Chapter 12 The Secret Inside the Tower
1855 Words
Elena stared at the piece of paper in Daniel's hand.
The woman you call your mother is the one who started everything.
She read the sentence again and again, hoping the words would somehow change.
They did not.
"My mother?" she whispered.
Adrian took the paper from Daniel.
"Someone wants you to believe that."
Elena looked at him.
"But what if it is true?"
Adrian shook his head.
"We don't know that yet."
"She lied about being alive."
"Yes."
"She lied about dying."
"Yes."
"She knew my father."
"Yes."
"Then how do we know anything she ever told me was true?"
Adrian had no answer.
Elena turned away.
Her entire childhood suddenly felt like a collection of unanswered questions.
Her mother had always told her that Michael Hart was a selfish man who abandoned his family.
She had believed her.
She had grown up resenting her father.
Then she learned he had been trying to protect them.
Now she had discovered her mother was alive.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Elena."
She looked at him.
"We're going to find the truth."
"How?"
"At the tower."
She immediately shook her head.
"That's what they want."
"I know."
"They could be waiting for us."
"They are."
"Then why would we go?"
"Because Noah is there."
Her eyes filled with tears.
Adrian gently held her hand.
"We can't leave him."
Daniel looked toward the road.
"There is something else."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
"The Blackwood tower has been closed for three years."
"Why?"
"Structural problems."
Adrian frowned.
"Who owns it?"
"Blackwood Holdings."
"Then how did they get inside?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Someone must have access."
Adrian understood.
"Victor."
"Probably."
Elena looked at Daniel.
"Can you get us inside without being seen?"
"I can."
"Then do it."
Daniel nodded.
They returned to their vehicles.
Adrian drove toward the tower while Daniel contacted the security team.
The city was quiet.
It was almost midnight.
Elena stared through the window.
She could not stop thinking about Noah.
Was he scared?
Was he crying?
Was someone hurting him?
She squeezed her hands together.
Adrian noticed.
"Don't blame yourself."
"I can't help it."
"You did everything you could."
"I should have protected him."
"You did."
"I brought him into your world."
Adrian looked at her.
"He is my son too."
She turned toward him.
"I know."
"And I will protect him."
His voice was firm.
"No matter what it costs me."
Elena looked into his eyes.
For a moment, she saw the man she had married five years ago.
The man she had loved.
The man she had believed had stopped loving her.
She wondered how different their lives might have been if someone had not interfered.
The tower appeared ahead.
It rose above the surrounding buildings, dark and silent.
Adrian parked several blocks away.
Daniel approached.
"The main entrance is monitored."
"Other entrances?"
"Underground parking."
"Let's go."
They moved through a narrow alley.
Daniel opened a hidden door.
Inside was a staircase.
They descended quietly.
The basement was dark.
Adrian turned on his flashlight.
"We need to find the elevator."
Daniel pointed.
"There."
They entered.
Daniel connected a device to the control panel.
The elevator doors opened.
They stepped inside.
"Which floor?" Elena asked.
"Thirty seven," Daniel answered.
Adrian looked at the key in Elena's hand.
The number was still visible.
Thirty seven.
The elevator began moving.
Elena's heart raced.
When the doors opened, they stepped into an abandoned executive floor.
Dust covered the furniture.
Old files were scattered across the floor.
Adrian walked toward his father's former office.
"This was his office."
Elena followed.
"Your father worked here?"
"Yes."
She looked around.
"Where is the vault?"
Adrian remembered his father's words.
The false vault is beneath the company.
He looked at the wall.
"There."
A painting hung above an old cabinet.
Daniel moved it.
Behind it was a keypad.
Adrian entered several numbers.
Nothing happened.
Elena looked at the key.
"Maybe it needs the key."
She inserted it into a small slot.
A hidden door opened.
Inside was a narrow room.
Adrian stepped in.
There were shelves filled with documents.
But no ledger.
Elena looked around.
"Someone has already searched this place."
Adrian noticed the open drawers.
"Yes."
Daniel picked up a folder.
"These are old financial records."
Adrian opened another drawer.
Nothing.
Then Elena noticed something.
A small metal box was hidden beneath the desk.
She pulled it out.
There was a lock.
Adrian looked at the key.
"Try it."
She inserted the key.
The box opened.
Inside was a photograph.
Elena picked it up.
Her hands began shaking.
It showed her mother and Adrian's father standing together.
She stared.
"My mother knew your father."
Adrian took the photograph.
On the back was a date.
Five years before Elena's marriage.
Daniel looked confused.
"Why would they meet?"
Adrian turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, trust Sarah.
Elena froze.
"Sarah is my mother."
Adrian looked at her.
"Then my father trusted her."
Elena sat down.
"This doesn't make sense."
Daniel examined the box.
"There is something else."
He removed a small envelope.
Adrian opened it.
Inside was a letter.
It was written by his father.
Adrian read it silently.
His face changed.
"What?"
Elena asked.
He handed her the letter.
She read it.
My dear son,
If you have found this, then you are finally old enough to understand why I made the decisions I did.
Sarah Hart came to me because she feared for Michael's life.
She believed Richard Vale had discovered the ledger.
I helped her hide the evidence.
But there was one person we could not trust.
Elena looked at Adrian.
The letter continued.
I suspected Victor had betrayed us.
But I was wrong.
The person who betrayed us was closer than we thought.
Elena's heart raced.
"Who?"
Adrian shook his head.
"The letter doesn't say."
Daniel looked at the envelope.
"There's another page."
He pulled it out.
Adrian read it.
Then his face went pale.
"What?"
Elena asked.
Adrian looked at her.
"My father wrote that the person who betrayed them was someone inside our family."
Elena stood.
"Victor?"
"I don't know."
Daniel looked toward the door.
"Someone is coming."
Everyone froze.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Adrian switched off the flashlight.
They waited.
The footsteps became louder.
Then stopped outside the vault.
The door slowly opened.
A man entered.
Adrian recognized him immediately.
Marcus.
Elena's heart jumped.
"Marcus."
He looked at them.
"You shouldn't be here."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Where is Noah?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I don't have him."
"Then who does?"
"Richard Vale."
"Where?"
Marcus looked at Elena.
"Your mother knows."
Elena stepped forward.
"You've been lying to us."
Marcus lowered his eyes.
"I lied about some things."
"Which things?"
"I never kidnapped Noah."
"Then why did you appear in the photographs?"
"Because I was trying to protect your mother."
Elena's anger grew.
"Why should I believe you?"
"You shouldn't."
Adrian looked at him.
"Then tell us what you know."
Marcus hesitated.
"Your mother was working with Michael."
"We know."
"They were trying to expose Vale."
"What happened?"
"Vale discovered them."
"Then why is my mother alive?"
Marcus looked at Elena.
"Because she made a deal."
Elena's heart stopped.
"What deal?"
"She agreed to give Vale the ledger in exchange for your life."
Elena shook her head.
"My life?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Five years ago."
Adrian stared at him.
"That's why she destroyed our marriage."
Marcus nodded.
"She believed that if you and Elena stayed together, Vale would kill her."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"She wanted to protect me."
"Yes."
"But she never told me."
"She couldn't."
Adrian looked away.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The strange messages.
The photographs.
The sudden change in Elena's mother.
The divorce.
The lies.
But there was still one question.
"Where is the ledger?"
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"Your father never put it in the vault."
"Where?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Only Michael knew."
Elena whispered.
"My father."
Marcus nodded.
"Before he disappeared, he gave the location to your mother."
"Then my mother knows."
"Yes."
Adrian stepped toward him.
"Where is she?"
Marcus looked at the clock.
"You don't have much time."
"Where?"
"Richard Vale has her at the old Blackwood residence."
Elena's face went pale.
"The mansion?"
Marcus nodded.
Adrian immediately turned.
"Let's go."
Marcus grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Adrian looked at him.
"There's something else."
"What?"
Marcus looked at Elena.
"Your mother didn't ask you not to trust Adrian because she hates him."
Elena stared.
"Then why?"
"Because she knows what Vale plans to do."
"What?"
Marcus's face became serious.
"He wants Adrian to open the vault."
Adrian frowned.
"But there's nothing inside."
"Vale doesn't know that."
Elena understood.
"He thinks Adrian has the ledger."
Marcus nodded.
"He wants Adrian to lead him to it."
"And Noah?"
Marcus looked at her.
"Noah is the bait."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"We're going to the mansion."
Marcus nodded.
"I'll help you."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Why?"
Marcus looked at him.
"Because I have spent five years trying to correct the mistake I made."
"What mistake?"
Marcus looked toward Adrian.
"I helped destroy your marriage."
Silence filled the room.
Adrian stared at him.
"How?"
"I delivered the forged evidence."
Elena's face went white.
"You?"
Marcus nodded.
"I believed I was protecting your family."
Adrian's voice became cold.
"You destroyed my life."
"I know."
"You destroyed Elena's life."
"I know."
"You took five years from us."
Marcus lowered his head.
"I know."
Elena looked at Adrian.
He was furious.
But he did not attack Marcus.
Instead, he turned toward the door.
"We deal with the past after we save Noah."
Marcus nodded.
They left the vault.
As they entered the elevator, Elena looked at Adrian.
"You still love me."
It was not a question.
Adrian looked at her.
"Yes."
Her heart stopped.
"Since when?"
He looked away.
"Since before our wedding."
Tears filled her eyes.
"Then why did you let me go?"
"Because I believed you had betrayed me."
"And now?"
"Now I know I was wrong."
The elevator doors opened.
They stepped into the underground parking area.
Their vehicles waited outside.
Adrian looked toward the dark road.
"Tonight, we bring our son home."
Elena nodded.
But before they could leave, Adrian's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice spoke.
"Adrian."
"Where is my son?"
"At your old home."
"Let him go."
"Come alone."
Adrian looked at Elena.
The voice continued.
"And bring Elena."
The call ended.
Elena's phone immediately received a message.
She opened it.
There was a photograph of Noah.
He was standing beside a woman.
Her mother.
Below the photograph were four words.
Your family is waiting.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"We have to go."
Adrian nodded.
He started the engine.
Neither of them noticed the figure standing on the rooftop of the tower.
Marcus looked down at the departing vehicles.
Then he made a phone call.
"They're going to the mansion."
A voice answered.
"Good."
Marcus hesitated.
"What happens now?"
The voice laughed.
"Now we finally finish what we started five years ago."
Chapter 12 End
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