Chapter 2 — The Secret He Knew
1268 Words
Chapter 2 — The Secret He Knew
“Whatever happens next, don't let them see your face.”
Amelia stared at Alexander.
A gunshot had just shattered the night, yet the billionaire looked strangely calm.
“What do you mean?” she whispered.
“Run.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the building.
Another gunshot echoed.
Amelia screamed.
“Are you trying to get me killed?”
“No.”
“Because you're doing a terrible job of keeping me alive!”
Despite the danger, Alexander almost smiled.
“Keep moving.”
They ran through a narrow passage. Amelia struggled in her heels.
“Wait!”
Alexander stopped.
She nearly crashed into him.
“I can't run in these shoes!”
He looked down at her heels.
“Take them off.”
“You're a genius.”
She removed them and continued running barefoot.
They reached a black SUV waiting behind the building.
Alexander opened the door.
“Get in.”
Amelia climbed inside.
He followed and slammed the door.
“Drive.”
The SUV immediately sped away.
Amelia leaned against the seat, breathing heavily.
She turned toward Alexander.
“Now you're going to explain everything.”
Alexander looked at her.
“About what?”
“My father.”
His expression changed.
“You said he stole something from your family.”
“He did.”
“My father wasn't a thief.”
“I didn't say he was.”
“You practically did.”
Alexander sighed.
“Your father worked with mine many years ago.”
Amelia stared at him.
“I never knew that.”
“Most people didn't.”
“What happened between them?”
“My father believed yours betrayed him.”
“Why?”
“That is what I'm trying to find out.”
Amelia frowned.
“You're telling me you don't know?”
“I know pieces of the story.”
“And the rest?”
“My father died before he could tell me everything.”
Silence filled the car.
Amelia looked out the window.
“My father died eight years ago.”
Alexander nodded.
“I know.”
“Everyone said it was an accident.”
Alexander's eyes darkened.
“It wasn't.”
Amelia turned toward him.
“What did you say?”
“Your father's death wasn't an accident.”
Her heart began pounding.
“How do you know?”
“My father left evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Documents. Names. A recording.”
“Where are they?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Then why haven't you shown me?”
“Because whoever killed your father may still be looking for what he left behind.”
Amelia shook her head.
“This is impossible.”
Alexander reached into his jacket and pulled out a photograph.
He handed it to her.
Amelia stared.
It showed her father standing beside Alexander's father.
But there was someone else in the picture.
A little girl.
Amelia's fingers trembled.
“Who is she?”
Alexander didn't answer.
“Alexander?”
He took the photograph back.
“You're asking questions that could put you in danger.”
“My father is dead. My mother is dead. What else can happen to me?”
Alexander looked at her.
“Don't say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't intend to let anything happen to you.”
Their eyes met.
For a moment, Amelia forgot about everything else.
Then she quickly looked away.
“Don't say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I might start believing you.”
Alexander's expression softened.
“Maybe you should.”
Amelia's heart skipped.
She immediately changed the subject.
“I have something from my father.”
Alexander became serious.
“What?”
“A small wooden box.”
“Where is it?”
“At my apartment.”
“We can't go back there tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because someone already searched it.”
Amelia froze.
“They searched my apartment?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
“How do you know?”
“I had someone watching the building.”
“Why were you watching me?”
Alexander was silent.
“Answer me.”
“Because I was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Because your father left something connected to my family.”
Amelia stared at him.
“What?”
“I don't know yet.”
The SUV stopped.
Amelia looked outside.
They were in front of a huge mansion.
She turned toward Alexander.
“This is your house?”
“Yes.”
“It's bigger than my entire street.”
Alexander smiled.
“Then I suppose you won't complain about the guest room.”
“I might.”
“You probably will.”
---
An hour later, Amelia sat alone in the guest bedroom.
She couldn't sleep.
Too many questions were racing through her mind.
Her father had been hiding something.
Alexander knew more than he was telling her.
And someone had just tried to kill them.
She stood and opened the bedroom door.
The hallway was dark.
She heard a faint sound.
A door closing.
Amelia stepped outside.
“Alexander?”
No answer.
She followed the sound and found a door slightly open.
Light spilled through the gap.
She pushed it open.
Alexander was inside.
He was holding an old photograph.
He immediately turned it over.
“What are you doing?” Amelia asked.
“Nothing.”
“You're a terrible liar.”
Alexander sighed.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Show me the photograph.”
“No.”
“Alexander.”
She stepped forward and took it from his hand.
Her eyes widened.
It was the same photograph she had seen earlier.
Her father.
Alexander's father.
And the little girl.
But this time, Amelia noticed something she hadn't seen before.
The girl was wearing a small necklace.
A necklace identical to the one Amelia had worn since childhood.
Her breathing stopped.
“That girl…”
Alexander said nothing.
“Who is she?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“You.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I would remember.”
“You were very young.”
“Why do I have this necklace?”
“Because your father gave it to you.”
Amelia touched the necklace around her neck.
“Why?”
Alexander stepped closer.
“That is the question I'm trying to answer.”
Suddenly, the mansion alarm began screaming.
Red lights flashed.
Alexander immediately grabbed Amelia's hand.
“What happened?”
He looked at the security monitor.
His face went pale.
Someone was standing outside the gates.
A woman.
Amelia looked at the screen.
She couldn't breathe.
The woman looked exactly like the face in an old photograph her father had kept hidden.
“No…”
Alexander looked at her.
“Do you know her?”
Amelia's voice trembled.
“That woman…”
The mansion doors suddenly opened.
The woman walked inside.
She looked directly at Amelia.
Then she whispered:
“My daughter.”
Amelia froze.
Alexander stepped in front of her.
“That can't be possible.”
The woman smiled sadly.
“They told you I was dead, didn't they?”
Amelia's entire world seemed to stop.
Her mother had supposedly died when she was a baby.
Yet the woman standing before her was looking at her like she had never stopped searching.
Then the woman said six words that changed everything.
“Your father didn't die by accident.”
To be continued…
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