Chapter 21.
That night, the sky outside the windows of Vale's mansion was pitch black, illuminated by streetlights that flickered like fragile candles. Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was far from calm. Evelyn Vale stood tall in the living room, her face stern yet filled with a care that was rarely shown. Elara stared at her, still in disbelief that her mother-in-law had finally opened up. All this time, Evelyn had always seemed cold, haughty, and never showed weakness but tonight, something had changed.
"Elara... it's time you knew the whole truth," Evelyn's voice sounded heavy, as if she swallowed her own words before saying them. "Adrian... was indeed kidnapped. But not just by an outsider. There is a traitor within this family."
Elara swallowed, her heart pounding. For months she
