Chapter 5 - The Secret Hidden Before Their Marriage
The woman on the screen disappeared.
The monitor went black.
But nobody moved.
Not even Adrian.
For the first time since I had known him, I saw something I never thought I would see.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for me.
"Mother," I whispered.
The word felt strange.
Impossible.
Because Adrian's mother had been dead.
At least, that was what I believed.
I looked at him.
"Your mother is alive?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
"Adrian."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he turned away from the screen.
"Her name is Victoria Vale."
Claire stood quietly in the corner.
She looked like she had been waiting years for this moment.
"She was never supposed to come back."
I turned toward her.
"What does that mean?"
Claire looked at Adrian.
"He told you she died, didn't he?"
I felt something break inside me.
Not because of Victoria.
Because of another secret.
Another thing Adrian had hidden.
"You said your family was gone."
Adrian looked at me.
"I thought they were."
"Thought?"
My voice became quieter.
"How can you not know if your own mother is alive?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the monitor and replayed the video.
The woman appeared again.
Her face remained hidden.
But her voice filled the room.
"Elena, if you are seeing this, Adrian failed to keep you away from the truth."
The video paused.
Claire looked at me.
"She recorded this six years ago."
I frowned.
"Six years?"
Adrian looked at Claire.
"You knew?"
Claire nodded.
"I knew she was preparing for this."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"You both knew."
Claire didn't deny it.
"Yes."
I stepped backward.
The two people standing in front of me were the only people I trusted.
And both had been carrying secrets.
"Why?"
Adrian immediately answered.
"Because I was trying to protect you."
I looked at him.
"From what?"
Silence.
That was the answer I hated most.
Because silence meant there was something worse.
Claire walked toward the table and opened the old envelope again.
"There is something you need to understand, Elena."
She removed another photograph.
This one was different.
It showed a young Adrian.
He looked almost unrecognizable.
No expensive suit.
No cold expression.
Just a young man standing beside a woman.
His mother.
Victoria.
Behind them was the same abandoned building from the previous photograph.
But this time, there was something written on the wall.
A symbol.
A black circle with a line through the center.
I looked at Adrian.
"What is that?"
His expression changed.
"That symbol belongs to a group."
"What group?"
He hesitated.
Then he said:
"The people who created the Vale empire."
I stared at him.
"I thought you created it."
Adrian looked away.
"No."
The answer shocked me.
"Then who did?"
Claire spoke.
"His father."
The room became silent.
I had heard stories about Adrian's father.
But never details.
Never a name.
Never a reason.
"Your father was dangerous," Claire continued.
"He built his power through fear."
Adrian's voice was cold.
"Enough."
Claire looked at him.
"No, Adrian."
Her voice softened.
"She deserves to know."
I looked between them.
"Know what?"
Claire took a breath.
"The man you married spent his entire life trying to escape the man who created him."
I looked at Adrian.
For the first time, I didn't see the powerful businessman.
I saw the man underneath.
The man who had been running from something.
"What happened to your father?"
Adrian remained silent.
Then he answered.
"He disappeared."
I frowned.
"Like your mother?"
His eyes met mine.
"Yes."
A strange feeling passed through me.
This wasn't random.
It was connected.
The missing mother.
The missing father.
The secret marriage.
The warning.
Everything.
"Why did you meet me, Adrian?"
The question came out before I could stop it.
He looked confused.
"What?"
"Why did you choose me?"
His expression changed.
Because I had finally asked the question he had been avoiding.
Claire looked down.
And that scared me.
"Tell her," Claire said.
Adrian looked at her.
"Claire."
"Tell her the truth."
The room felt smaller.
I waited.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"The night I met you wasn't an accident."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"I was looking for someone."
"Who?"
His eyes lowered.
"You."
The silence that followed felt unbearable.
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because my entire memory of our relationship suddenly felt different.
"You were searching for me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Claire did.
"Because your mother was involved."
I froze.
"My mother?"
The words made no sense.
My mother had lived a quiet life.
She had never mentioned Adrian.
She had never mentioned anything connected to him.
"What does my mother have to do with this?"
Claire looked at the photograph again.
"Your mother knew Victoria Vale."
The room stopped.
I stared at her.
"No."
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
I couldn't breathe.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
A conversation from years ago.
Something my mother had said when I was young.
A warning I never understood.
"Some people don't disappear, Elena. They hide."
I had thought she was talking about life.
Now I wondered if she was talking about someone specific.
Adrian walked toward me.
"Elena."
I moved away slightly.
Not because I was afraid of him.
Because I didn't know what was real anymore.
"How much did you know before we met?"
His eyes showed pain.
"I knew your mother was connected to my family."
My heart sank.
"And you still married me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
His answer came immediately.
"Because I fell in love with you."
For a second, I believed him.
Then the monitor turned on again.
Everyone turned.
The video file had restarted.
But this time, the woman on the screen was visible.
Victoria Vale.
Older.
Tired.
Looking directly into the camera.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Elena, if Adrian is standing beside you right now..."
She paused.
Her eyes filled with fear.
"Do not trust him."
Adrian froze.
Claire covered her mouth.
May you like
And then Victoria said the words that made the entire room go silent.
"Because Adrian is the reason your mother disappeared."
