Chapter 5 - THE TRUTH UNDER THE FLOOR
“Let her go.”
Gabriel’s voice was calm.
Too calm.
Sophia Sinclair smiled.
“You sound exactly like your mother.”
Elena looked at her.
“You…”
Her voice trembled.
“I know you.”
Sophia stepped closer.
“Of course you do.”
The memories came back.
Slowly.
Painfully.
A meeting.
A document.
A betrayal.
Fifteen years ago, Elena had trusted Sophia.
She believed Sophia was her friend.
Until she discovered the truth.
“You helped them.”
Sophia laughed.
“Helped?”
She looked around the underground room.
“I built this.”
Gabriel clenched his fists.
“What does that mean?”
Sophia looked at him.
“It means your family’s empire exists because people like me made sacrifices.”
Elena shook her head.
“You destroyed my life.”
“No.”
Sophia’s smile disappeared.
“You destroyed yourself by believing honesty mattered.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“You threatened my mother.”
Sophia raised the knife.
“And she survived.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Gabriel noticed something.
Sophia was not looking at him.
She was looking at Elena.
With fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
“Why are you afraid of her?”
Sophia’s face changed.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
Elena slowly stepped forward.
“You thought I forgot.”
Sophia backed away.
“You don’t remember.”
Elena smiled sadly.
“I remembered everything.”
Gabriel looked at his mother.
“What?”
Elena’s eyes filled with pain.
“The night of the accident…”
She took a breath.
“I saw who cut the brake lines.”
Everyone froze.
Richard looked shocked.
“You never told me.”
“Because I couldn’t.”
Elena looked at Gabriel.
“They threatened you.”
Gabriel’s eyes filled with tears.
“All these years…”
“I watched you grow from a distance.”
Her voice broke.
“I saw your graduation.”
“I saw your first company interview.”
“I saw you become the man I always knew you would become.”
Gabriel looked away, fighting tears.
“Why didn’t you come back?”
Elena answered quietly.
“Because every time I tried…”
She looked at Sophia.
“They reminded me what would happen to you.”
Sophia’s expression hardened.
“Enough.”
She moved suddenly.
But before she could reach Elena, Gabriel grabbed her wrist.
The knife fell.
Security rushed in.
Sophia was forced to the ground.
But she laughed.
“You think this changes anything?”
Gabriel stared at her.
“You’re finished.”
Sophia smiled.
“No.”
She looked toward Richard.
“He knows.”
Everyone turned.
Gabriel looked at his father.
Richard said nothing.
That silence destroyed him.
“Dad?”
Richard closed his eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“You knew who did this?”
Richard’s silence was the answer.
Gabriel stepped back.
“You knew my mother was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew someone tried to kill her.”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing?”
Richard looked broken.
“I made a mistake.”
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
“A mistake?”
His voice echoed.
“You let me hate my own mother for fifteen years.”
Richard lowered his head.
Then Elena noticed something.
A small scar on Richard’s hand.
A scar she remembered.
From that night.
Her face changed.
“Richard…”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
Elena whispered:
“You were there.”
Richard froze.
The room became silent.
Because suddenly the truth became even darker.
May you like
Richard was not just hiding the secret.
He was part of it.
