Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Knew Too Much
The truth had finally started showing itself.
But instead of feeling relieved…
I felt terrified.
Because every answer created three more questions.
Why did Brooklyn receive money before my wedding?
Why did Melissa know so much?
Why was Callan protecting people who were destroying his own marriage?
And the biggest question of all…
Why did they need me gone?
I stayed at my friend Emma’s apartment that night.
For the first time in days, I slept without hearing footsteps outside my door.
Without feeling like someone was watching me.
Without wondering if the person beside me was secretly my enemy.
But peace didn’t last long.
At 6:30 the next morning, someone knocked on the door.
I froze.
Emma looked at me.
“Were you expecting anyone?”
I shook my head.
The knocking came again.
Harder.
Then a voice called out.
“Anastasia.”
My blood turned cold.
Melissa.
I slowly walked toward the door.
Emma grabbed my arm.
“Don’t open it.”
But I already knew.
She didn’t come here to apologize.
She came because she was afraid.
I opened the door but kept the chain locked.
Melissa stood outside wearing a perfectly pressed designer suit.
Her face looked calm.
But her eyes were different.
They looked desperate.
“What do you want?”
She looked behind me.
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
I almost laughed.
“Actually, I understand more than I did before.”
“You should leave.”
“Before you destroy yourself.”
Those words made me pause.
“Is that a threat?”
Melissa looked at me.
“No.”
“It’s advice.”
I stared at her.
“Your family has spent days trying to destroy me.”
“And now you’re worried about me?”
Her lips tightened.
“You think you know everything.”
“I know enough.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You know what happened.”
“You don’t know why.”
That sentence caught my attention.
“What does that mean?”
Melissa looked away.
For the first time, she looked tired.
Not powerful.
Not arrogant.
Just tired.
“Callan should never have married you.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because he was supposed to marry someone else.”
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
“What?”
Melissa continued.
“Your marriage was never supposed to happen.”
I stared at her.
“Then why did he marry me?”
She didn’t answer.
And that silence was louder than any confession.
Before I could ask again, she walked away.
But she stopped after a few steps.
“One day, you will understand.”
Then she whispered,
“You were never the target.”
I watched her disappear.
Those words followed me all day.
I was never the target.
Then who was?
That evening, Callan came to Emma’s apartment.
I almost refused to see him.
But something in his voice made me stop.
“I need to tell you the truth.”
I looked at him.
“You should have done that before you slapped me.”
His face dropped.
“I know.”
For once, he didn’t defend himself.
“I made the biggest mistake of my life.”
I crossed my arms.
“Start talking.”
He took a deep breath.
“Before I met you, my family was arranging my marriage.”
“To who?”
“Someone from another wealthy family.”
I already knew the answer.
“Brooklyn?”
“No.”
His eyes lowered.
“Victoria Whitmore.”
The name meant nothing to me.
But it clearly meant something to him.
“She was supposed to help my family.”
“Help with what?”
“Money.”
I stared at him.
“So I was just a problem?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“You were the first person who made me feel like I wasn’t part of this world.”
I wanted to believe him.
But trust was already broken.
“Then why did you let them treat me like that?”
His eyes filled with regret.
“Because I was weak.”
The honesty surprised me.
Then he said something that changed everything.
“My father left behind a hidden account.”
“What kind of account?”
“One containing evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
Callan looked toward the window.
“Evidence that could destroy my family.”
I felt a chill.
“What evidence?”
He looked back at me.
“The truth about my father’s death.”
Before I could answer…
Emma’s phone suddenly rang.
She looked at the screen.
Then her face changed.
“What?”
She listened.
Then slowly looked at me.
“Anastasia…”
“What?”
“The security footage from the Harrington house…”
“What about it?”
“It disappeared.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Emma swallowed.
“Someone deleted it.”
I looked at Callan.
Because there was only one explanation.
Someone inside the Harrington family knew the truth.
May you like
And they were trying to erase it.
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