The Other Half
1922 Words
Maya stood frozen at the mansion gate.
The stranger was already walking away.
Her heart was pounding so loudly that she could barely hear anything else.
“Your mother told me you would come.”
Those words kept repeating in her mind.
Her mother was alive.
After ten years of believing otherwise, Maya finally had proof.
Or at least, someone had given her a reason to believe.
Then she looked at her phone again.
DON'T TRUST THE MAN WITH THE CRESCENT.
Her excitement disappeared.
Alexander returned from the road.
“Where did he go?”
“I don't know. He disappeared around the corner.”
Maya held up her phone.
“He sent another warning.”
Alexander read it.
His expression became serious.
“What?”
“I don't know who to believe anymore.”
Alexander looked at the road.
“Neither do I.”
“Then why did you chase him?”
“Because he knows something.”
“And if the warning is true?”
“Then we find out before we trust him.”
Maya looked toward the empty road.
“Do you think he was telling the truth?”
“I think he knew your mother.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Yes.”
Maya's breath caught.
“You think my mother is alive?”
“I do.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Maya whispered, “I need to see her.”
“We will.”
---
That night, Maya couldn't sleep.
She sat at her desk with her mother's diary open in front of her.
The final pages contained only a few sentences.
She read them repeatedly.
Find the person who carries the other half of the crescent.
Maya touched the silver necklace.
“What were you trying to tell me, Mom?”
She turned the necklace over.
There was something she hadn't noticed before.
A tiny compartment was hidden behind the pendant.
Maya pressed it.
A small piece of paper slipped out.
She unfolded it.
Only three words were written.
Blue Rose Hotel.
Maya immediately stood.
She grabbed her phone and called Alexander.
He answered almost instantly.
“What happened?”
“I found something.”
“Where are you?”
“In my room.”
“I'll be there.”
A few seconds later, Alexander entered.
Maya showed him the paper.
“Blue Rose Hotel.”
He studied it.
“That hotel closed five years ago.”
“Then why would my mother write it?”
“Maybe because there's something there.”
“Then we should go.”
Alexander hesitated.
“It's dangerous.”
“So is everything else.”
He sighed.
“Give me ten minutes.”
---
The Blue Rose Hotel stood on the edge of the city.
The building was old and abandoned, with broken windows and weeds growing around the entrance.
Maya stared at it.
“My mother came here?”
“Maybe.”
Alexander's security team searched the building first.
Then they entered.
The lobby was covered in dust.
A large chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Maya noticed a painting of a blue rose above the reception desk.
She walked toward it.
“Alexander.”
He followed.
“What?”
She pointed at the painting.
“There.”
A tiny metal key was hidden behind the frame.
Alexander removed it.
“Another key.”
Maya took a deep breath.
“Where does it lead?”
They searched the lobby until they found an old wooden door.
The key fit.
The door opened into a narrow hallway.
They followed it downstairs.
At the end was a small room.
Inside was a table, two chairs, and a single envelope.
Maya's name was written on it.
She froze.
“My mother knew I would find this.”
Alexander stood beside her.
“Open it.”
Maya unfolded the letter.
Maya,
If you have found this place, then you are finally old enough to know what happened.
Her hands trembled.
I never abandoned you. I left because people were watching our family. Your father wanted to keep you safe, but he made choices I could not accept.
Maya looked at Alexander.
“Keep reading.”
She continued.
There was someone inside our family who was working with the people behind Blackwood Holdings. I couldn't discover who it was. Daniel came close to finding the answer.
Maya's heart tightened.
If Daniel is alive, find him. If he is dead, do not believe the story you were told.
She stopped.
Alexander looked at her.
“That's exactly what we discovered.”
Maya continued.
Most importantly, don't trust anyone who tells you they can give you everything you want. Truth always has a price.
The final line made Maya's heart stop.
Alexander knows more than he admits.
Maya slowly lowered the letter.
Alexander said nothing.
“You knew.”
“I suspected your mother knew something about me.”
“She mentioned you.”
“Yes.”
“She warned me about you.”
“I know.”
Maya stared at him.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Alexander looked away.
“My father knew Daniel was investigating Blackwood Holdings.”
“And?”
“He ordered Daniel to stop.”
Maya's eyes widened.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Alexander shook his head.
“I discovered the order after Daniel disappeared.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whether my father was involved in his disappearance.”
Maya stepped backward.
“So your family may have been responsible for what happened to Daniel.”
“Yes.”
She stared at him.
“And you still married me.”
“I married you because I needed answers.”
“That sounds like an excuse.”
“It is.”
The honesty silenced her.
Alexander stepped closer.
“I should have told you earlier.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid you would leave.”
Maya looked at him.
“Why would you care?”
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
“Because you're the first person who has made me question everything I've believed.”
Maya's heart skipped.
She looked away.
“This isn't the time for that.”
“I know.”
---
A noise came from upstairs.
Both froze.
Alexander immediately moved toward the door.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Maya.”
“I am not staying behind.”
He looked at her.
“Fine. Stay close.”
They moved quietly up the stairs.
The lobby was empty.
Then a window shattered.
Maya gasped.
Alexander pulled her behind him.
Someone ran across the hallway.
Security rushed after the figure.
A few seconds later, one of the guards returned.
“They escaped.”
Alexander looked around.
“Did they leave anything?”
The guard held up a small envelope.
Maya's name was written on it.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Maya stared.
It showed her mother standing beside the mysterious man with the crescent.
But there was another person in the picture.
Daniel.
Alive.
Maya's hands began shaking.
“It's him.”
Alexander looked at the photograph.
“When was this taken?”
Maya turned it over.
A date was written on the back.
Two months ago.
Alexander's expression changed.
“He's alive.”
Maya nodded.
“And he's with my mother.”
---
They returned to the mansion before dawn.
Maya couldn't stop looking at the photograph.
Her mother.
Daniel.
The stranger.
Together.
Alive.
Alexander sat across from her.
“We need to find them.”
Maya nodded.
“Where?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Then we'll start with the man carrying the crescent.”
Alexander looked at the photograph.
“There may be another way.”
“What?”
He took out his phone.
“Daniel left something behind.”
“What?”
“A contact.”
Maya leaned closer.
“Who?”
“Someone he trusted before he disappeared.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Yes.”
“Then call them.”
Alexander dialed the number.
It rang several times.
Finally, someone answered.
Alexander spoke first.
“It's Alexander Hayes.”
Silence.
Then a woman's voice replied.
“I know who you are.”
“We found Daniel.”
Another silence.
“You shouldn't have.”
Maya's heart pounded.
“Who is this?” Alexander asked.
The woman ignored him.
“Does Maya know?”
Maya stepped closer.
“I can hear you.”
The woman went silent.
Then she said,
“Your mother is alive.”
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
“Where is she?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Please.”
“You're being watched.”
“Who is watching me?”
“The same people who took your mother.”
Maya's voice shook.
“Who are they?”
The woman hesitated.
Then she whispered,
“Someone inside your family.”
The call ended.
Maya stared at the phone.
Alexander slowly lowered it.
“Someone inside my family,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
She thought about her father.
Then about everyone who had surrounded her childhood.
“There are so many possibilities.”
Alexander nodded.
“But only one person knows where your mother is.”
“The man with the crescent.”
“Yes.”
Maya looked at the photograph again.
For the first time, she noticed something strange.
The man wasn't looking at the camera.
He was looking directly at her mother.
And Ella wasn't looking at him either.
She was looking at Daniel.
Maya zoomed in.
There was something in Daniel's hand.
A piece of paper.
On it was a number.
Maya copied it.
“What's that?” Alexander asked.
“I don't know.”
She entered the number into her phone.
Before she could press call, another message appeared.
YOU ARE GETTING TOO CLOSE.
Then another.
COME ALONE.
Maya's heart pounded.
A location followed.
An abandoned church outside the city.
Alexander read the message.
“No.”
“I'm going.”
“Absolutely not.”
“My mother could be there.”
“It could be a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then why would you go?”
“Because if I don't, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering.”
Alexander stared at her.
“You're not going alone.”
“The message said alone.”
“I don't care.”
Maya almost smiled.
“You really don't listen.”
“Not when your life is involved.”
She looked at him.
For a moment, the tension between them changed.
Then Maya looked away.
“Fine.”
Alexander picked up his jacket.
“We leave in ten minutes.”
Maya held the photograph tightly.
Her mother was alive.
Daniel was alive.
Someone inside her family was hiding the truth.
And someone was waiting for Maya at an abandoned church.
For the first time, she wasn't afraid of what she might discover.
She was afraid of what would happen if she didn't.
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
Rain began falling against the windows.
Maya looked at Alexander.
“Whatever happens tonight…”
“Yes?”
“We find the truth.”
Alexander nodded.
“Together.”
Neither of them knew that someone was already waiting for them.
And that the next secret would change everything they thought they knew about the wedding that had brought them together.
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