THE HIDDEN NAME
1210 Words
CHAPTER 4
The Hidden Name
The elevator doors closed.
For the first time since Chloe had met Andrian, neither of them spoke.
The photograph was still in her hand.
Her father's face stared back at her from twelve years ago, standing beside the mysterious man.
Chloe looked at Andrian.
“You know something.”
Andrian kept his eyes on the elevator numbers.
“I know what I told you.”
“No. You know more.”
Silence.
Chloe stepped closer.
“Who was that man?”
Andrian finally looked at her.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
His expression tightened.
“You shouldn't accuse people without proof.”
“And you shouldn't keep secrets from someone whose family is involved.”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
Andrian walked out.
Chloe followed.
“I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
He stopped in the hallway and turned toward her.
“Chloe, there are things about this case that you don't understand.”
“Then explain them.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who I can trust.”
That answer silenced her.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Andrian's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“Stay here.”
“Who is it?”
“My father.”
---
Andrian walked into an empty conference room.
“Dad.”
The older man's voice came through the phone.
“Did you find the girl?”
Andrian's eyes narrowed.
“Her name is Chloe.”
“I know her name.”
“Then why did you call her the girl?”
There was silence.
Andrian's suspicion grew.
“Dad, what aren't you telling me?”
“You need to stop investigating the Zane case.”
“Why?”
“Because it's dangerous.”
“That isn't an answer.”
His father sighed.
“Your mother and I spent years trying to protect you from this.”
Andrian frowned.
“Protect me from what?”
Before his father could answer, the call ended.
Andrian stared at his phone.
His father had never hung up on him before.
Something was wrong.
---
Meanwhile, Chloe returned to her desk.
She couldn't concentrate.
Her father's case.
The mysterious man.
Andrian's father.
Everything seemed connected.
She opened her laptop and searched through the firm's public case database.
Nothing.
She searched again.
Still nothing.
Then she remembered something.
Exhibit 17.
She typed it into the system.
A single result appeared.
EXHIBIT 17 — RESTRICTED.
Chloe's heart began racing.
She clicked.
ACCESS DENIED.
“Of course.”
She leaned back.
Then someone placed a cup of coffee beside her keyboard.
Chloe looked up.
Andrian.
“You look tired.”
“I am.”
“You should go home.”
“No.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“I need answers.”
“So do I.”
Chloe studied him.
“What did your father say?”
Andrian's expression became guarded.
“Nothing useful.”
“That's suspicious.”
“Everything is suspicious to you now.”
“Because you keep proving me right.”
Andrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he noticed the computer screen.
“You searched Exhibit 17.”
Chloe nodded.
“Yes.”
“You shouldn't have.”
“Why?”
“Because it's restricted for a reason.”
“What reason?”
Andrian pulled a chair beside her.
“Because the document disappeared twelve years ago.”
Chloe stared at him.
“But the system says it exists.”
“That's the problem.”
“Who deleted it?”
“I don't know.”
“Then who has access?”
Andrian looked at the screen.
“Only three people.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
He paused.
“The former senior partner.”
“And?”
“And me.”
Chloe stared at him.
“You're saying you're one of the only people who can access it?”
“Yes.”
She slowly turned toward him.
“Then why did someone access it last night?”
Andrian didn't answer.
Chloe suddenly understood.
“Someone stole your credentials.”
“Possibly.”
“Or—”
She stopped.
Andrian looked at her.
“Say it.”
“Maybe you accessed it.”
His expression hardened.
“You think I did this?”
“I don't know what to think.”
Andrian stood.
“Then don't accuse me.”
He walked away.
Chloe watched him disappear into his office.
She felt guilty.
But something wasn't right.
She opened her laptop again.
A notification appeared.
NEW FILE RECEIVED.
Chloe frowned.
She clicked it.
A scanned document appeared.
The title made her blood run cold.
EXHIBIT 17 — ORIGINAL COPY.
She immediately looked toward Andrian's office.
He wasn't there.
The document contained only one page.
At the bottom was a signature.
Chloe recognized the handwriting.
Her father's.
But beneath it was another signature.
A. VILLANO.
Chloe's eyes widened.
“Andrian...”
She stood and rushed toward his office.
The door was open.
Nobody was inside.
Then she noticed something on his desk.
A black envelope.
Her name was written across it.
Again.
She slowly picked it up.
Inside was a handwritten note.
ASK ANDRIAN WHY HIS FATHER BLAMES YOUR FAMILY.
Chloe's heart pounded.
She looked around.
Someone had been inside Andrian's office.
Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Then she heard footsteps behind her.
Chloe turned.
Andrian stood in the doorway.
His eyes immediately went to the envelope in her hand.
“What are you doing here?”
Chloe couldn't speak.
She handed him the note.
He read it.
His face became completely unreadable.
“You knew,” Chloe whispered.
Andrian looked at her.
“Knew what?”
“That your father blamed my family.”
He remained silent.
“Tell me the truth.”
Andrian slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the cold expression was gone.
“I was there that night.”
Chloe's breath caught.
“What night?”
“The night your father left.”
She stared at him.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Andrian looked toward the window.
“I saw your father arguing with my father.”
“About what?”
He hesitated.
Then he said the words Chloe had been waiting twelve years to hear.
“About Exhibit 17.”
Chloe's heart sank.
“What was Exhibit 17?”
Andrian looked directly at her.
“The evidence that could have destroyed my father's entire career.”
Silence filled the room.
“And your father had it.”
Chloe swallowed.
“Then what happened?”
Andrian's expression darkened.
“Your father disappeared.”
“And the evidence?”
“Disappeared with him.”
Chloe stared at him.
“Then why is it back?”
Andrian looked at the laptop.
“I don't know.”
A notification suddenly appeared on the screen.
FILE TRANSFER COMPLETE.
And beneath it was a message.
NOW YOU BOTH KNOW TOO MUCH.
Chloe looked at Andrian.
For the first time, neither of them knew what to say.
Because the mystery wasn't just about their families anymore.
Someone was deliberately bringing them together.
And whoever that person was...
They were getting closer.
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