Chapter 12: The Night She Died
2136 Words
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Daniel stood near the doorway.
Vanessa was frozen beside the table.
Adrian was still in front of me.
And I was holding the little silver key so tightly that it hurt.
I looked at Adrian.
“Tell me.”
He didn't speak.
“Tell me what happened that night.”
His jaw tightened.
“Your mother was already in danger when I got there.”
“When?”
“The night she died.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Adrian looked at me.
“I know how it sounds.”
“No. You don't.”
I stepped closer.
“You knew my mother. You knew Daniel. You knew about Meridian. You knew my mother didn't trust you. And you knew what happened the night she died.”
“I knew part of it.”
“Then tell me the part you know.”
Daniel interrupted.
“You're wasting your time.”
I turned toward him.
“I wasn't talking to you.”
His expression hardened.
For once, he didn't have an answer.
I looked back at Adrian.
“Start from the beginning.”
He took a slow breath.
“Your mother called me that night.”
“Why?”
“She said someone had found out where she was keeping the records.”
“Who?”
“Daniel.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's not true.”
I looked at him.
“Then why are you so nervous?”
He went silent.
Adrian continued.
“Your mother told me she was leaving the house.”
“Where?”
“She didn't tell me.”
“Why?”
“Because she didn't trust the phone.”
I swallowed.
“What happened next?”
“I went to find her.”
“And?”
“When I arrived, the house was already empty.”
I frowned.
“You just said she called you.”
“She did.”
“Then where was she?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“That's when I saw him.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“You weren't supposed to be there.”
“I could say the same about you.”
I looked between them.
“You were both there?”
Adrian nodded.
“What happened?”
“We argued.”
“About my mother?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Because he thought I had something to do with her disappearance.”
“You did.”
“I didn't hurt her.”
“Then where was she?”
Daniel said nothing.
My patience disappeared.
“Where was my mother?”
He looked at me.
“I don't know.”
I laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because I loved her too.”
The room went completely silent.
I stared at him.
“What?”
Daniel looked away.
“I knew your mother before I knew you.”
I felt sick.
“How long?”
“Years.”
“Were you in love with her?”
“No.”
His answer came too quickly.
I didn't believe him.
“Then what did she mean to you?”
“She was someone I respected.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“You respected her until she found out what Meridian was doing.”
Daniel glared at him.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know exactly what I'm talking about.”
“Then tell her.”
Adrian looked at me.
I waited.
He finally spoke.
“Your mother discovered that Meridian was moving money through several companies.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“To hide where it came from.”
“Where did it come from?”
Adrian hesitated.
“People.”
I didn't understand.
“People?”
“Meridian wasn't just a company.”
He looked at Daniel.
“It was a network.”
Daniel said nothing.
Adrian continued.
“They used legitimate businesses to hide illegal transactions.”
My stomach tightened.
“And my mother found out.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted to expose them.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel was involved.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Were you?”
He stared at me.
“I was involved with Meridian.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“Yes.”
The word was quiet.
But it hit me harder than I expected.
I closed my eyes.
For three years, I had slept beside this man.
Trusted him.
Loved him.
And now he was admitting that he had been part of the organization my mother had been trying to expose.
“Why me?”
Daniel looked at me.
“What?”
“Why did you choose me?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Was it because of my mother?”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“But it changed.”
I stared at him.
“What changed?”
“You.”
I almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I didn't know I would fall in love with you.”
“Don't.”
“I mean it.”
“You don't get to use that word anymore.”
His face changed.
For the first time, I saw something that looked like regret.
“I loved you.”
“Past tense?”
He didn't answer.
I nodded slowly.
“Good.”
Daniel looked confused.
“Good?”
“Yes.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Because I don't want to spend another minute wondering whether your love was real.”
He looked at me.
“It was.”
I shook my head.
“Maybe.”
Then I turned to Adrian.
“You said you arrived after she left.”
“Yes.”
“Then how do you know Daniel was there?”
“I saw him.”
“Did you see my mother?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know she was alive?”
Adrian went silent.
I stared at him.
“Adrian.”
He looked down.
“She was alive when I left.”
My heart stopped.
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About an hour before the accident.”
“Accident?”
He nodded.
“She was driving away.”
“And then?”
“Her car crashed.”
I froze.
“Where?”
“About ten kilometers from the house.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wasn't sure what happened.”
“Wasn't sure?”
“There were no witnesses.”
I looked at him.
“And the police?”
“Called it an accident.”
“Did you believe them?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother's car had been tampered with.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who did it?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“I do.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked at me.
“Your mother wasn't killed because of Meridian.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then why?”
“Because she was going to expose someone.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at Adrian.
“Someone Adrian has been protecting for six years.”
Adrian's face changed.
“Don't.”
Daniel smiled.
“Tell her.”
I looked at Adrian.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Ask him about Margaret.”
My heart stopped.
“The woman you called Aunt Maggie?”
I looked at Adrian.
He closed his eyes.
“Who is she?”
Daniel answered for him.
“She was your mother's closest friend.”
I frowned.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“She was also the last person your mother trusted before she died.”
I looked at Adrian.
“Where is she?”
He shook his head.
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“The same night your mother died.”
My stomach tightened.
“So she could have been there.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe she knows what happened.”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
I turned toward him.
“You knew all this?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“You wouldn't.”
He looked away.
I stepped toward him.
“You spent three years sleeping beside me while knowing my mother's death wasn't an accident.”
“I was trying to find Margaret.”
“Why?”
“Because she has the answer.”
“What answer?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Who killed your mother.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying.
“You knew too.”
She wiped her face.
“I knew some of it.”
“Everyone knew except me.”
No one answered.
I laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the kind that came when you finally realized how ridiculous your life had become.
“For three years, I thought I was the only person who didn't know what was happening.”
I looked at all three of them.
“Now I understand.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What?”
“I was never the person being protected.”
They looked at me.
“I was the person being controlled.”
Nobody denied it.
That hurt more than anything.
I took the silver key from my pocket.
“You all want to know where the records are.”
Daniel's eyes immediately went to the key.
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“Too bad.”
His expression changed.
“I don't know where they are.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because I just realized something.”
I looked at Adrian.
“My mother didn't leave me the records.”
He frowned.
“She left me the key.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What does that mean?”
I smiled.
“It means the records aren't the treasure.”
“What is?”
“The person who knows how to use the key.”
Everyone went silent.
Then Vanessa suddenly gasped.
“What?”
I looked at her.
She was staring at the key.
“I've seen that before.”
“Where?”
She shook her head.
“Not the key.”
She pointed at the pendant around my neck.
“That symbol.”
I touched the pendant.
“What about it?”
“It was on Margaret's bracelet.”
My heart stopped.
“Aunt Maggie.”
Vanessa nodded.
“She had the same symbol.”
Adrian suddenly looked at the clock.
His face changed.
“What?”
He reached for his phone.
“There was a message.”
“From who?”
He showed me the screen.
Unknown:
Stop looking for Margaret.
Another message appeared.
She already found you.
I stared at it.
My heart pounded.
“That's impossible.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because Margaret is dead.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Who told you that?”
I slowly looked at him.
“You.”
He said nothing.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone froze.
Another knock.
Vanessa whispered,
“Who's there?”
A woman's voice answered from the other side.
“It's me.”
My heart stopped.
I knew that voice.
Not because I had heard it recently.
Because I remembered it from childhood.
The perfume.
The soft voice.
The woman who used to bring me chocolates.
Aunt Maggie.
I looked at Daniel.
He had gone completely pale.
Adrian reached for my hand.
But I pulled away.
I walked toward the door.
Daniel whispered,
“Don't.”
I ignored him.
My hand reached for the doorknob.
I opened the door.
A woman stood outside.
Older than I remembered.
But unmistakable.
She looked directly at me.
Then at the pendant around my neck.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You finally found it.”
I couldn't speak.
She smiled sadly.
“Your mother knew this day would come.”
I swallowed.
“Who are you?”
Her eyes shifted toward Daniel.
Then Adrian.
Then Vanessa.
“I think you already know.”
I stared at her.
“Aunt Maggie?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Then she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
“I've been looking for you for six years.”
I felt my entire body go cold.
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because your mother didn't die in that accident.”
She paused.
“She was murdered.”
And then she said the words that changed everything.
“I know who killed her.”
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