Chapter 11: The Person In The Shadows
I stared at the message.
Come alone.
Every instinct told me it was a trap.
But another part of me—the part that had spent six months searching for answers—knew I couldn’t ignore it.
Marcus noticed my expression.
“What happened?””
I showed him the phone.
His face hardened.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“No?””
“You’re not going.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Absolutely not.””
I looked at both of them.
“I spent months with people making decisions for me.””
“This is different,” Marcus said.
“Yes.””
I looked at the message.
“Because now I get to choose.””
Isabella moved closer.
“Ethan.””
I looked at her.
“Don’t do this alone.””
Those words stopped me.
Because they weren’t controlling.
They weren’t telling me what to do.
They were asking.
“I need to know who this is.””
Marcus sighed.
“Then we do it carefully.””
The location was an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city.
A place nobody would visit unless they had a reason.
The rain returned.
Almost exactly like the night of the accident.
I sat in the car outside.
Marcus checked the area.
Richard stayed behind with security.
Isabella sat beside me.
“You don’t have to prove anything.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“That you’re still the person you were before.””
I looked away.
“I don’t know who that person is anymore.””
She was quiet.
Then said:
“Maybe you don’t have to become him again.””
I looked at her.
“You mean?””
“Maybe you become someone stronger.””
For some reason, those words helped.
A light turned on inside the warehouse.
Marcus returned.
“Someone’s waiting.””
I entered slowly.
The inside smelled like old metal and rain.
Then I heard a voice.
“You came.””
I stopped.
The person stepped out of the shadows.
Victoria Parker.
Brooke’s mother.
Isabella froze.
“Aunt Victoria.””
Victoria looked at her.
“I’m sorry.””
I stared at her.
“You sent the message.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because you deserve the truth.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone says that after hiding everything.””
Her face showed pain.
“I know.””
She looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
Broken.
“I never wanted any of this.””
“Then why did it happen?””
She looked down.
“Because I made a mistake twenty years ago.””
Isabella stepped forward.
“My father.””
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Your father was innocent.””
Isabella froze.
“I know.””
“No.””
Victoria shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
She looked at me.
“Daniel Parker was not just framed.””
A pause.
“He was killed.””
The words hit hard.
Isabella covered her mouth.
“What?””
Victoria continued.
“He found out who was stealing from the foundation.””
“Who?””
She looked at me.
“Your uncle’s business partner.””
I frowned.
“My uncle didn’t have a business partner.””
Victoria looked at Richard’s old documents.
“He did.””
“Who?””
She whispered the name.
A name that made my entire body go cold.
“Charles Vance.””
I froze.
My father’s brother.
Richard’s brother.
The man everyone thought died fifteen years ago.
But that was impossible.
“Charles is dead.””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
Rain hit the warehouse roof.
“He’s alive.””
The silence was unbearable.
“How do you know?””
Victoria reached into her bag.
She pulled out a photograph.
A recent photograph.
A man standing outside a building.
Older.
But unmistakable.
My uncle.
My father’s brother.
Charles Vance.
I looked at Victoria.
“Why show me this now?””
Her expression changed.
Because she was afraid.
“Because Charles knows you found out.””
A sound echoed behind us.
A door closing.
Everyone turned.
Someone else was inside.
Victoria’s face went pale.
“He followed me.””
Marcus reached for his phone.
“Who?””
Victoria whispered:
“The man who has been controlling everything.””
The lights suddenly went out.
May you like
And in the darkness, a voice said:
“You always were terrible at keeping secrets, Victoria.””
