Chapter 10 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
I stared at the photograph in my hands.
The woman in the picture was smiling.
A young woman.
Maybe in her early twenties.
Dark hair.
Bright eyes.
A small scar near her eyebrow.
A face I had never seen before.
And yet…
I knew her.
Not because I had met her.
Because I saw pieces of myself in her.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
The same tiny scar.
My fingers started shaking.
"Fay?"
Griffin's voice pulled me back.
I looked up.
Everyone was watching me.
"What is it?"
I couldn't answer.
Because the truth sounded impossible.
I turned the photograph around.
On the back were the words:
You were chosen for a reason.
Griffin took the picture carefully.
His expression changed the moment he saw it.
"Where did you get this?"
I swallowed.
"Someone left it for me."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Let me see."
The second Marcus saw the photo, all the color disappeared from his face.
That scared me more than anything.
Because Marcus had spent the entire night looking calm.
Controlled.
Impossible to surprise.
But this picture broke him.
"You know her," I whispered.
Marcus didn't answer.
Griffin noticed.
"Marcus."
A warning.
A demand.
"Who is she?"
Marcus looked at me.
Then at Griffin.
Finally, he said:
"Her name was Evelyn Lawson."
My heart stopped.
My last name.
Lawson.
"Who was she?"
Marcus looked away.
"Someone who should have been protected."
The words felt heavy.
I stepped forward.
"Tell me."
Marcus remained silent.
So I raised my voice.
"No. I am done being the person everyone uses without explaining anything."
The hallway went quiet.
I looked at Griffin.
"I walked into your hotel tonight because someone needed flowers. I heard a conversation I was never supposed to hear. Someone framed me. Someone threatened me."
I held up the photograph.
"And now someone is telling me I was chosen for a reason."
My voice cracked.
"Tell me why."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Griffin said:
"Marcus."
His friend closed his eyes.
And finally gave up fighting the truth.
"Evelyn Lawson was your mother."
The world stopped.
I laughed once.
A confused, broken sound.
"No."
Marcus looked at me sadly.
"Yes."
"My mother died when I was six."
"I know."
"Then how?"
Marcus looked at Griffin.
"Because the official story was a lie."
The room went cold.
I felt like the floor had disappeared.
My entire life.
Everything I believed.
Everything I remembered.
Suddenly felt uncertain.
"My mother is dead."
Marcus nodded.
"But she wasn't always."
Griffin stepped closer.
"Marcus, explain."
Marcus took a deep breath.
"Twenty years ago, your father was involved in a business war. Someone tried to destroy him. Evelyn found out information that could ruin powerful people."
My hands tightened.
"What information?"
Marcus looked at me.
"The truth about Adrian Hales."
The missing brother.
The secret son.
The man trying to destroy Griffin.
"What does my mother have to do with him?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then said:
"She was the only person who knew Adrian was alive."
A cold silence filled the hallway.
Then another security alarm sounded.
Everyone turned.
A guard ran toward us.
"Mr. Hales!"
"What happened?"
The guard looked terrified.
"Someone accessed the hotel's private archive."
Griffin frowned.
"That's impossible."
The guard shook his head.
"They didn't steal anything."
A pause.
"They uploaded something."
Griffin looked at the nearest screen.
The hotel monitors flickered.
A video appeared.
A woman sitting in darkness.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
My breath disappeared.
Because I knew that face.
Even after twenty years.
Even through the poor video quality.
I knew.
The woman looked directly into the camera.
And whispered:
"Fay..."
My knees almost gave out.
"Mom?"
The video continued.
And the next words destroyed everything.
"If you are watching this..."
May you like
The woman started crying.
"...it means Griffin Hales finally knows the truth."
