The Secret Between Us

CHAPTER 8 : THE PROMISE

THE SECRET BETWEEN US

Chapter 8 — The Promise

The drive back to Adrian's apartment was unusually quiet.

Neither Ethan nor Adrian spoke.

The city lights passed across the windows, creating brief flashes of gold and white inside the car.

Ethan kept both hands on the steering wheel.

His mind was somewhere else.

His mother's death.

Mason's confession.

Roberto's disappearance.

The Riverside Hotel.

And Adrian.

Every answer seemed to create another question.

Adrian finally broke the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ethan shook his head.

"Not yet."

"Okay."

Adrian didn't pressure him.

That was one of the things Ethan appreciated most about him.

Adrian knew when to speak.

And when to simply stay.

When they reached Adrian's apartment, Ethan turned off the engine.

"Come upstairs."

Ethan looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

They entered the apartment.

Adrian turned on the lights.

Ethan sat on the couch.

For several minutes, he stared at the floor.

Then he finally spoke.

"My mother knew."

Adrian sat beside him.

"What did she know?"

"Everything."

"About your father's business?"

"About Mason."

Adrian remained silent.

Ethan continued.

"She discovered that Mason had been moving money through secret accounts."

"Did she confront him?"

"I think so."

"And then she died."

Ethan nodded.

"Everyone told me it was an accident."

Adrian reached for his hand.

Ethan looked down at their fingers.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

"You can believe me."

Ethan looked at him.

Adrian smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Ethan's expression softened.

"Promise?"

Adrian squeezed his hand.

"Promise."

---

The next morning, Adrian woke up on the couch.

He looked beside him.

Ethan was still there.

He had fallen asleep sitting upright.

Adrian smiled.

He quietly stood and prepared breakfast.

A few minutes later, Ethan opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking."

"You can cook?"

Adrian looked offended.

"Of course."

Ethan looked at the frying pan.

"What is that?"

"Breakfast."

"It looks dangerous."

Adrian laughed.

"You don't have to eat it."

Ethan stood.

"I'll take my chances."

They ate together.

It wasn't perfect.

The eggs were slightly burned.

The toast was too dark.

But Ethan smiled.

"I've had worse."

Adrian laughed.

"You hated it."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

For the first time in days, Ethan laughed genuinely.

Adrian stared at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You were staring."

"I like your smile."

Ethan became quiet.

Adrian realized what he had said.

"I mean..."

"I know what you mean."

Their eyes met.

The moment became unexpectedly intimate.

Then Ethan's phone rang.

The moment disappeared.

---

Marcus called.

"Sir, we found something."

"What?"

"The original police report concerning your mother's death."

Ethan stood immediately.

"Where?"

"In the old archives."

"Send it."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Someone removed the file."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"Who?"

"We're checking the security footage."

"Do it."

He ended the call.

Adrian stood.

"What happened?"

"My mother's file is missing."

Adrian's expression changed.

"Someone is still covering it up."

Ethan nodded.

"We need to move carefully."

---

Later that afternoon, Marcus discovered something.

He entered Ethan's office carrying a folder.

"I found the security footage."

Ethan looked up.

"Show me."

Marcus placed a laptop on the desk.

The video showed someone entering the archive room.

The image was blurry.

But the person was recognizable.

Ethan stared.

"Mason."

Marcus nodded.

"He removed the file last night."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"Where did he take it?"

"We don't know."

Adrian entered the office.

"What happened?"

Ethan showed him the footage.

Adrian stared.

"He's destroying the evidence."

"Yes."

"Then we need to find the original."

Ethan nodded.

"There might be another copy."

"Where?"

Ethan thought about his mother.

"Her old house."

---

That evening, Ethan and Adrian traveled to the Reyes family's old property.

It was a large house surrounded by trees.

Ethan hadn't been there in years.

He opened the front door.

Dust covered the furniture.

Adrian followed him inside.

"Where did your mother keep her things?"

"Upstairs."

They searched the bedroom.

Old clothes.

Books.

Photographs.

Nothing.

Then Adrian noticed a painting.

"Wait."

He moved it.

Behind it was a small safe.

Ethan stared.

"I never knew that was there."

"Do you have the combination?"

Ethan thought.

"My mother's birthday."

He entered the numbers.

The safe opened.

Inside were several letters.

A necklace.

And a small memory card.

Adrian looked at Ethan.

"She left this."

Ethan picked up the memory card.

His hands trembled.

They inserted it into a laptop.

A video appeared.

Ethan's mother appeared on screen.

She looked tired.

But she was smiling.

Ethan couldn't breathe.

"Mom."

Adrian gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

The recording began.

"If you're watching this, Ethan, then you finally discovered the truth."

Ethan stared at the screen.

"I need you to listen carefully."

She took a breath.

"Mason was involved in the financial scandal."

Ethan closed his eyes.

"But he wasn't alone."

Adrian looked at Ethan.

The recording continued.

"There was someone above him."

Ethan's eyes opened.

"Someone who controlled everything."

His mother looked frightened.

"Your father knew."

Ethan whispered:

"Who?"

The recording suddenly became distorted.

The screen froze.

Then the video returned.

His mother was crying.

"I am sorry, Ethan."

She looked directly into the camera.

"If anything happens to me, don't trust..."

The recording stopped.

Ethan stared at the blank screen.

"Don't trust who?"

Adrian looked at the memory card.

"Maybe the file is damaged."

"Maybe."

Then they heard a noise downstairs.

Both froze.

Ethan stood.

"Stay here."

"No."

"Adrian."

"I'm coming."

They walked downstairs.

The front door was open.

Someone had entered.

A photograph lay on the floor.

Ethan picked it up.

It was a picture of his mother and Roberto.

On the back was a handwritten message.

"She knew the truth before anyone else."

Adrian looked at Ethan.

"Who left this?"

Ethan didn't answer.

Suddenly, the lights went out.

Adrian grabbed Ethan's arm.

Someone moved in the darkness.

Ethan pulled Adrian behind him.

"Who's there?"

A window shattered.

A figure ran outside.

Ethan chased him.

But the person disappeared into the trees.

Ethan returned moments later.

He was holding something.

A small silver necklace.

Adrian looked at it.

"Isn't that your mother's?"

Ethan nodded.

"She wore this the night she died."

Adrian's eyes widened.

"Then whoever was here had it."

Ethan looked at the necklace.

His expression changed.

"My mother didn't die in an accident."

"No."

"She was there."

Adrian nodded.

"Someone was with her."

---

Back at the apartment, Ethan couldn't sleep.

He sat beside the window.

Adrian came out of the bedroom.

"You should rest."

"I can't."

Adrian sat beside him.

"You don't have to solve everything tonight."

"I know."

"But you want to."

"Yes."

Adrian smiled.

"You're stubborn."

"So are you."

They sat quietly.

Then Ethan turned toward him.

"Why do you stay?"

Adrian looked confused.

"What?"

"Every time things become dangerous, you could leave."

Adrian thought for a moment.

"Because I don't want to."

"Why?"

Adrian looked into his eyes.

"Because I'm not afraid of the truth."

Ethan reached for his hand.

"Neither am I."

Their fingers intertwined.

Adrian leaned closer.

Ethan didn't move away.

Their foreheads touched.

The moment was quiet.

No mystery.

No fear.

Just them.

Ethan whispered:

"I promised I would protect you."

Adrian smiled.

"And I promised I wouldn't leave."

They remained close.

Then Ethan gently kissed Adrian's forehead.

Adrian closed his eyes.

It was a small gesture.

But it meant everything.

---

The next morning, Adrian received an unknown message.

You promised not to leave Ethan.

He froze.

Another message arrived.

Then you should know what happens to people who stay beside him.

A photograph appeared.

Adrian opened it.

It showed Ethan's mother standing outside Riverside Hotel on the night she died.

Beside her was another person.

Adrian zoomed in.

His heart stopped.

The person standing beside Ethan's mother was...

Roberto Santos.

Adrian's father.

But the date on the photograph was after the official date of Roberto's death.

Adrian stared at the image.

His hands trembled.

"That's impossible."

Then another message arrived.

Your father didn't die when you were told he did.

Adrian's heart raced.

He immediately called Ethan.

"Ethan."

"What happened?"

"I found something."

"What?"

Adrian looked at the photograph again.

"Your mother and my father were together the night she died."

Silence.

Then Ethan asked:

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"What else?"

Adrian swallowed.

"The photograph says my father was alive after the date we thought he died."

Ethan became silent.

Then he whispered:

"Adrian..."

"What?"

"I think our fathers were hiding something from us."

Adrian stared at the photograph.

And for the first time, he wondered whether the secret between their families was not about the past at all.

Maybe the truth was still alive.

TO BE CONTINUED...