LIES WE LOVED

LIES WE LOVED 30 - 33

CHAPTER 30 — THE ESCAPE

They crawled through the underbrush, hearts hammering, every step a risk. Lucas moved with a deadly, quiet focus — grief and anger warring in his eyes. Mia stayed close, guiding him when his vision blurred, watching the path behind them. They couldn’t grieve — not yet. Not until they were safe.

An hour later, breathless and scratched, they reached the meeting spot — Elena’s car parked in the shadows. She started the engine the moment they dove into the backseat.

“Where’s Adrian?” she asked, already speeding away.

Neither of them could speak. Lucas stared out the window, the darkness rushing past — a brother lost, a truth uncovered, a war begun.

“We have everything we need,” Mia said quietly, breaking the silence. “Adrian told us everything. Roberto. The land deals. The murders. It’s all connected.”

“Then we end it,” Lucas said, his voice hard as steel. “Tomorrow. We expose him. Every lie, every crime, every secret. And we make sure he never hurts anyone again.”

But as they drove toward the city, Mia looked back — toward the mountain, toward the cabin — and felt a cold hand close around her heart. Adrian had given them the truth… but at what cost? And was Roberto truly the mastermind — or just another player in a game far bigger than any of them realized?

CLIFFHANGER: In the rearview mirror — headlights. The same car had been following them the entire time. And it was gaining.

CHAPTER 31 — THE CHASE

“Elena, faster!” Mia’s voice cracked as the headlights behind them grew brighter, blinding in the dark.

“I’m trying — this road’s narrow!” Elena gripped the wheel, knuckles white, as the pursuing car slammed into their rear bumper. The vehicle jolted, swerving toward the ditch.

Lucas twisted around, watching the car gain. “They’re not just trying to scare us — they want us off the road. Permanently.”

Mia’s eyes darted — up ahead, a sharp curve, a steep drop-off. “Elena — brake hard when I say so. Lucas, brace yourself!”

Seconds later: “Now!”

Elena slammed on the brakes. Their car slowed sharply; the pursuing vehicle sped past, unable to stop in time, swerving wildly as it shot past them. It screeched to a halt fifty meters ahead, blocking the road.

“Turn around — go back!” Lucas shouted. Elena spun the wheel, tires screaming, and sped in reverse before flooring the gas, racing back the way they came — leaving the blocked road, taking the long, winding route down the mountain. Their hearts pounded in unison — they’d escaped this time. But Roberto knew they were alive. And he’d never stop hunting them.

CHAPTER 32 — THE SAFE HOUSE

They arrived at Elena’s apartment in the city at dawn — exhausted, bruised, and terrified. Elena had arranged a temporary safe house in a quiet, undisclosed neighborhood — a small, unmarked apartment with no windows facing the street.

“We stay here,” Elena said, locking the door and bolting it. “No phones, no internet, no contact with anyone outside. Until we’re ready.”

Mia sank onto the sofa, burying her face in her hands. “Adrian… he gave himself up for us. And Roberto killed him.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Lucas said, though his voice wavered. “We heard one shot. It could have been a warning. He could have escaped.” But his eyes told the truth — he was grieving, and the uncertainty was worse than knowing.

Elena set three mugs of coffee on the table. “We have his testimony. Everything he told us — about the brakes, the affair, the land deals, the threats. We have enough to bring Roberto down. But we have to be smart. He’s too powerful — we can’t just leak it. We need evidence, witnesses, timing.”

“Then we build it,” Lucas said, his voice hardening. “We finish what Adrian started. For him. For all of us.”

CHAPTER 33 — THE PREPARATION

For three days, they barely slept. Elena brought boxes of documents — bank records, property deeds, corporate filings, phone logs. They mapped the connections, traced the money, listed every crime — from the fake accident to the bribes, the threats, the killings.

Mia’s head ached from reading. “It’s all connected. Every single thing. Roberto didn’t just benefit — he engineered it. He played both our fathers like pawns.”

“And now he’s taking everything,” Lucas added. “Our families’ companies, the land, the reputation — he’s positioned himself as the savior, the one who ‘inherited’ the empire.”

“We need to go public,” Mia said firmly. “Not just online — a press conference. Live. Broadcast everywhere. So he can’t bury it, can’t deny it, can’t silence us before the whole world hears.”

Elena hesitated. “It’s dangerous. He could try anything — before, during, after.”

“Let him try,” Lucas said. “We’re not hiding anymore.”

---to be continue---