THE SECRET WITNESS
1216 Words
CHAPTER 5
The Secret Witness
The message remained on the computer screen.
NOW YOU BOTH KNOW TOO MUCH.
Chloe stared at the words.
Her hands felt cold.
Andrian reached over and shut the laptop.
“We're leaving.”
Chloe looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because this office isn't safe anymore.”
“You can't keep telling me to leave every time something happens.”
“This isn't a game, Chloe.”
“I know.”
“Then listen to me.”
His voice was serious.
Chloe hesitated before grabbing her bag.
“Fine.”
They walked through the hallway together.
The office was unusually quiet. Most of the employees had already gone home.
As they reached the elevator, Chloe noticed something.
A small piece of paper had been slipped beneath the door of Andrian's office.
She stopped.
“Andrian.”
He turned.
“What?”
She pointed at it.
He walked over and picked it up.
There was only one sentence.
SHE KNOWS WHERE THE ORIGINAL IS.
Andrian's face changed.
“Who?”
Chloe looked at him.
“You know who they're talking about.”
He folded the note.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My father's former secretary.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Then find her.”
Andrian looked at Chloe.
“You don't understand. She disappeared years ago.”
“Then we find her.”
He studied her for a moment.
“You really don't know when to stop.”
“And you really don't know when to tell the truth.”
For a second, neither spoke.
Then Andrian nodded.
“Fine.”
---
The next morning, Andrian arrived at the office before everyone else.
He had spent most of the night searching through old records.
There was only one person who could explain what happened twelve years ago.
Elena Cruz.
She had worked for his father for almost fifteen years.
She had been present during the final meeting between the Villano and Zane families.
And then she disappeared.
Andrian opened an old employee database.
Her last known address was listed.
Makati.
He immediately grabbed his coat.
Before he could leave, Chloe appeared at the doorway.
“You're going somewhere.”
Andrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Without me?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
He sighed.
“Chloe.”
“You said we'd find her.”
“I said we would investigate.”
“Exactly.”
Andrian couldn't argue with that.
“Get your things.”
A small smile appeared on Chloe's face.
“Already did.”
---
An hour later, they arrived at the address.
The building was old and quiet.
Chloe looked around.
“Are you sure she still lives here?”
“No.”
They climbed the stairs.
Andrian knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
Still nothing.
Then Chloe noticed an envelope taped beneath the door.
She picked it up.
Her name was written on it.
Again.
“Someone knew we'd come here.”
Andrian took the envelope.
Inside was an old photograph.
Elena Cruz stood beside Chloe's father.
On the back was a handwritten address.
ROOM 204 — OLD RIVERSIDE HOTEL.
Chloe looked at Andrian.
“Do we go?”
He nodded.
“But carefully.”
---
The hotel had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered the furniture, and the hallway lights flickered overhead.
They found Room 204 at the end of the corridor.
Andrian knocked.
A woman's voice answered.
“Who is it?”
Andrian looked at Chloe.
“Elena Cruz.”
There was silence.
Then the door opened slightly.
An elderly woman looked out.
Her eyes widened when she saw Andrian.
“You're his son.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze moved to Chloe.
“And you're Daniel Zane's daughter.”
Chloe swallowed.
“You knew my father?”
Elena opened the door.
“I knew more than I should have.”
They entered.
Elena locked the door behind them.
“What happened to my father?” Chloe asked.
Elena looked at her sadly.
“Your father discovered something he wasn't supposed to discover.”
“What?”
“The company your father was investigating wasn't committing ordinary fraud.”
Andrian's expression hardened.
“What was it?”
Elena looked at him.
“Money was being moved through several companies. Your father's firm was being used to hide the evidence.”
Andrian frowned.
“My father was involved?”
“Yes.”
Chloe looked at him.
“And my father found out?”
Elena nodded.
“He wanted to expose everything.”
“What happened next?” Chloe asked.
Elena took a deep breath.
“Your father came to the office with Exhibit 17.”
Andrian leaned forward.
“What was on it?”
“A list of names.”
“Whose names?”
Elena's eyes moved between them.
“Politicians. Business owners. Lawyers.”
Chloe's voice became quiet.
“Andian's father?”
Elena didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Andrian's jaw tightened.
“My father was involved.”
“He was,” Elena said.
Silence filled the room.
Chloe looked at Andrian.
He looked devastated.
“But why would my father trust your father?”
“He didn't,” Elena replied.
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a small metal box.
“He trusted me.”
She placed the box on the table.
“This is what your father gave me before he disappeared.”
Chloe stared at it.
“What's inside?”
“Evidence.”
Andrian looked at the box.
“Why didn't you give this to the authorities?”
Elena's expression turned serious.
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.”
Chloe reached for the box.
Before she could open it, Elena grabbed her wrist.
“Wait.”
Chloe froze.
“There is something you need to know.”
“What?”
Elena looked directly into her eyes.
“Your father didn't disappear.”
Chloe's breath caught.
“What?”
“He was forced to leave.”
“By whom?”
Elena looked toward Andrian.
“By someone in this room.”
Chloe slowly turned toward him.
Andrian stared at Elena.
“You're saying my father forced Daniel to leave?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Her eyes moved between them.
“I'm saying the person who betrayed both of your families was someone you have known your entire life.”
Andrian's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Elena opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, the lights suddenly went out.
Chloe grabbed the edge of the table.
“What's happening?”
Andrian immediately moved toward the door.
“Stay here.”
A loud sound came from the hallway.
Then silence.
Andrian opened the door carefully.
Nobody was there.
But on the floor was another envelope.
He picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
The three of them.
Taken only moments earlier.
Chloe stared at it.
Someone had been watching them.
And on the back of the photograph were five words:
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT ALONE.
Andrian looked at Chloe.
“We're leaving. Now.”
This time, she didn't argue.
Because they finally understood the truth.
They weren't searching for the person behind the mystery anymore.
The person behind the mystery was searching for them.
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