CHAPTER 12
1237 Words
I read the message again.
SHE'S COMING FOR YOU.
My fingers went cold.
I looked at Roman.
“Who is my sister?”
Nobody answered.
That silence was becoming unbearable.
“I'm asking you a question.”
Roman looked away.
Adrian rubbed the back of his neck.
Nikolai simply stared at the photograph.
I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it.
“Unbelievable.”
“Elena,” Roman said carefully.
“No. Don't say my name like that.”
I pointed at the picture.
“You all knew.”
Roman stepped closer.
“We suspected.”
“Suspected?”
“Yes.”
“That’s your excuse?”
His jaw tightened.
“We didn't know where she was.”
“But you knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“How long?”
Roman hesitated.
“Years.”
I felt something inside me crack.
Years.
They had known for years.
While I had spent seven years believing my family was dead.
While I had mourned my father.
While I had believed my mother died in that stupid accident.
And now I was finding out that somewhere in the world, I had a sister.
A sister who apparently knew who killed my father.
“Tell me everything.”
Roman shook his head.
“Not here.”
I almost screamed.
“Why is it never here?”
“Because this house isn't safe anymore.”
Adrian glanced toward the hallway.
“He's right.”
I looked at him.
“You're actually agreeing with him?”
“Unfortunately.”
“That must hurt.”
“A little.”
For the first time that night, Adrian smiled.
It disappeared almost immediately.
Roman picked up the photograph again.
“This picture wasn't taken seven years ago.”
I frowned.
“The date says—”
“The date is fake.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I recognize the location.”
“Where?”
Roman looked at Nikolai.
Nikolai answered.
“Blackwood Estate.”
I turned toward Adrian.
“Your family?”
He nodded.
“My father owned it.”
“Owned?”
“He's dead.”
Of course.
Another dead parent.
Apparently, death meant absolutely nothing in my life anymore.
“Who took the photograph?”
Nikolai examined it carefully.
“The woman behind them.”
I looked closer.
There was someone standing in the background.
A woman wearing a dark coat.
Her face was partly hidden.
“Who is she?”
Roman's expression changed.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I don't know who she is.”
I stared at him.
He wasn't looking at me anymore.
That bothered me.
“You do know something.”
Roman finally met my eyes.
“I know your sister was moved from place to place after the attack.”
“By who?”
“Victor.”
My heart sank.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he hide his own daughter?”
Roman's voice dropped.
“Because someone was hunting her.”
“Who?”
“That is what we're trying to find out.”
I shook my head.
“No. You're trying to find out. I'm done being kept in the dark.”
I grabbed my coat.
Adrian blinked.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my sister.”
“Excellent plan,” he said. “Very brave. Very reckless.”
“Thank you.”
“I wasn't complimenting you.”
“I know.”
I walked toward the door.
Roman blocked my path.
“You're not leaving.”
I glared at him.
“Move.”
“No.”
“Roman.”
“No.”
My anger exploded.
“You don't control me!”
His expression softened slightly.
“I know.”
“Then move.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if that message is real, someone knows where your sister is.”
“And?”
“And they're using her to lure you out.”
I froze.
That possibility hadn't crossed my mind.
“What if she's really coming for me?”
“Then we need to know why.”
A loud knock came from downstairs.
Everyone went silent.
Three knocks.
Exactly like before.
My heart started pounding.
Adrian looked at Roman.
“Please tell me you invited someone.”
“I didn't.”
Nikolai drew his weapon.
Roman looked at me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“I said no.”
Another three knocks.
Then a woman's voice floated through the house.
“Elena?”
My entire body froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
Through the darkness.
Through the phone.
Through the memories I had spent years trying to bury.
My mother's voice.
“Mom?”
Roman grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
I pulled away.
“She called my name.”
A tear slipped down my cheek.
“She called my name.”
The woman's voice came again.
“Elena, please.”
I ran downstairs.
Roman cursed and followed.
Adrian and Nikolai were right behind us.
The front door was open.
Cold air rushed into the house.
A woman stood outside.
She was wearing a long black coat.
Her dark hair fell around her shoulders.
Her face was pale.
Older.
Tired.
But those eyes…
I knew those eyes.
I stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman looked at me.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Elena.”
My knees almost gave way.
It was her.
My mother.
Alive.
I took one step forward.
Then another.
Roman grabbed my shoulder.
“Wait.”
My mother looked at him.
Her expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Roman…”
He went still.
“You know me.”
She shook her head.
“I wish I didn't.”
I looked between them.
“What happened?”
My mother stepped backward.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
“I didn't come here for you.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
She looked past me.
At Adrian.
Then Nikolai.
Her face became terrified.
“They found you.”
“Who?”
She opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, a gunshot tore through the darkness.
My mother dropped.
“Mom!”
I screamed.
Roman pulled me down as another bullet struck the doorway.
Adrian fired toward the street.
Nikolai disappeared into the darkness after the shooter.
I crawled toward my mother.
Blood spread across her coat.
“Mom!”
Her eyes opened.
She grabbed my hand.
Her grip was weak.
“Listen to me…”
“I'm here.”
“Your sister…”
I leaned closer.
“What about her?”
My mother struggled to breathe.
“She isn't your sister.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She squeezed my hand.
“She is…”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
“She is your father's daughter.”
Her hand slipped from mine.
I stared at her.
My mind went blank.
Then Roman whispered behind me.
“Elena…”
I turned.
His face was pale.
Because he had heard her too.
And somehow, I knew he already knew the truth.
My mother hadn't come to warn me about my sister.
She had come to warn me about Victor's other daughter.
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