Chapter 9: The Mother Behind the Mask
The photograph stayed on the screen.
Victoria Parker.
Brooke’s mother.
Isabella’s aunt.
The woman connected to every unanswered question.
Nobody spoke.
Brooke looked like she had forgotten how to breathe.
“My mother…”
Richard closed his eyes.
“I was afraid it would come to this.””
I looked at him.
“You knew?””
“Not that she was involved.””
His voice lowered.
“But I knew she was hiding something.””
Brooke turned toward him.
“You knew about my mother and said nothing?””
Richard looked at her.
“I was trying to protect you.””
She laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Protect me from what? The truth?””
No one answered.
Because she was right.
The truth had been hidden for so long that it became its own kind of damage.
Isabella stared at the photograph.
“I knew she was connected.””
Brooke looked at her.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
Isabella looked hurt.
“Because every time I tried to get close to the truth, someone disappeared.””
Her voice became quieter.
“My father.””
She looked at Richard.
“Your uncle.””
Then at me.
“Your life.””
I studied her.
For the first time, I saw something different.
Not a liar.
A person who had been carrying a burden alone.
Marcus stood.
“We need to find Victoria.””
Daniel entered the room suddenly.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Vance.””
“What happened?””
He looked at me.
“There’s a problem.””
“What kind?””
He handed me a tablet.
“The company systems were accessed.””
I frowned.
“When?””
“Ten minutes ago.””
Marcus looked at the screen.
“What was accessed?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your private financial records.””
My stomach tightened.
“Someone is stealing information.””
“No,” Daniel said.
He swallowed.
“They’re deleting it.””
The room went silent.
Someone wasn’t trying to hide the crime anymore.
They were destroying the evidence.
I looked at Richard.
“How much damage?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Too early to know.””
Marcus grabbed his coat.
“I’m going to the headquarters.””
“I’m coming.””
Everyone looked at me.
Richard stepped forward.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“No?””
“You need to stay here.””
I smiled without humor.
“That’s what everyone says when they want me out of the way.””
His face softened.
“Ethan…”
“No.””
I moved toward the door.
“I spent six months being protected from the truth.””
I looked at everyone.
“I’m done being kept away from my own life.””
The drive to Vance headquarters felt longer than it should have.
The city lights passed by the window.
For the first time in months, I wasn’t thinking about what I had lost.
I was thinking about what I needed to uncover.
When we arrived, the building was almost empty.
Only emergency lights remained.
Marcus checked the security system.
“Someone disabled half the cameras.””
We entered the executive floor.
My office door was open.
That alone made my heart race.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Except for one thing.
My desk.
On top of it was a single envelope.
No name.
No message.
Just waiting.
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Five words.
*“Ask Brooke what she remembers.””*
I looked up.
Everyone became silent.
Brooke was standing at the doorway.
Her face turned white.
“Why would they write that?””
I stared at her.
Because suddenly, I remembered something.
The night of the accident.
The last phone call I made before everything went dark.
A call I thought nobody answered.
But someone did.
Someone heard everything.
I looked at Brooke.
“Where were you the night I crashed?””
Her face changed.
And I knew.
She had been hiding one more secret.
She whispered:
“Ethan…”
I waited.
May you like
She looked terrified.
“I wasn’t alone that night.””
