continued.
“But you’re looking in the wrong direction.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
A pause.
Then he whispered:
“Ask your father what really happened the night your mother died.”
The call ended.
And for the first time…
May you like
I wondered if the man trying to destroy me…
Was also the only person who knew the full truth.
