Chapter 15 — The Final Secret
1136 Words
Chapter 15 — The Final Secret
The elevator went completely dark.
Lena's breath caught.
“Adrian?”
“I’m here.”
His voice came from directly beside her.
Victoria was on the other side of the elevator, trying to remain calm.
“Don't panic,” Adrian said. “The emergency lights should come on.”
They didn't.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a faint red light appeared above the control panel.
Adrian pressed the emergency button.
Nothing happened.
“The system has been disabled,” he said.
Lena looked at the envelope still in his hand.
“The message said the final secret is ours.”
Adrian opened it carefully.
Inside was a small photograph and a handwritten note.
Lena leaned closer.
The photograph showed two young children standing outside the Rosewood cottage.
It was the same picture they had already seen.
But someone had written a sentence across the bottom.
One of them was never supposed to remember.
Lena looked at Adrian.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
Victoria suddenly spoke.
“I do.”
They both turned toward her.
Victoria's face had gone pale.
“What?”
She looked at Lena.
“When you were little, there was an accident.”
Lena frowned.
“What accident?”
“You fell down the stairs at Rosewood.”
Lena searched her memory.
Nothing.
“I don't remember.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
Adrian looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because the doctors believed the accident affected her memory.”
Lena stared at Victoria.
“You're saying I forgot something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Victoria hesitated.
“The night your mother disappeared.”
Lena felt a chill.
“You think I saw something?”
“I know you did.”
The elevator suddenly jolted.
Lena grabbed the railing.
Adrian steadied himself.
Then the lights returned.
The doors opened.
They were standing on the top floor.
But the corridor was empty.
Adrian stepped out first.
“Stay behind me.”
They moved toward his office.
The door was open.
The room had been searched.
Drawers were pulled out.
Papers covered the floor.
Lena looked around.
“Someone was looking for something.”
Adrian walked toward his desk.
The metal box containing his father's recording was gone.
Victoria closed her eyes.
“They found it.”
Adrian immediately took out his phone.
“I’m calling security.”
Before he could dial, the office phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It rang again.
Adrian answered.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then a familiar voice spoke.
“Your father should have told you the truth.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Richard.”
A quiet laugh came through the receiver.
“You've been searching for answers for years.”
“What do you want?”
“The evidence.”
“You already have it.”
“No,” Richard replied. “You have something I need.”
Adrian looked at Lena.
“What?”
Richard answered:
“Her memory.”
The call ended.
Lena stared at Adrian.
“What does he mean?”
Victoria looked at her sadly.
“Your mother once told me that you remembered something from that night.”
“But I don't.”
“You may not remember consciously.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Then how do we recover it?”
Victoria shook her head.
“We don't force it.”
Lena looked toward the window.
A strange image suddenly flashed through her mind.
A red door.
Her mother's voice.
A little boy holding her hand.
And someone shouting.
Lena grabbed the edge of the desk.
“Lena?”
“I remember something.”
Adrian immediately moved closer.
“What?”
“A door.”
“What kind?”
“Red.”
Victoria's face changed.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Lena closed her eyes.
Another image appeared.
Her mother kneeling beside her.
“Don't tell anyone,” she had whispered.
Then another voice.
A man's voice.
“Where is the evidence?”
Lena opened her eyes.
“Richard was there.”
Victoria nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Lena's breathing became uneven.
“He was arguing with my mother.”
Adrian listened carefully.
“What happened next?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
Lena closed her eyes again.
She remembered her mother pushing her toward a door.
“Run.”
Then Adrian's father appeared.
He was holding someone's hand.
A woman.
Victoria.
Lena opened her eyes.
“You were there.”
Victoria nodded.
“I was.”
“You helped my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Victoria looked at Adrian.
“Your father arrived before Richard could find the evidence.”
Lena's memory became clearer.
She saw her mother placing something inside a wooden box.
Then she heard her mother's voice.
One day, Lena will be old enough to understand.
Lena suddenly remembered another detail.
“The box.”
Adrian frowned.
“What box?”
“The wooden box from Rosewood.”
“We found it.”
“No.”
Lena shook her head.
“There was another one.”
Victoria's eyes widened.
“Where?”
Lena whispered:
“Behind the red door.”
Adrian immediately understood.
“We need to go back.”
Suddenly, the office door slammed shut.
All three turned.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Someone was standing outside.
Adrian motioned for Lena and Victoria to move behind him.
A voice came from the hallway.
“You should have left the past alone.”
Adrian stared at the door.
“Richard.”
The door slowly opened.
But Richard wasn't standing there.
Instead, a security guard entered.
He looked frightened.
“Mr. Vale, you need to leave.”
“Why?”
“The police are here.”
Adrian frowned.
“What happened?”
“The evidence from your father's office was reported stolen.”
Victoria looked at Lena.
“This is a trap.”
Adrian nodded.
“Agreed.”
They hurried toward the private exit.
But before they reached it, Lena stopped.
“Wait.”
She looked back at the office.
“The message.”
“What about it?” Adrian asked.
She held up the photograph.
“One of them was never supposed to remember.”
She looked at Adrian.
“I think the person Richard is really afraid of isn't my mother.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Then who?”
Lena looked at the photograph of the two children.
“Me.”
At that exact moment, Adrian's phone received a new message.
He opened it.
There was only one sentence:
If you want the truth, return to Rosewood before midnight.
Beneath it was a photograph of the red door.
And Lena recognized what was written across it.
A single word:
LENA.
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