Chapter 7 - THE SECRET HIDDEN IN LEO’S FILE
I stood in the hallway, frozen.
My hand covered my mouth.
“No one can know what really happened to Leo.”
Those words kept repeating inside my head.
Over and over.
I wanted to believe I misunderstood him.
I wanted to believe Julian was talking about something else.
Anything else.
But deep down…
A mother always knows when something is wrong.
And something was very wrong.
I quietly stepped away from the hallway before he could hear me.
I didn’t cry.
I didn’t scream.
I didn’t confront him.
Not this time.
Because I finally understood something.
Julian wanted me emotional.
He wanted me angry.
He wanted me to lose control.
Because a woman who looks broken is easier to defeat.
So I did the one thing he never expected.
I stayed calm.
The next morning, I called Daniel.
“Can you meet me?”
His voice immediately changed.
“What happened?”
“I heard something.”
A pause.
“What?”
I looked at Leo’s picture sitting on the hotel nightstand.
“Julian said something about Leo.”
Daniel became quiet.
“Tell me exactly.”
I repeated every word.
When I finished, Daniel didn’t speak for several seconds.
“That’s serious, Clara.”
“I know.”
“No. I mean legally serious.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we need Leo’s complete medical records.”
I closed my eyes.
The thought of going through those files hurt.
Those records weren’t just paperwork.
They were the story of my son’s final days.
Every test.
Every procedure.
Every moment I begged doctors to save him.
But I nodded.
“Get them.”
Two hours later, Daniel called me.
“Clara.”
I knew from his voice.
Something was wrong.
“What did you find?”
“Before I tell you, I need you to prepare yourself.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“There were requests made to access Leo’s medical information.”
“By Julian?”
“Yes.”
I gripped my phone.
“How many?”
“Several.”
“When?”
Daniel hesitated.
“The earliest one was three months before Leo passed away.”
My blood ran cold.
Three months.
Before the funeral.
Before the hospital became our entire world.
Before I knew anything was wrong.
“Why would he access them?”
Daniel’s answer was quiet.
“That’s what we need to find out.”
I looked out the hotel window.
The city moved below me.
People laughed.
Cars drove by.
The world continued.
While mine had stopped.
“Daniel…”
“Yes?”
“Do you think Julian knew Leo was going to die?”
Silence.
A long silence.
Then:
“I don’t know.”
But I heard the fear in his voice.
That scared me.
Because Daniel always knew what to say.
That night, I couldn’t stop thinking.
About Julian’s strange behavior.
The phone calls.
The documents.
The questions about my property.
The way he acted after Leo died.
Like he wasn’t mourning.
Like he was waiting.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
“Hello?”
Only silence.
Then a woman’s voice whispered:
“Clara…”
My blood froze.
I knew that voice.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“Please don’t trust Julian.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Because I knew that voice.
May you like
It was someone I thought would never betray me.
It was Chloe.
