The One Person She Trusted
1141 Words
“I'm here.” Sebastian exhaled.
“I know.”
She closed her eyes.
“I just needed to make sure.” She said while her hands was wrapped around Sebastian.
His arms tightened around her too.
“You don't have to be afraid anymore.”
Sierra slowly pulled away.
“I wish I could believe that.”
Before Sebastian could answer, one of the security officers entered the study.
“Sir.”
Sebastian turned.
“What happened?”
“The man at the gate is gone.”
Sierra frowned.
“Gone?”
“He left before we could reach him. We're tracing the vehicle now.”
Sebastian nodded.
“Keep everyone on alert.”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer left.
Sierra looked at the security monitor.
“He wanted us to see him.”
“I know.”
“And the photograph?”
“A message.”
Her eyes fell to the photograph of her mother.
“We need to find out what happened to her.”
Sebastian looked at her.
“We will.”
---
The next morning, Sierra met Daniella Reyes at a quiet café near her office.
Daniella—Dani to the people closest to her—had been Sierra's best friend since law school.
She was one of the few people who knew the entire story.
She was also one of the few people who had seen Sierra fall apart after leaving Sebastian.
Dani placed her coffee on the table and studied her.
“Start talking.”
Sierra sighed.
“Good morning to you too.”
“You called me at six in the morning and said, *I need to see you.* That's never good.”
Sierra gave her a tired look.
“It's complicated.”
Dani raised an eyebrow.
“It's always complicated when Sebastian Vale is involved.”
Sierra froze.
Dani smiled knowingly.
“You're staying with him, aren't you?”
“I'm not *staying with him*.”
“You're living in his house.”
Sierra stared at her.
“How did you know?”
“I know you.”
Sierra looked down at her coffee.
“It's temporary.”
“Of course it is.”
“Dani.”
“Fine. Tell me what happened.”
Sierra finally gave in.
She told her everything.
The threats.
Victor Hale.
The photograph.
The old file Sebastian had found.
And finally, her father's shocking revelation about her mother.
Dani's expression changed.
“Your father said your mother didn't die in an accident?”
“That's what he said.”
“And then he hung up?”
“Yes.”
Dani leaned back.
“That doesn't sound like someone who wants to protect you. It sounds like someone who's terrified.”
“I know.”
“Does Sebastian know everything?”
“Almost.”
Dani watched her carefully.
“And you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you okay?”
Sierra gave a small laugh.
“I'm fine.”
Dani shook her head.
“Don't give me the lawyer answer.”
Sierra fell silent.
Dani reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
“You still love him.”
Sierra looked away.
“I never said I didn't.”
“You didn't have to.”
“I thought leaving him was the only way to protect him.”
“And now?”
Sierra swallowed.
“Now I'm beginning to think someone wanted me to leave.”
Dani nodded slowly.
“Then find out who.”
---
That afternoon, Dani arrived at Sierra's office carrying a folder.
“I found something.”
Sierra looked up.
“What?”
Dani placed the folder on her desk.
“I did some digging.”
“You're becoming dangerously good at this.”
“Years of being your best friend.”
Sierra opened the folder.
Dani pointed to a document.
“Victor Hale wasn't just connected to the Vale family.”
Sierra scanned the page.
“He worked for a private security company before joining them.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
Dani turned the page.
“The company belonged to your mother.”
Sierra froze.
“What?”
“Your mother owned a security consultancy before she died.”
Sierra stared at the document.
“I never knew.”
“Maybe she didn't want you to know.”
Dani pulled out a photograph.
Sierra took it.
A younger Victor stood beside her mother.
They appeared to know each other well.
“When was this taken?”
“Six months before your mother's death.”
Sierra's fingers tightened around the photograph.
Then she noticed someone in the background.
Her breath caught.
“Dani…”
Dani leaned closer.
Sierra pointed.
“That’s Sebastian's father.”
Dani's expression hardened.
“So your mother, Victor Hale, and Sebastian's father knew each other.”
Sierra slowly lowered the photograph.
“What were they involved in?”
“I don't know.”
Dani closed the folder.
“But I think that's what you need to find out.”
Sierra's phone suddenly rang.
Sebastian.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
“At the office.”
“Stay there.”
His voice was tense.
“Why?”
“Security found something.”
Sierra straightened.
“What?”
“We found Victor's vehicle.”
“Where?”
A pause.
“Near the old Santillan property.”
Sierra's heart stopped.
“My mother's house?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Dani.
Dani immediately understood.
“Sierra, don't go there,” Sebastian said.
She stood.
“I need answers.”
“I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
“Sierra—”
“I've spent three years not asking questions.”
Her voice softened.
“I'm not doing that anymore.”
There was silence.
Then Sebastian sighed.
“I knew you'd say that.”
“I'll be careful.”
“I'm coming with you.”
“You don't know where we are yet.”
“I'll find you.”
The call ended.
Dani picked up her bag.
“I'm coming too.”
Sierra looked at her.
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
Dani smiled.
“But I'm your best friend. Unfortunately for you, that means I'm legally obligated to make terrible decisions with you.”
Sierra laughed softly.
It was the first genuine laugh she'd had in days.
“Thank you.”
Dani squeezed her shoulder.
“Always.”
Sierra looked down at the photograph again.
Her mother.
Victor.
Sebastian's father.
Three people connected by a secret that had somehow survived for years.
She slipped the photograph into her bag.
“Let's go.”
Dani nodded.
But neither woman noticed the figure standing across the street from the office.
Watching them.
Waiting.
And holding a photograph of Sierra and Sebastian together.
Someone already knew they were going to the old Santillan property.
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