Chapter 12 - THE NECKLACE THAT HELD THE TRUTH
I touched the pendant around my neck.
My mother’s necklace.
The one she gave me before she died.
I had always thought it was just a family memory.
A piece of jewelry.
Something sentimental.
Not a secret.
Not evidence.
Not something powerful enough to destroy an empire.
Adrian looked at Ethan.
“You’re lying.”
Ethan smiled.
“Am I?”
He pointed at the necklace.
“Ask yourself why Sarah never let anyone touch it.”
My heart raced.
Because he was right.
My mother had always been protective of it.
When I was younger, I once lost it at school.
She searched for hours.
She cried when she found it.
I thought it was because she loved the necklace.
Maybe she loved what was hidden inside.
Ethan took a step forward.
“Your mother trusted you more than anyone.”
“Stop.”
Adrian’s voice was dangerous.
“You’re not going near her.”
Ethan laughed.
“Still protecting her.”
Then he looked at me.
“That’s exactly why you’re dangerous.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian chose you.”
The bitterness in his voice was impossible to miss.
“You have no idea what that family took from people.”
I looked at him.
“You hurt innocent people because you’re angry.”
His face changed.
For a moment, I saw pain.
Then it disappeared.
“You sound like Sarah.”
That sentence froze me.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know she wouldn’t want this.”
Ethan looked away.
That was the first time I saw hesitation.
Only for a second.
Then security lights suddenly turned on.
Adrian looked around.
“Who else is here?”
Ethan smiled.
“You brought people.”
“No.”
Adrian looked confused.
Then a voice came from the entrance.
“Actually…”
Everyone turned.
Beatrice walked inside.
My eyes widened.
“What are you doing here?”
She looked at Ethan.
Not afraid.
Angry.
“You were never supposed to involve her.”
Ethan laughed.
“You still think you control everything.”
Adrian looked between them.
“You two worked together?”
Beatrice looked ashamed.
“No.”
Ethan smiled.
“She did.”
My heart sank.
Adrian stared at his mother.
“Is that true?”
Beatrice’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to stop him.”
Ethan laughed.
“After helping me for twelve years?”
The silence was unbearable.
Adrian looked destroyed.
“How?”
Beatrice whispered:
“I thought I could control the damage.”
“And you failed.”
Ethan moved toward me.
Adrian immediately stepped in front.
But then Ethan said something that stopped everyone.
“The necklace isn’t the only thing your mother left behind.”
He looked at Beatrice.
“She left a child.”
Nobody moved.
Beatrice’s face changed.
Because she knew.
Adrian looked at her.
“What does he mean?”
Beatrice closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“Sarah didn’t have one child.”
My heart stopped.
“She had two.”
The world seemed to disappear.
I looked at Adrian.
Then at Ethan.
Then at Beatrice.
Because the truth was finally coming out.
My mother had not only hidden a secret.
She had hidden a person.
And that person had spent years planning revenge.
Ethan smiled.
“Now you understand.”
He looked directly at me.
“Your mother didn’t leave you alone.”
A pause.
“She left you a brother.”
The factory went silent.
Then the doors behind us locked automatically.
May you like
And Ethan said:
“Now we’re going to finish what Richard Vale started.”
