Chapter 7: The Message From the Dead
The words on the necklace changed everything.
Protect Wren.
Even from Adrian Kane.
I stared at the engraving until the letters blurred.
“Why would someone protect me from you?””
Adrian didn’t answer.
That was the problem.
He always had answers.
Except when it came to this.
Marco looked between us.
“Boss?””
Adrian took the necklace from the evidence bag carefully.
Like it was something fragile.
Like it could explode.
“Where exactly did you find this?””
“In the hidden compartment of Vincent’s car.””
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Vincent wouldn’t carry something this important unless he wanted someone to find it.””
“Or unless he was careless,” Marco said.
Adrian shook his head.
“Vincent is never careless.””
The room fell silent.
I touched the scar beneath my collarbone.
The place where the necklace used to rest.
Ten years.
I had carried the memory of losing it without knowing what it was.
Now it was back.
And somehow, it was warning me about the only person who had helped me.
I looked at Adrian.
“Did my parents know you?””
His expression changed.
“Yes.””
“How?””
He walked toward the window.
“My father worked with Alexander Whitmore.””
“With my father?””
“Yes.””
“Were they friends?””
Adrian looked outside.
“They were partners.””
The city lights reflected in his eyes.
“But after my father died, Vincent took control of everything.””
“And you?””
“I was young.””
He paused.
“Too young to see what was happening.””
I watched him.
“You blame yourself.””
His jaw tightened.
“I should have known.””
“Known what?””
“That Vincent wasn’t building an empire.””
A cold silence followed.
“He was building an escape route.””
Before I could ask more, Marco’s phone buzzed.
He answered immediately.
“Yes?””
His face changed.
“Repeat that.””
Adrian turned.
“What happened?””
Marco covered the phone.
“The security company found a hidden signal attached to the necklace.””
My stomach dropped.
“A tracker?””
“No,” Marco said.
He looked at Adrian.
“Something else.””
Adrian took the phone.
“Explain.””
The voice on the other end spoke quickly.
Adrian listened.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
“It’s not a tracker.””
“Then what?””
He looked at the necklace.
“It’s a storage device.””
Marco frowned.
“A necklace?””
“Your father and Alexander Whitmore knew people would search everything else.””
Adrian looked at me.
“They hid something where nobody would look.””
I stared at the necklace.
“What’s inside?””
“We need a specialist.””
“How long?””
“Not long enough.””
That answer frightened me.
An hour later, the necklace was opened in a secure room beneath Adrian’s building.
Inside was a tiny piece of technology smaller than a fingernail.
The specialist connected it to a computer.
Everyone gathered around.
A single file appeared.
No title.
No password.
Just one recording.
Adrian pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a woman’s voice.
My entire body froze.
Because I knew that voice.
Even after ten years.
Even after all the broken memories.
“Wren.””
I covered my mouth.
My mother.
Evelyn Whitmore.
Her voice was softer than I remembered.
“If you are hearing this, it means I failed to protect you.””
Tears filled my eyes.
Adrian stood completely still.
The recording continued.
“I need you to understand something. The fire was never an accident.””
Marco looked at Adrian.
Nobody moved.
“Someone inside our circle betrayed us.””
A pause.
Then my mother whispered:
“And the person who finds this message may be the person who destroyed everything.””
The room became colder.
I looked at Adrian.
He didn’t move.
The recording continued.
“Wren, there are people who will tell you they saved you. There are people who will tell you they loved your family.””
My mother’s voice broke.
“Don’t trust words. Trust what they do when nobody is watching.””
I closed my eyes.
The next words hurt.
“Your father and I discovered something about the Kane family.””
Adrian’s face changed.
“My mother knew.””
“Yes,” Adrian whispered.
The recording continued.
“Alexander believed Adrian Kane was different from the others.””
I looked at Adrian.
The sound of his name from my mother’s voice felt impossible.
“He believed Adrian had the heart to stop what was coming.””
Adrian looked down.
Then the recording ended.
Just silence.
No final goodbye.
No explanation.
Only one unfinished message.
The specialist looked up.
“There’s another file.””
Adrian turned.
“What?””
“It’s encrypted.””
“How long?””
The specialist hesitated.
“Could take days.””
Adrian shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at the screen.
“We don’t have days.””
Suddenly, every phone in the room received the same notification.
A message.
From an unknown number.
Marco opened it.
His face went pale.
“What?””
He handed Adrian the phone.
Adrian read the message.
Then gave it to me.
My hands trembled.
Because it contained only one sentence.
*“Ask Adrian why he was the last person your father called before he died.””*
I looked up.
Adrian was already looking at me.
May you like
And for the first time since I met him…
I wondered if I had saved the wrong man.
