The Woman Who Should be Dead
1677 Words
Chapter 6:
I couldn't take my eyes off the photograph.
Lucien's brother stood on the left.
My father stood beside him.
And between them was the Nocturne Heart.
But it was the message written on the back that made my stomach twist.
ASK YOUR MOTHER.
My mother had been dead for fourteen years.
There was nothing to ask her.
Unless—
I looked at Lucien.
“There's something you're not telling me.”
His eyes remained on the photograph.
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
He picked it up.
“Not here.”
I followed him out of the archive room.
“Why not?”
“Because this building isn't secure.”
I stopped walking.
“You just told me someone inside your company is leaking information.”
“Yes.”
“And now you're taking me somewhere else?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“My private office.”
I stared at him.
“You have another office?”
“My father never knew about it.”
That sentence alone told me it wasn't an ordinary office.
We entered a private elevator.
The doors closed.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I broke the silence.
“Was your brother in love with my mother?”
Lucien's head turned sharply.
“What?”
“They were standing together in the photograph.”
“That doesn't mean—”
“I saw the way he looked at her.”
Lucien stared at the photograph.
“My brother respected your mother.”
“That's not what I asked.”
His jaw tightened.
“No.”
I studied him.
“You're lying.”
The elevator stopped.
He stepped out.
“So are you.”
I followed him.
“About what?”
“About being afraid of me.”
I froze.
He looked back.
“You're not afraid of me, Elara.”
“I should be.”
“Yes.”
“But I'm not.”
His gaze lingered on mine.
For a second, something changed between us.
The tension was almost unbearable.
Then he turned away.
“Come.”
His private office was hidden beneath the company's underground parking level.
It was smaller than his executive office but somehow felt more personal.
There were bookshelves.
A desk.
Several old photographs.
And one locked cabinet.
My eyes immediately went to it.
Lucien noticed.
“Don't.”
“I wasn't going to touch it.”
“You were thinking about it.”
“Maybe.”
He almost smiled.
Then he walked to the cabinet.
He entered a code.
The lock opened.
Inside were dozens of files.
I stared.
“How long have you been investigating this?”
“Seven years.”
“Since your brother died?”
“Yes.”
He removed a folder.
“Your father disappeared three days after my brother's death.”
I frowned.
“You said my father was the last person your brother spoke to.”
“He was.”
“Then why did my father disappear?”
Lucien placed another photograph on the desk.
It showed my father standing outside a hotel.
“Because someone saw him leaving with this.”
I leaned closer.
A small black case was in his hand.
“The Nocturne Heart?”
“Possibly.”
“What happened to it?”
“We don't know.”
I stared at the photograph.
“Then why does everyone keep looking for me?”
Lucien's eyes met mine.
“Because your father left something behind.”
“The necklace?”
“No.”
“The box?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He hesitated.
“You.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
I stepped closer.
“You keep saying you don't know.”
“Because I don't.”
“Then why have you been watching me for seven years?”
His expression changed.
“Because I was afraid someone else would find you first.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
I laughed bitterly.
“This is ridiculous.”
I turned away.
Lucien caught my wrist.
“Wait.”
I looked down at his hand.
He immediately released me.
“I'm sorry.”
I looked at him.
“Why do you keep apologizing to me?”
“Because you're right.”
“About what?”
“I've spent years deciding what you should know.”
He took a breath.
“And I don't have the right to do that anymore.”
For the first time, I saw something vulnerable in his eyes.
Not the billionaire.
Not the CEO.
Just Lucien.
A man who had been carrying something alone for too long.
I softened.
“Then tell me the truth.”
He nodded.
“I will.”
He opened another file.
Inside was a medical report.
My mother's name was at the top.
ISABELLA SERAPHINE.
I picked it up.
“What's this?”
“Her death certificate.”
I looked at the date.
Fourteen years ago.
Then I saw the cause of death.
My eyes narrowed.
“This isn't what I was told.”
Lucien said nothing.
“My family told me she died from heart failure.”
“She didn't.”
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
He pointed to the report.
“Poisoning.”
The room seemed to spin.
“My mother was poisoned?”
“Yes.”
“Who did it?”
“We don't know.”
I stared at the report.
All those years.
I'd believed my mother had died peacefully.
I'd cried over an illness that never existed.
Someone had murdered her.
And Lucien had known.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“You knew!”
My voice cracked.
“You knew my mother was murdered and you never told me?”
“I didn't have proof.”
“You could have told me!”
“I was trying to find the person responsible before I put you in danger.”
I shook my head.
“You don't get to decide that for me.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
His silence answered.
I dropped the report onto the desk.
“I'm done.”
He frowned.
“With what?”
“With being protected.”
I walked toward the door.
“Elara.”
I stopped.
“You can't walk away from this.”
I turned.
“Watch me.”
I left.
I didn't return to the executive floor.
Instead, I went downstairs to the employee cafeteria.
I needed space.
I needed to think.
And I needed someone who wasn't Lucien.
I was standing in line for coffee when a man approached me.
“First day?”
I turned.
He was around my age, dressed casually compared to the executives upstairs.
He smiled.
“I'm Theo.”
“Elara.”
“I know.”
I frowned.
“How?”
He laughed.
“Everyone knows the new secretary who made it onto the executive floor without an interview.”
I smiled despite myself.
“That sounds embarrassing.”
“Not embarrassing.”
He lowered his voice.
“Interesting.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because Lucien Evander doesn't hire people personally.”
“Apparently, I'm special.”
Theo smiled.
“Very.”
Something about him felt easy.
Normal.
For the first time all day, I relaxed.
We sat together.
He asked about my first day.
I told him very little.
Then he asked something unexpected.
“Do you know about the old scandal?”
“What scandal?”
“The Seraphine scandal.”
My heart stopped.
I placed my cup down.
“What do you know?”
Theo glanced around.
“Not much.”
“Tell me.”
“My father worked here before I did.”
He lowered his voice.
“He said your father didn't disappear.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“He said Adrian Seraphine was fired.”
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because my father owned his company.”
Theo shook his head.
“Not according to the records.”
“What records?”
He looked nervous.
“Forget it.”
I grabbed his arm.
“Please.”
He hesitated.
Then whispered,
“Your father was accused of stealing from Evander Holdings.”
My heart pounded.
“That's a lie.”
“Maybe.”
“Who accused him?”
Theo looked over my shoulder.
His face suddenly changed.
“What?”
He stood.
“I have to go.”
“Theo—”
He walked away.
I turned around.
Lucien was standing across the cafeteria.
His expression was unreadable.
He walked toward me.
“What did Theo tell you?”
I stared at him.
“How do you know what he told me?”
“Because I know him.”
“Who is he?”
Lucien didn't answer.
“Who is Theo?”
His jaw tightened.
“He's Serena's brother.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“He doesn't work in this company.”
“Then why is he here?”
Lucien looked toward the cafeteria entrance.
Theo was gone.
“He shouldn't be.”
A chill ran through me.
“Lucien…”
He looked at me.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
His expression was grim.
“Serena Vale's brother has been missing for three years.”
My blood ran cold.
“But I just spoke to him.”
Lucien stared at the empty doorway.
“Exactly.”
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
I opened it.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a woman standing outside a hospital.
I recognized her immediately.
My heart stopped.
My mother.
Alive.
The date beneath the photograph was impossible.
Two years after her supposed death.
A second message appeared.
Now ask Lucien why he lied about the woman who raised you.
I looked up at Lucien.
He was already staring at my phone.
And for the first time since I'd met him, the color completely disappeared from his face.
End of Chapter 6.
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