THE BRIDES DIARY

The First Betrayal

Adrian stared at Elena as though he had never seen her before.

The words she had spoken refused to make sense.

His mother had betrayed his father.

She had betrayed Black Circle.

And somehow, that betrayal was connected to everything that had happened to him.

The envelope remained in his hand.

The message written across it seemed to burn into his mind.

THE FIRST LIE WAS YOUR MOTHER'S.

Adrian slowly turned toward Claire.

She was still lying on the medical bed, pale from blood loss, but her eyes were fixed on him.

Nobody spoke.

Finally, Adrian broke the silence.

"Tell me everything."

Elena looked at him.

"I can't."

His expression hardened.

"You keep saying that."

"Because some truths are dangerous."

"I don't care."

"You should."

"I spent a year mourning a woman who was alive."

"I was lied to about my childhood."

"I just discovered that my father may have been involved with an organization I knew nothing about."

"And now you're telling me my mother betrayed everyone."

His voice cracked.

"So don't tell me you're protecting me anymore."

Elena lowered her eyes.

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

"Then tell me the truth."

She remained silent.

Adrian stepped closer.

"Who was my mother?"

Elena looked at him.

"Her name was Evelyn Wolfe."

"I know her name."

"No."

"You know the woman who raised you."

"I knew her too."

"But there was another side of her."

Adrian waited.

Elena took a slow breath.

"Your mother was one of the first people recruited into Black Circle."

Adrian's eyes widened.

"My mother?"

"Yes."

"She wasn't a criminal."

"No."

"Then why would they recruit her?"

"Because she was brilliant."

"She understood numbers."

"She understood people."

"She could look at a financial record and see what others missed."

"Arthur once said she could uncover a hidden transaction faster than an entire team of investigators."

Adrian looked toward the floor.

"So she helped them."

"At first."

"What changed?"

Elena walked toward the table and picked up a glass of water.

"Your mother discovered what Black Circle was becoming."

"She found accounts that were being used to finance illegal operations."

"She found names of people who had disappeared."

"She found evidence that members of the organization were killing innocent people."

Adrian swallowed.

"And she tried to stop them."

"Yes."

"That's the betrayal?"

Elena shook her head.

"That was the beginning."

She placed the glass down.

"Your mother secretly copied everything."

"Names."

"Bank accounts."

"Property records."

"Political connections."

"Evidence of murders."

"She created an archive."

Adrian immediately thought of the old wooden door in the Wolfe mansion.

"The archive."

Elena nodded.

"Your father knew about it."

"So did Arthur."

"Victor discovered it."

Adrian's face tightened.

"And that's why Victor disappeared."

"Exactly."

Daniel, who had been standing near the doorway, finally spoke.

"Then why would Evelyn betray Black Circle if she knew what they were capable of?"

Elena looked at him.

"Because she wanted to destroy them from the inside."

Daniel shook his head.

"That sounds like something Elena would do."

Adrian glanced at him.

Daniel shrugged.

"I'm just saying."

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Elena's face.

Then it disappeared.

"The problem was that Evelyn didn't know who she could trust."

Adrian looked at her.

"Not even my father?"

"Especially not your father."

"Why?"

"Because your father had already made a deal."

Adrian's stomach tightened.

"What deal?"

Elena hesitated.

"He agreed to protect Black Circle's secrets in exchange for keeping your family alive."

Adrian stared at her.

"My father worked for them."

"Yes."

"But he wasn't one of them."

"No."

"He was trapped."

"Exactly."

Adrian looked down at the photograph from his childhood.

His father had always seemed distant.

Now Adrian wondered if that distance had been fear.

"Then what did my mother do?"

Elena's eyes filled with sadness.

"She betrayed him."

"How?"

"She gave the archive to someone outside the organization."

"Who?"

Elena didn't answer.

Adrian's voice became sharper.

"Who did she give it to?"

"Arthur."

Adrian froze.

"Arthur?"

"Yes."

"Then why did he say my father betrayed everyone?"

"Because your father believed Arthur was going to protect the archive."

"He didn't."

"What happened?"

Elena's eyes moved toward Arthur's body lying in the distant chamber.

"Arthur was compromised."

"By Victor?"

"No."

"By someone even more powerful."

Adrian felt a chill.

"Who?"

Before Elena could answer, Claire suddenly spoke.

"The woman."

Everyone looked at her.

"What woman?" Daniel asked.

Claire struggled to sit upright.

"The woman who visited my father."

Elena immediately moved toward her.

"Claire, you need to rest."

"No."

"I remember now."

"What do you remember?"

"She came to our house before the fire."

Claire closed her eyes.

"She was wearing a white dress."

"She spoke to my father."

"What did she say?"

Claire swallowed.

"She said..."

Her voice trembled.

"Your wife has betrayed us."

Adrian stared at her.

"Who was she?"

"I don't know."

"You must remember her face."

Claire shook her head.

"She kept her veil over her face."

"Then how do you know it was a woman?"

"I heard her voice."

Elena looked troubled.

"Did she say anything else?"

Claire nodded.

"She said something about Adrian."

Adrian stepped closer.

"What?"

Claire opened her eyes.

"She said you were the key."

"The key to what?"

"I don't know."

"What happened after that?"

"My father told her he wouldn't do it."

"What wouldn't he do?"

Claire's breathing became faster.

"Give her the boy."

The room went silent.

Adrian stared at her.

"The boy?"

Claire nodded.

"She wanted you."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"Who was supposed to give me to her?"

"Your father."

Adrian shook his head.

"My father would never."

"He almost did."

Elena's voice was quiet.

Adrian turned toward her.

"You knew?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Your mother told me."

"When?"

"Before she died."

Adrian's eyes filled with anger.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she made me promise."

"Another promise."

Elena nodded.

"She said if you ever remembered what happened that night, you would go looking for the woman."

"And that woman would kill you."

Adrian looked at the envelope.

"Who is she?"

Elena stared at him.

"I don't know her real name."

"But everyone in Black Circle called her one thing."

Adrian waited.

Elena whispered,

"The White Queen."

Daniel frowned.

"The same White Queen people used to talk about in the reports?"

Elena nodded.

"She was never officially identified."

"Some people believed she didn't exist."

"Others believed she controlled Black Circle from behind the scenes."

Adrian looked toward the destroyed doorway.

"Vivian."

Elena shook her head.

"Vivian works for her."

Adrian's blood ran cold.

"Then who is the White Queen?"

Elena opened her mouth.

Before she could answer, Claire suddenly screamed.

Everyone turned.

She was staring at the wall.

At first, Adrian saw nothing.

Then he noticed it.

A small red light.

Blinking.

Elena's face changed instantly.

"Everyone down!"

She grabbed Adrian and pulled him to the floor.

Daniel pushed Claire beneath the bed.

A sharp crack sounded.

The medical room window shattered.

A bullet struck the wall exactly where Adrian's head had been.

Another shot followed.

Then another.

Elena crawled toward the broken window.

"Sniper."

Daniel looked at her.

"Where?"

"Across the courtyard."

Adrian looked toward the window.

A distant figure stood on the roof of an abandoned building.

He was holding a rifle.

Elena raised her weapon.

The sniper suddenly turned and ran.

Daniel moved toward the door.

"I'll get him."

"No."

Elena grabbed his arm.

"He's bait."

"What?"

"He's trying to pull us outside."

Adrian looked at her.

"Why?"

Elena slowly turned toward the corridor.

Her face became pale.

"Because someone else is already inside."

The lights went out again.

A man's voice whispered from the darkness.

"Good evening, Adrian."

Adrian froze.

He knew that voice.

It was the same voice from his childhood memories.

The voice that had spoken to his mother on the night of the fire.

Then the man whispered four words that made Adrian's blood run cold.

"Your father lied about everything."