The Vale Estate
1278 Words
“Because that's where your mother disappeared.”
Elise's words followed Evelyn even after Kael pulled her through the back exit.
They hurried into the darkness behind the building.
“Wait!” Evelyn called.
Kael didn't stop.
“Kael!”
He finally turned.
“What?”
“You heard her.”
“Yes.”
“She told me not to go to the Vale estate.”
“I heard her.”
“Then why are you taking me there?”
Kael stared at her.
“Because whoever attacked that building knows where we are.”
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“And the estate is safe?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because it's the only place they won't attack.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Kael opened the car door.
Evelyn didn't move.
“You keep asking me to trust you while refusing to tell me anything.”
“I know.”
“That's not good enough.”
Kael looked toward the dark street.
“Seven years ago, your mother came to the Vale estate because she believed my father had information about your father's death.”
Evelyn went still.
“What happened?”
“She never left.”
Her heart sank.
“Then Elise was right.”
Kael nodded.
“She was.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“And you're still taking me there?”
“Because if Elena left anything behind, it will be there.”
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she got into the car.
---
The Vale estate stood beyond the city, surrounded by tall trees and iron gates.
It was enormous.
But there was nothing welcoming about it.
The gates opened automatically as Kael approached.
Evelyn stared through the window.
“Does your father live here?”
“He used to.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don't know.”
“You really don't?”
Kael glanced at her.
“If I knew where he was, I wouldn't be looking for him.”
The car stopped.
Kael got out first.
Evelyn followed.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Old portraits covered the walls.
Evelyn noticed one immediately.
Victor Vale stood beside Daniel Hart.
She walked closer.
Her eyes narrowed.
There was something behind them.
A small child.
A girl.
She looked about five years old.
Evelyn stared at the painting.
“That girl…”
Kael looked at it.
“What?”
“She's me.”
Kael stepped closer.
The realization appeared on his face.
“I've never seen this portrait.”
Evelyn touched the frame.
“Why would your family have a portrait of me?”
Kael didn't answer.
A sound came from upstairs.
Both looked up.
Someone was walking across the floor.
Kael immediately moved toward the staircase.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Evelyn.”
“You're not leaving me downstairs alone.”
He sighed.
“Fine. Stay behind me.”
They climbed the stairs.
The footsteps stopped.
Kael opened the nearest door.
Empty.
Another room.
Empty.
Then Evelyn noticed a door at the end of the hallway.
It was locked.
“What's in there?”
Kael tried the handle.
“Nothing.”
“Then why is it locked?”
He looked at her.
“Good question.”
He pulled a key from his pocket.
Evelyn frowned.
“You have a key?”
“My father gave it to me years ago.”
He unlocked the door.
The room was dark.
Kael switched on the light.
Evelyn stopped at the entrance.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Her mother.
Her father.
Elise.
Victor Vale.
And Evelyn herself.
Dozens of photographs.
Some were taken when she was a child.
Others were recent.
Evelyn's voice shook.
“Who was watching me?”
Kael walked toward the photographs.
“I don't know.”
She pointed to one.
It showed her leaving university.
Another showed her entering her apartment.
Another showed her sitting in a café.
“They've been following me.”
“Yes.”
“For years.”
Kael's expression darkened.
“Yes.”
Evelyn turned toward him.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I didn't know who was behind it.”
She looked around the room.
“Then what is this?”
Kael noticed something on the desk.
A small recorder.
He picked it up.
There was a label on it.
ELENA — AUGUST 14.
Evelyn's breath caught.
“Play it.”
Kael pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then a woman's voice.
Evelyn froze.
Her mother's voice.
“If you're hearing this, then something happened to me.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“Elena continued:
“Evelyn, if you're listening to this, I need you to understand something.”
A pause.
“I never abandoned you.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“I left because I discovered the truth about your birth.”
Kael looked at Evelyn.
The recording continued.
“Daniel loved you. He raised you as his daughter. But he wasn't your biological father.”
Evelyn's tears fell.
“I wanted to tell you the truth. But I couldn't.”
A long pause.
“Because your real father is someone the Vale family has spent years trying to destroy.”
The recording suddenly became distorted.
Then Elena's voice returned.
“His name is—”
The recording cut off.
Evelyn stared at the recorder.
“No.”
She pressed the button again.
Nothing.
“Play it again!”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“The file is damaged.”
Evelyn's frustration broke through.
“There has to be another copy!”
Kael searched the desk.
Drawers.
Folders.
Books.
Nothing.
Then Evelyn noticed a small metal box beneath the desk.
She pulled it out.
Inside was a key.
And a note.
She unfolded it.
THE ANSWER IS BENEATH THE HOUSE.
Kael read it over her shoulder.
His expression changed.
“There is a basement.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then let's go.”
Before they could move, the lights went out.
A sound came from downstairs.
The front door had opened.
Kael immediately switched on his phone flashlight.
“Someone's here.”
Evelyn whispered,
“Your father?”
“I don't know.”
Footsteps echoed through the house.
Slowly approaching.
Then a man's voice called from downstairs.
“Evelyn Hart.”
She froze.
The voice continued.
“You've been looking for your mother.”
Kael stepped in front of her.
“Who are you?”
The man laughed softly.
“Ask Kael.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Why?”
The footsteps stopped.
Then the stranger spoke again.
“Ask him why your father was really killed.”
Kael's face went pale.
Evelyn stared at him.
“What does he mean?”
Kael didn't answer.
The voice came again.
“And ask him who was in the car with Daniel Hart the night he died.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
She looked at Kael.
“Who?”
Kael remained silent.
Then the stranger said one final thing.
“You already know the answer.”
A light flickered on downstairs.
For one brief second, Evelyn saw the shadow of a man standing in the entrance.
Then he was gone.
Kael grabbed her arm.
“We're leaving.”
Evelyn pulled away.
“No.”
“Evelyn—”
“You're not taking me anywhere until you tell me the truth.”
Kael stared at her.
Finally, he spoke.
“I was in the car.”
Evelyn froze.
“What?”
Kael's voice was barely audible.
“I was there the night your father died.”
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