CHAPTER SEVEN
1737 Words
THE SECRET OWNER
The elevator remained completely still.
Amelia stared at Adrian.
“Who really owns Vale Arts Group?”
For several seconds, he said nothing.
The question seemed to have caught him off guard.
Then he looked at the emergency panel and pressed the button again.
Nothing happened.
“Adrian?”
He finally turned toward her.
“I own the company.”
“That isn't what the message said.”
“You shouldn't believe everything strangers send you.”
Amelia held up her phone.
“Then tell me why someone would say this.”
Adrian's expression tightened.
“Because they want you to doubt me.”
“Shouldn't I?”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised her.
Adrian leaned against the elevator wall.
“You should doubt everyone right now.”
“Including you?”
“Especially me.”
Amelia studied his face.
There was something different about him.
The confident CEO she had seen in the lobby was gone.
For the first time, he looked like a man carrying a burden he couldn't share.
“Are you afraid?” she asked.
Adrian looked away.
“I've been afraid for a long time.”
The elevator suddenly moved.
Amelia grabbed the handrail.
Adrian steadied himself.
A few seconds later, the doors opened.
Neither of them stepped out immediately.
Then Adrian said quietly:
“Whatever happens, stay close to me.”
Amelia frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I don't think the person behind this wants answers.”
“What do they want?”
Adrian looked at her.
“You.”
---
His office was on the top floor.
Amelia followed him inside.
The view of the city was breathtaking.
Glass walls surrounded the office, allowing sunlight to fill the room.
For a moment, Amelia forgot everything.
She looked at the paintings hanging around the room.
They were beautiful.
“You really love art,” she said.
Adrian glanced at her.
“I do.”
“So why did you build a company around it?”
He smiled faintly.
“My mother was an artist.”
Amelia turned.
“I didn't know.”
“Most people don't.”
“What happened to her?”
“She gave up her career when I was young.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at one of the paintings.
“Money. Family responsibilities. Life.”
Amelia became quiet.
His answer felt strangely familiar.
“I understand.”
He looked at her.
“You do.”
She smiled sadly.
“I was an artist once.”
“I know.”
Amelia frowned.
“How much do you know about me?”
“More than you think.”
“That isn't comforting.”
“I wasn't trying to comfort you.”
She almost smiled.
For the first time, the tension between them softened.
Then Adrian's assistant entered.
“Sir, the security team has checked the elevator.”
“And?”
“They found nothing.”
Adrian nodded.
“Thank you.”
The assistant left.
Amelia looked at Adrian.
“You knew my husband.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about him.”
Adrian's expression became serious.
“Daniel came to me two years ago.”
“Why?”
“He believed someone was using my company for something illegal.”
“Were they?”
“I don't know.”
“But you suspected it.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you investigate?”
“I did.”
“And?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I found people who didn't want me asking questions.”
Amelia's heart tightened.
“Did Daniel find them too?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Adrian paused.
“After Daniel left my office, he called me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he had found something important.”
“What?”
“He wouldn't tell me over the phone.”
Amelia moved closer.
“Then what happened?”
“He never came back.”
Silence filled the room.
“You mean the day he died?”
Adrian nodded.
“I was supposed to meet him that evening.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I was delayed.”
Amelia looked at him.
“By what?”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“A business meeting.”
She studied him.
“Could that meeting have saved him?”
Adrian looked away.
“I don't know.”
---
Amelia's phone vibrated.
She looked down.
A message from Nadia.
Mummy, can I show you something when you come home?
Amelia smiled.
She typed:
Of course. I'll be home soon.
Another message arrived.
It's a surprise.
Amelia's smile grew.
Adrian noticed.
“Your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She has a surprise for me.”
Adrian smiled.
“You seem happier when you talk about her.”
“She is my happiness.”
“I can see that.”
Amelia looked at him.
“You don't have children?”
“No.”
“Do you want them?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“I've never had time for a family.”
Amelia looked at him thoughtfully.
“That's a lonely way to live.”
Adrian smiled.
“Perhaps.”
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Amelia was the first to look away.
---
When Amelia arrived home, Nadia was waiting.
“Mummy!”
She held up a painting.
Amelia stopped.
It was beautiful.
Two women stood beneath a bright sky.
One was older.
One was younger.
Between them was a large tree filled with colorful flowers.
“What do you think?”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“It's beautiful.”
“I want to enter the art competition.”
“You should.”
Nadia smiled.
“And Maggie is entering too.”
“That's wonderful.”
Nadia hesitated.
“Mummy?”
“Yes?”
“Are we going to stay here?”
Amelia looked around the small room.
“Yes.”
“Even if things become difficult?”
Amelia knelt beside her.
“We'll face everything together.”
Nadia hugged her.
---
That night, Amelia sat at the table looking through Daniel's old belongings.
She hadn't opened the box in months.
Inside were documents, photographs, an old watch, and several letters.
Then she found the painting.
The one Daniel had left behind.
Amelia carefully removed it from its wrapping.
She remembered the day she had found it.
Daniel had told her it was nothing important.
Now she wondered if he had been lying.
She turned it over.
The date was still written on the back.
But there was something else.
A small symbol.
A silver circle with a line through the middle.
Amelia stared.
She had seen it before.
On the bracelet belonging to Clara.
Her heart began pounding.
She immediately photographed it.
Then she heard a noise outside.
Amelia froze.
Someone was walking past the house.
She moved toward the curtain.
A shadow stopped outside.
She held her breath.
The shadow remained there for several seconds.
Then it moved away.
Amelia waited.
Her phone rang.
She nearly dropped it.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered:
“Do you still have Daniel's painting?”
Amelia froze.
“Who is this?”
“Don't take it to Adrian.”
“Why?”
“Because the painting isn't what you think.”
“What does that mean?”
The woman paused.
“Look behind the frame.”
The call ended.
Amelia stared at the painting.
Her hands trembled.
She carefully examined the frame.
Then she noticed a tiny gap.
She pulled at it.
Something slipped out.
A small envelope.
Amelia opened it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Only one sentence.
If you're reading this, Daniel is already dead.
Amelia's heart pounded.
Below the sentence was another line.
Trust no one at Vale Arts Group.
She read it again.
Then a final line caught her attention.
Especially Adrian Vale.
Amelia slowly lowered the paper.
She didn't know what frightened her more.
The warning...
Or the fact that she no longer knew whether she wanted it to be true.
Because despite everything she had learned about Adrian, there was something about him she couldn't explain.
She felt safer when he was near.
And that frightened her.
---
The following morning, Adrian stood in his office staring at an old photograph.
It showed him as a young man beside his mother.
His assistant entered.
“Sir.”
Adrian quickly put the photograph away.
“What is it?”
“We found something.”
Adrian waited.
“Someone accessed Daniel Carter's old company records last night.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Find out.”
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The person accessed the records using your private authorization.”
Adrian went completely still.
“That is impossible.”
“We checked twice.”
“Who has access to my authorization?”
The assistant hesitated.
“Only three people.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
The assistant handed him a list.
Adrian looked at the names.
His face changed.
One of the names belonged to someone he trusted.
Someone who had worked beside him for years.
Someone who had been in his company long before Amelia arrived.
Adrian slowly folded the paper.
“Don't tell anyone.”
“Not even Amelia?”
“Especially not Amelia.”
---
Across the city, Amelia stood before her mirror.
The warning was still in her hand.
Trust no one at Vale Arts Group.
She thought about Adrian.
His honesty.
His loneliness.
The way he had looked when he spoke about his mother.
The way he had protected her without asking for anything.
Could someone like that really be dangerous?
Then she remembered Daniel's photograph.
She remembered Clara.
She remembered the mysterious messages.
And she remembered the warning.
Amelia placed the note inside her handbag.
She would investigate.
But she would do it carefully.
Because there was one thing she knew now.
The truth about Daniel's death was hidden inside Vale Arts Group.
And if she wanted to uncover it, she would have to walk deeper into the world of the man she was beginning to trust.
A man who might be hiding the biggest secret of all.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD