Chapter 11: The Betrayal Inside The Mansion
Claire knew.
The moment Natalie looked at her, she knew.
Her face changed.
Not surprise.
Acceptance.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“Claire.””
Nobody moved.
Natalie’s voice was quiet.
“It was you.””
Claire closed her eyes.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember.””
Daniel stepped back.
“Remember what?””
Natalie stared at the woman.
“You were there that night.””
Claire whispered:
“Yes.””
Lucas held onto Natalie’s hand.
“Who is bad?””
The question broke Claire.
She looked at the child.
“I never wanted to hurt you.””
Daniel’s voice became colder.
“But you did.””
Claire looked at him.
“I saved him.””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You saved a secret.””
The words hit her.
Natalie looked around the hidden room.
“All these years…”
Her voice trembled.
“You watched me live a life I didn’t remember.””
Claire nodded.
“I did.””
“Why?””
Claire looked at the photograph.
“Because your memory was the only thing keeping Lucas alive.””
Natalie frowned.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does.””
Claire walked toward the table.
“Your memory contained the location of something.””
Daniel looked at the files.
“The information.””
Claire nodded.
“The information Lucas’s mother found.””
The stranger smiled.
“And now you understand.””
Daniel ignored him.
“What information?””
Claire looked at Natalie.
“The names of everyone involved.””
Silence.
Everyone understood.
A list.
People powerful enough to destroy lives.
People who wanted Lucas hidden.
Daniel looked at the stranger.
“You were one of them.””
The man smiled.
“I was the only one honest about it.””
Daniel’s anger grew.
“What does that mean?””
The stranger looked at Natalie.
“It means Lucas’s mother trusted the wrong people.””
Natalie stepped closer.
“You’re lying.””
“Am I?””
He pointed at Claire.
“She helped erase your memories.””
Claire looked down.
“Because I had to.””
“No.””
The stranger laughed.
“She did it because she was afraid.””
Claire suddenly shouted:
“Enough!””
Everyone froze.
Claire had never raised her voice before.
She wiped away tears.
“You don’t get to pretend you cared about Lucas.””
The stranger stared at her.
“You chose them.””
“Yes.””
Claire looked at Daniel.
“At first, I thought I was protecting a child.””
Her eyes moved to Lucas.
“Then I realized I was protecting a family.””
Daniel looked away.
The confession hurt.
Because he understood.
The people closest to him had been fighting a war he never saw.
Natalie touched the photograph.
“What happened that night?””
Claire took a deep breath.
“Your wife found the truth.””
“What truth?””
“That Lucas was being watched from the moment he was born.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“By who?””
Claire hesitated.
Then she looked at him.
“People inside your company.””
Daniel froze.
“My company?””
The stranger smiled.
“Your empire was built on enemies, Daniel.””
Daniel’s fists tightened.
“Names.””
Claire looked afraid.
“I can’t.””
“You can.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Because if I say them, they’ll know Lucas has the information.””
Natalie stepped forward.
“They already know.””
Everyone looked at her.
The stranger smiled.
“Exactly.””
Natalie pointed at the files.
“They came here because they think the information is in this room.””
Daniel looked at her.
“But it isn’t.””
Natalie looked at Lucas.
Her face changed.
“No.””
A terrible realization appeared.
“It’s not in the room.””
The stranger stopped smiling.
Daniel understood.
“Where is it?””
Natalie slowly looked at Lucas.
The boy looked confused.
“What?””
She knelt beside him.
“Lucas.””
He looked at her.
“Do you remember the song?””
His eyes widened.
The melody.
The one his mother used to sing.
Claire whispered:
“No…”
Natalie realized.
“She didn’t hide the information in a place.””
She looked at the boy.
“She hid it in a memory.””
Daniel stared.
“In him.””
Lucas stepped backward.
“I don’t want to remember.””
Natalie immediately held him.
“You don’t have to.””
But the stranger moved.
“Unfortunately, he does.””
Daniel turned.
“You’re not touching him.””
The stranger smiled.
“Then you better find the memory first.””
Suddenly, a phone rang.
Not Claire’s.
Not Daniel’s.
Natalie looked down.
The sound was coming from inside the hidden room.
A small old phone sat beneath the table.
Nobody had noticed it before.
Daniel picked it up.
A voice answered.
A voice he had not heard in three years.
“Daniel.””
He froze.
“Nora?””
Everyone went silent.
Because Lucas’s missing mother was finally speaking.
May you like
And her next words changed everything.
“Don’t trust Natalie.””
