THE SECRET SHE WITNESSED

CHAPTER FIVE

THE WOMAN WHO KNEW

Amelia spent the entire night thinking about the message.

CLARA MORGAN DIDN'T KILL HIM.

BUT SHE KNOWS WHO DID.

She kept reading the words until her eyes hurt.

Clara Morgan.

The woman in the photograph.

The woman who had been near the scene on the night Amelia witnessed the murder.

The woman who apparently knew something about Daniel's death.

Amelia looked at Nadia sleeping peacefully.

She couldn't help wondering whether she had made a mistake by leaving their old neighborhood.

Perhaps she had escaped one problem only to walk into something far worse.

Still, she couldn't turn back.

Not now.

Not when she finally had a chance to learn the truth.

---

The following morning, Amelia received another message.

10 A.M.

Vale Arts Gallery.

Come alone.

She stared at the screen.

Then another message arrived.

Clara will be waiting.

Amelia hesitated.

She didn't want to go alone.

But if Clara really knew what happened to Daniel, this might be her only opportunity.

She called Maggie's mother and asked if Nadia could stay with them for a few hours.

After dropping Nadia off, Amelia headed toward the gallery.

Before leaving, Nadia hugged her.

"Be careful, Mummy."

Amelia smiled.

"I will."

Nadia looked at her suspiciously.

"You look worried."

"I'm fine."

"You always say that when you're not."

Amelia laughed softly.

"You've become too observant."

"That's because I'm an artist."

Amelia kissed her forehead.

"Stay with Maggie."

"I will."

As Amelia walked away, Nadia watched her from the doorway.

She didn't know why, but she had a strange feeling that something was about to change.

---

Vale Arts Gallery was enormous.

White walls.

Beautiful paintings.

Elegant sculptures.

Soft music.

Amelia stood at the entrance, remembering the dreams she had carried as a young woman.

She had once imagined her own paintings hanging here.

For a moment, she forgot the fear.

She imagined herself as the artist she had once hoped to become.

Then a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Mrs. Carter?"

Amelia turned.

A woman stood several feet away.

She looked to be in her early thirties.

Dark hair.

Calm expression.

A silver bracelet around her wrist.

Amelia's heart skipped.

It was her.

Clara Morgan.

Clara looked at her for several seconds.

"You came."

Amelia nodded.

"You're Clara."

"Yes."

"You knew my husband."

Clara looked away.

"Yes."

"How?"

Clara hesitated.

"Daniel was helping me."

"With what?"

"Something dangerous."

Amelia's heart raced.

"What kind of danger?"

Clara looked around.

"Not here."

She walked toward a private exhibition room.

Amelia followed.

Once inside, Clara locked the door.

Amelia stepped back.

"Why did you lock it?"

"Because someone is watching us."

Amelia's breathing became shallow.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Clara lowered her voice.

"But they're connected to Vale Arts Group."

Amelia stared at her.

"Adrian?"

Clara shook her head.

"No."

"Then who?"

Clara took a deep breath.

"That's what Daniel was trying to discover."

Amelia's eyes filled with tears.

"What happened to him?"

Clara looked at her.

"Your husband discovered something he wasn't supposed to know."

"What?"

"Someone was using the company to move stolen artwork through private collectors."

Amelia frowned.

"Artwork?"

"Yes."

"But why would that get him killed?"

"Because the artwork wasn't the real business."

Amelia waited.

Clara continued.

"The paintings were being used to hide something else."

"What?"

"Information."

Amelia stared.

"Information about what?"

"People."

"Which people?"

"People with money. Power. Influence."

Amelia suddenly understood why Daniel had been afraid.

"Did he know Adrian?"

Clara nodded.

"Yes."

"Was Adrian involved?"

Clara hesitated.

"I don't know."

Amelia's heart sank.

"But you suspect him."

"Everyone suspects him."

"Then why haven't they arrested him?"

Clara gave a bitter smile.

"Because suspicion isn't proof."

A noise came from outside the room.

Both women froze.

Someone tried the door.

Clara immediately put a finger to her lips.

The handle moved again.

Amelia stepped backward.

Then the footsteps stopped.

Silence.

Clara waited several seconds before whispering:

"They know you're here."

---

Across the gallery, Adrian stood in his office.

His assistant entered.

"Sir."

Adrian looked up.

"She's here."

"Amelia?"

"Yes."

"She's meeting Clara."

Adrian's expression hardened.

"How did Clara get inside?"

"We don't know."

Adrian walked toward the window.

"Find them."

"Should I call security?"

"No."

He paused.

"Don't frighten Amelia."

His assistant looked surprised.

"Why?"

Adrian didn't answer.

He wasn't sure himself.

He had spent the last twenty-four hours investigating Amelia.

The more he learned, the less she looked like the threat he had expected.

She was simply a mother trying to survive.

A woman who had lost her husband.

A woman who had once dreamed of becoming an artist.

And somehow, she had walked directly into a world that could destroy her.

Adrian knew he should stay away.

But he couldn't.

---

Inside the exhibition room, Clara opened a small envelope.

She handed it to Amelia.

"This belonged to Daniel."

Amelia took it.

Inside was a photograph.

Daniel stood beside Adrian.

They were speaking outside the company building.

Amelia stared.

"Why were they together?"

"I don't know."

Clara handed her another photograph.

This one showed Daniel entering a black car.

Adrian was standing nearby.

Amelia's hands began to tremble.

"Did Adrian kill my husband?"

Clara shook her head.

"I don't know."

"But you said he knew something."

"He did."

"What?"

Clara looked directly at her.

"Daniel believed Adrian was being threatened."

Amelia frowned.

"By whom?"

Before Clara could answer, the lights went out.

Amelia gasped.

The gallery fell into darkness.

Clara grabbed her hand.

"Don't move."

A door slammed somewhere outside.

Footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Clara whispered:

"We have to leave."

They moved toward the back entrance.

But before they reached it, a voice came through the darkness.

"Amelia."

She froze.

She knew that voice.

Adrian.

The lights suddenly came back on.

Adrian stood in the doorway.

His expression was serious.

"Come with me."

Clara stepped between them.

"No."

Adrian looked at her.

"You shouldn't have brought her here."

Amelia stared at him.

"What are you hiding?"

Adrian looked directly into her eyes.

"Your husband's death."

Silence.

Amelia's heart pounded.

"What do you mean?"

Adrian stepped closer.

"I didn't kill Daniel."

Amelia swallowed.

"Then who did?"

Adrian looked toward Clara.

"She knows."

Clara shook her head.

"Don't."

Adrian continued.

"Tell her."

Clara's face became pale.

Adrian looked back at Amelia.

"Daniel wasn't killed because of what he knew."

Amelia waited.

"He was killed because of what he had."

"What did he have?"

Adrian's expression changed.

"Evidence."

"What evidence?"

Adrian lowered his voice.

"Evidence that could destroy some of the most powerful people in this city."

Amelia felt dizzy.

"Where is it?"

Adrian stared at her.

"Your husband gave it to you."

Amelia shook her head.

"I don't have anything."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Think."

She searched her memories.

Daniel's belongings.

His old clothes.

His papers.

Nothing.

Then she remembered something.

After Daniel died, she had found an old painting inside a box.

A painting she had never understood.

She had kept it because Daniel had written a date on the back.

Amelia's eyes widened.

"The painting."

Adrian stepped closer.

"What painting?"

"The one Daniel left behind."

Clara suddenly looked terrified.

"Amelia..."

"What?"

Clara whispered:

"Don't tell him where it is."

Before Amelia could respond, her phone vibrated.

She looked down.

A message appeared.

WE KNOW WHERE NADIA IS.

Amelia's blood ran cold.

Another message followed.

COME ALONE.

Then a photograph appeared.

Nadia and Maggie were walking home from school.

Someone had been following them.

Amelia's breath caught.

"Nadia."

Adrian saw her expression.

"What happened?"

Amelia looked up.

For the first time, fear replaced suspicion in her eyes.

"My daughter."

Adrian immediately reached for his phone.

"Where is she?"

Amelia showed him the photograph.

Adrian's face hardened.

"Clara, stay here."

He turned toward the door.

Amelia followed.

"Where are you going?"

"To find your daughter."

"You don't even know her."

Adrian looked at her.

"I know what it's like to lose someone."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Adrian said quietly:

"And I'm not going to let them take her."

Amelia stared at him.

She didn't know whether she could trust him.

But she had no choice.

Because somewhere in the city, someone had just made Nadia part of the game.

And Amelia knew one thing for certain.

Whoever was behind Daniel's death had finally found her weakness.