Episode 3
1570 Words
Chapter 3
The Secret He Was Never Meant to See
“I didn’t lie to survive that night,” I said quietly. “I lied so I could forget it.”
But the way Damien looked at me made one thing clear.
He had never forgotten.
Silence stretched between us after his last words.
I always finish unfinished business.
The sentence sat in the air like a threat.
My heart beat harder than I wanted to admit. I kept my face calm. Calm was safe. Calm was controlled.
But Damien Kade was still standing too close.
Too observant.
Too dangerous.
He studied my face with a patience that made my skin tighten.
“You’re quiet,” he said at last.
His voice was calm. Almost casual.
I forced a small smile.
“I’m trying to understand what you want from me.”
His eyes darkened.
“That’s simple,” he replied. “The truth.”
My fingers curled slightly against my side.
“You’re wasting your time.”
He tilted his head.
“Am I?”
His voice lowered.
“You walked into my company pretending we’ve never met. Pretending that night didn’t exist.”
His gaze sharpened.
“But I remember everything.”
My pulse stumbled.
Stay calm.
I folded my arms.
“Then you remember wrong.”
He laughed softly.
The sound wasn’t amused. It was dangerous.
“No,” he said slowly. “I remember very clearly.”
He stepped closer again.
I refused to move back.
“If you’re trying to intimidate me,” I said evenly, “it won’t work.”
“Intimidate you?”
His brow lifted.
“I’m curious about you.”
His voice softened.
“And curiosity is worse.”
I swallowed.
His eyes moved slowly across my face as if searching for cracks.
“You changed your hair,” he said.
I didn’t react.
“You changed your name.”
Still nothing.
“But you didn’t change your eyes.”
My breath caught for a second.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
His mouth curved slightly.
“There you are.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” I replied coldly.
“Neither do I,” he said quietly. “Yet.”
His gaze turned sharp again.
“Why come here?”
“For a job.”
“You could have applied anywhere.”
“Yes.”
“But you chose my company.”
“Yes.”
He watched me for a long moment.
Then he asked softly,
“Why?”
My mind raced.
I couldn’t give the real answer.
Justice.
Truth.
Revenge.
I shrugged lightly.
“Kade Corporation is successful. I like successful places.”
He didn’t blink.
“You’re lying again.”
I sighed slowly.
“This conversation is pointless.”
“Not to me.”
His voice was steady.
“You walked into my life once and disappeared before morning.”
His gaze held mine.
“That makes you unfinished business.”
Something inside me tightened.
“Maybe I simply regretted my decision.”
His eyes flickered.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
The word came out sharp.
He leaned slightly closer.
“You didn’t look regretful that night.”
My chest rose slowly.
“That was five years ago.”
“And?”
“And people change.”
“Some things don’t.”
Our eyes locked.
Heat passed between us.
Old memories. Dangerous memories.
I broke the stare first.
“Are you going to keep me here all afternoon?”
His lips curved.
“Only until you stop lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
He studied me again.
Then his voice softened.
“You said something that night.”
My stomach tightened.
“Everyone says things when they drink.”
“But you meant it.”
“I doubt that.”
“You whispered it.”
My pulse jumped.
I kept my face blank.
“Your memory seems very selective.”
He leaned closer.
“So is yours.”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“You said… ‘Just for tonight. Tomorrow I will disappear.’ ”
The air left my lungs.
I felt it.
That moment of weakness.
The memory hit me like a wave.
The bar.
The pain.
The desperate need to forget everything.
And him.
Watching me like he understood.
I forced myself to laugh lightly.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“But it's true.”
I stepped away from him.
“I think we’re done here.”
I reached for the door handle.
It didn’t move.
Locked.
Of course.
I turned slowly.
“You enjoy control, don’t you?”
His voice was calm.
“I enjoy answers.”
“You won’t get them from me.”
His eyes softened slightly.
“You’re stubborn.”
“I’m practical.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You’re hiding.”
My jaw tightened.
“And you’re imagining things.”
He studied me again.
Then he said quietly,
“You cried that night.”
The words struck like a slap.
My throat tightened.
“You told me your whole world had collapsed.”
My heart pounded.
“You said you had nothing left.”
My voice came out colder than I felt.
“People exaggerate when they drink.”
“You weren’t exaggerating.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You were broken.”
I looked away.
I hated how clearly he remembered.
“I think you should let me leave now.”
Instead of answering, he walked toward the table.
He picked up a thin folder.
My stomach dropped.
He opened it slowly.
“Interesting thing about job applications,” he said calmly.
“They contain information.”
My pulse spiked.
He slid a paper across the table.
“Your résumé says you worked in Paris five years ago.”
“Yes.”
“But something strange happened that year.”
My fingers felt cold.
“A famous company collapsed.”
My breathing slowed.
He watched me carefully.
“Blackwell Industries.”
The name felt like a knife.
He continued.
“The entire family supposedly died in a private plane crash.”
I forced a calm tone.
“That sounds tragic.”
He leaned forward slightly.
“Very tragic.”
His eyes locked with mine.
“But do you know what interests me most?”
I didn’t answer.
He tapped the paper lightly.
“One of the family members had the same eyes as you.”
My heart slammed once.
Hard.
“You should be careful with accusations,” I said quietly.
“I’m not accusing.”
He paused.
“I’m wondering.”
I took a slow breath.
“This interview is clearly over.”
“Yes.”
“But the questions are not.”
He stepped closer again.
“Tell me something, Siena.”
His voice dropped.
“Why does the name Blackwell make your hands shake?”
My hands stilled instantly.
Too late.
He saw.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“There it is again.”
I forced my voice steady.
“You’re reading too much into nothing.”
“Am I?”
His eyes held mine.
“Yes.”
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“Tell me who you really are.”
The room felt smaller.
My mind raced.
I couldn’t reveal the truth.
Not yet.
Not until I found the proof.
Not until I knew who destroyed my family.
I straightened my shoulders.
“I already did.”
He watched me for a long moment.
Then something strange happened.
He unlocked the door.
The click sounded loud.
“You can go,” he said quietly.
I blinked.
“That’s it?”
“For now.”
“For now?”
His smile returned.
“You’re an interesting mystery.”
I moved toward the door.
My hand rested on the handle.
But his voice stopped me again.
“You should know something.”
I looked back.
“What?”
His expression turned serious.
“People who lie to me usually regret it.”
My chest tightened.
“I’ll take that risk.”
I opened the door.
But just before I stepped out, he said one last thing.
His voice was soft.
Almost thoughtful.
“You’re hiding something bigger than a one-night mistake.”
I froze.
His gaze burned into me.
“And when I find out what it is…”
He paused.
His lips curved slowly.
“I wonder if you’ll still want to run away.”
My fingers tightened on the door.
I forced myself to walk out.
Step by step.
Don’t rush.
Don’t panic.
Don’t look back.
But inside my head, fear whispered something I didn’t want to admit.
Damien Kade was already too close to the truth.
And if he kept digging…
He might discover the one secret I could never let him know.
My chil
d.
His child.
And just as I reached the elevator, my phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
Three short words.
“Welcome back, Paris.”
My blood turned cold.
Because only one person in the world would call me that.
Julian Blackwell.
My cousin.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
And the message continued.
“We need to talk.”
The elevator doors opened slowly.
But I could only stare at the screen.
Because one terrifying question filled my mind.
If Julian is alive…
Then who really destroyed my family?
- Writer
