The Secret Between Us

CHAPTER 6 : THE HIDDEN ROOM

THE SECRET BETWEEN US

Chapter 6 — The Hidden Room

The rain started before sunrise.

Adrian stood beside his apartment window, watching water slide down the glass.

He had barely slept.

The anonymous messages kept replaying in his mind.

Stop searching.

The past should remain buried.

Ask your father.

And the final message:

Not everyone who died stayed silent.

Adrian didn't know what it meant.

His father had been dead for years.

At least, that was what he had always believed.

He picked up the old photograph again.

It showed him and Ethan as children.

Their hands were intertwined.

Behind them stood their fathers.

Adrian stared at the photograph.

"Why didn't I remember you?"

A knock came from his door.

Adrian quickly put the photograph away.

When he opened the door, Ethan was standing outside.

He was wearing a dark jacket and holding two cups of coffee.

Adrian looked surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"You came all the way here?"

"Yes."

Adrian looked at the coffee.

"You brought coffee."

"I remembered."

Adrian smiled.

"You're becoming predictable."

Ethan smiled slightly.

"Is that a problem?"

"No."

Adrian stepped aside.

"Come in."

Ethan entered.

The apartment was small but comfortable.

He looked around.

"Your place is nice."

"It's nothing special."

"It feels like you."

Adrian looked at him.

"What does that mean?"

"Warm."

Adrian's cheeks became slightly red.

"You're weird."

"So you've said."

They sat together.

For several minutes, neither spoke.

Then Ethan asked:

"Did you receive another message?"

"No."

"Good."

Adrian looked at him.

"Did you?"

Ethan hesitated.

"Yes."

"What did it say?"

"Nothing important."

"Ethan."

He sighed.

"It said, 'You don't know who you're protecting.'"

Adrian became silent.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it means me?"

"Maybe."

Adrian looked down.

"Maybe I'm the danger."

Ethan immediately shook his head.

"Never say that."

"Why?"

"Because you're not."

Ethan's voice was firm.

Adrian looked at him.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I've known you."

"Since we were children?"

"Yes."

Adrian smiled.

"I wish I could remember."

"So do I."

Their eyes met.

For a moment, the mystery disappeared.

There were only two people sitting close together.

Ethan reached for Adrian's hand.

Adrian let him.

Neither spoke.

---

At the office, Ethan called Marcus.

"Did you find anything about Victor?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Victor wasn't simply an employee."

Ethan waited.

"He was your father's private investigator."

Ethan's expression changed.

"My father had an investigator?"

"Apparently."

"What was he investigating?"

"Roberto Santos."

Ethan frowned.

"Why would my father investigate Roberto if they were business partners?"

"That's the strange part."

"Anything else?"

Marcus hesitated.

"There is an old property registered under Roberto's name."

"Where?"

"Outside the city."

"What's there?"

"An abandoned family house."

Ethan looked at Adrian's office.

"Send me the address."

Marcus sent it.

Ethan stared at the location.

It wasn't far from where Adrian grew up.

He immediately stood.

---

Adrian was reviewing documents when Ethan entered.

"We're leaving."

Adrian looked up.

"Where?"

"Your father's old house."

Adrian froze.

"What?"

"I found something."

Adrian quickly closed his laptop.

"Let's go."

---

The house stood at the end of a quiet road.

It was old and covered in vines.

Adrian stared at it from the car.

"I haven't been here in years."

Ethan turned off the engine.

"Are you sure you want to go inside?"

Adrian nodded.

"My father kept his office here."

They entered.

Dust covered everything.

Old furniture remained untouched.

Adrian walked slowly through the hallway.

He remembered pieces of his childhood.

A wooden staircase.

A broken lamp.

A family portrait.

He stopped.

There was a photograph hanging crookedly on the wall.

It showed Roberto standing beside Ethan's father.

Adrian touched the frame.

"They were friends."

Ethan nodded.

"Before everything changed."

Adrian continued toward the office.

The door was locked.

Ethan tried the handle.

Nothing.

Adrian searched through an old drawer.

He found a small key.

"Try this."

The lock clicked.

The door opened.

Inside was a desk covered in dust.

Adrian walked toward it.

"Everything is still here."

Ethan looked around.

"Your father kept records."

They searched through drawers.

Most were empty.

Then Adrian found a hidden compartment.

"What is this?"

Ethan came closer.

Adrian pressed the wooden panel.

It opened.

Inside was a small metal box.

Ethan looked at him.

"Open it."

Adrian took out the box.

His hands shook.

Inside were several documents, a USB drive, and an envelope.

The envelope had Adrian's name on it.

For Adrian.

His eyes filled with tears.

"My father wrote this."

Ethan stepped back.

"Read it."

Adrian opened the letter.

His father's handwriting appeared on the page.

«My son,

If you're reading this, then the truth has finally started coming back.

I am sorry I couldn't tell you everything.

The Reyes family was never your enemy.

The person who betrayed us was someone we trusted.

Someone who had access to everything.

Someone who knew where we lived.

Someone who knew our children.»

Adrian's breathing became shaky.

He continued.

«Ethan is not responsible for what happened.

Protect him.

Trust him.

And never let them separate you again.»

Adrian lowered the letter.

Tears fell down his face.

"Ethan..."

Ethan gently placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder.

"What is it?"

Adrian handed him the letter.

Ethan read it.

His expression softened.

"Your father knew."

"Knew what?"

"That we would find each other."

Adrian looked at him.

"Why would he tell me to trust you?"

Ethan didn't answer.

Then Adrian noticed something inside the envelope.

Another photograph.

He pulled it out.

It showed Ethan and Adrian as children sitting together in the same room.

Behind them was a woman.

Adrian stared at her.

"I don't know her."

Ethan took the photograph.

His face immediately changed.

"I do."

"Who?"

"My mother."

Adrian looked at him.

"Your mother?"

Ethan nodded.

"She died when I was twelve."

Adrian looked at the photograph again.

"Why was she here?"

Ethan didn't know.

Then they noticed writing on the back.

"She knows the truth."

Adrian whispered:

"Your mother knew."

Ethan's hands trembled.

"But she's dead."

The room became silent.

Then they heard a noise outside.

Both froze.

Someone was walking around the house.

Ethan immediately turned off the lights.

"Stay behind me."

They moved toward the door.

Footsteps approached.

Then stopped.

Ethan opened the door suddenly.

No one was there.

Only an open window.

Adrian ran toward it.

"There!"

A figure was running across the backyard.

Ethan chased him.

"Stop!"

The figure disappeared into the trees.

Ethan returned a few minutes later.

He was breathing heavily.

"Did you catch him?"

"No."

Adrian looked worried.

"But he left this."

Ethan held up a small object.

It was a key.

Adrian looked at it.

"What's that?"

"I don't know."

They returned to the office.

The key had a number engraved on it.

317.

Adrian stared.

"Room 317."

Ethan immediately understood.

"Riverside Hotel."

---

That night, they returned to the hotel.

Room 317 was on the third floor.

The hallway was dark.

Ethan opened the door with the key.

Inside was an old room that looked untouched.

A table stood near the window.

On it was a cassette recorder.

Adrian looked at Ethan.

"Who left this?"

"I don't know."

Ethan pressed play.

Static filled the room.

Then a voice appeared.

Adrian froze.

He recognized it.

His father's voice.

"Adrian..."

Tears filled his eyes.

"If you're hearing this, then I'm probably gone."

Adrian covered his mouth.

His father continued.

"I need you to understand one thing."

The recording crackled.

"The person responsible for everything is not who you think."

Ethan leaned closer.

"Who is it?" Adrian whispered.

The recording continued.

"Trust no one connected to the Reyes family."

Adrian looked at Ethan.

Then the recording suddenly stopped.

The room fell silent.

Ethan stared at the recorder.

Adrian's face was filled with confusion.

"My father told me to trust you."

"But the recording says not to trust the Reyes family."

"Something is wrong."

Ethan nodded.

"There must be another recording."

They searched the room.

Nothing.

Then Adrian noticed a painting on the wall.

It was slightly crooked.

He moved it.

Behind it was another hidden compartment.

Inside was a second cassette.

Ethan inserted it.

The recording began.

This time, another voice spoke.

Ethan recognized it immediately.

His father.

"If you're hearing this, Roberto failed."

Ethan froze.

His father's voice continued.

"Daniel betrayed us."

Adrian looked at Ethan.

"Daniel?"

The recording continued.

"He was the one who took the money."

Silence.

Ethan's eyes widened.

"Daniel..."

The recording suddenly cut off.

Adrian looked at him.

"Your former partner was the one who betrayed both families?"

Ethan didn't answer.

His phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Daniel.

Ethan answered.

"Where are you?"

Daniel's voice was quiet.

"Don't trust the recordings."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"Why?"

"Because they're incomplete."

"Tell me the truth."

Daniel sighed.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because if I tell you, Adrian will die."

The call ended.

Adrian stared at Ethan.

"What did he say?"

Ethan looked at him.

"Nothing."

Adrian shook his head.

"Don't lie to me."

Ethan stepped closer.

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

Adrian looked into his eyes.

"Then tell me the truth."

Ethan took his hand.

"I promise I will."

Outside the room, someone quietly stood in the hallway.

They listened.

Then slowly walked away.

Inside Room 317, Ethan and Adrian remained together.

Neither knew that the next secret they uncovered would change everything.

Because the truth about their families was no longer simply about money.

It was about betrayal.

It was about murder.

And most dangerously of all—

it was about someone who had been watching Ethan and Adrian since they were children.

TO BE CONTINUED...