Chapter 12 - THE SISTER WHO STOLE A LIFE
Nobody moved.
Elena stared at the woman standing in front of her.
It was like looking into a mirror from another life.
“Lydia…”
The name escaped her mouth.
Gabriel looked confused.
“Who is she?”
The woman smiled.
“My name is Lydia Reyes.”
She looked at Elena.
“Your sister.”
The room became silent.
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Lydia laughed softly.
“You really believed I disappeared?”
Gabriel looked between them.
“What is happening?”
Elena’s eyes filled with old pain.
“My sister died.”
Lydia’s smile faded.
“That’s what they told you.”
She stepped closer.
“But nobody ever asked me.”
Gabriel watched as his mother struggled.
Not with fear.
With memories.
“You were there that night.”
Lydia nodded.
“Yes.”
Elena closed her eyes.
The accident.
The threats.
The betrayal.
It all came back.
“You helped them.”
Lydia’s face hardened.
“I helped myself.”
The honesty shocked everyone.
“You had everything.”
Lydia’s voice became louder.
“You had the love. The family. The inheritance. The perfect life.”
Elena stared at her.
“I never wanted any of that.”
“But you had it.”
Lydia pointed at Gabriel.
“You had him.”
The anger in her voice was impossible to hide.
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Don’t talk about my mother like that.”
Lydia looked at him.
“You have no idea how much your existence ruined my life.”
Those words made Gabriel furious.
“My existence?”
“Yes.”
She smiled bitterly.
“Because the day you were born, I became invisible.”
Nobody spoke.
Lydia revealed the final secret.
She had worked with Gabriel’s grandfather.
She helped remove Elena.
She helped hide the documents.
She helped create the lie.
All because she believed the Whitmore family belonged to her.
“You destroyed your own sister.”
Elena’s voice broke.
Lydia looked away.
“I wanted what was mine.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“You didn’t want justice.”
He looked at her coldly.
“You wanted revenge.”
Lydia smiled.
“Maybe.”
She stepped closer.
“But revenge works.”
Suddenly, police sirens echoed outside.
Everyone froze.
Gabriel looked confused.
“How?”
Thomas answered.
“I called them.”
Lydia’s expression changed.
For the first time…
She looked afraid.
Security entered.
But before anyone reached her, Lydia pulled out a small device.
A remote.
Gabriel noticed.
“What is that?”
Lydia smiled.
“The final insurance.”
She pressed the button.
A countdown appeared on her screen.
00:30
Everyone froze.
Richard looked toward the mansion.
“No…”
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
Richard’s face went pale.
“The foundation room.”
“What’s there?”
Richard whispered:
“The original family records.”
Gabriel understood.
She wasn’t trying to escape.
She was trying to destroy the last proof.
The countdown continued.
00:20
Elena grabbed Gabriel’s hand.
“Go.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“What about you?”
She smiled sadly.
“For fifteen years, I lost everything.”
Her eyes filled with determination.
“I’m not losing my son again.”
The countdown reached:
00:10
Gabriel ran toward the foundation room.
Behind him, Lydia laughed.
Because she knew one thing.
May you like
The truth was finally coming out.
But she planned to make sure nobody survived long enough to tell it.
