CHAPTER 7
1075 Words
Lucy stared at Elena.
“My life… or yours?”
Elena nodded slowly.
“They gave me a choice.”
“Who?”
Elena looked at Damian.
Lucy followed her gaze.
“Why are you looking at him?”
Damian's face hardened.
“I don't know what she's talking about.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“You always say that.”
Damian turned toward her.
“Be careful, Elena.”
Lucy immediately noticed the tension between them.
“Stop.”
Both of them looked at her.
“I've had enough of everyone keeping secrets from me. If you know something, say it.”
Elena took a deep breath.
“Five years ago, I found out that Father was involved in something dangerous.”
Lucy frowned.
“What kind of something?”
“Money. Blackmail. People who could make someone disappear without leaving a trace.”
Lucy shook her head.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“I don't believe you.”
“I didn't either.”
Elena looked down at her hands.
“Then one night, I saw Father arguing with a man.”
“Who?”
“I didn't know his name. But I remembered his face.”
Damian suddenly spoke.
“What did he look like?”
Elena looked at him.
“Tall. Dark hair. A scar above his left eyebrow.”
Damian went silent.
Lucy noticed.
“You know him?”
“No.”
“Damian.”
“I said no.”
Lucien leaned back in his seat.
“That was a very convincing lie.”
Damian glared at him.
“Stay out of this.”
Lucien smiled.
“Gladly. Just don't lie badly when I'm listening.”
Lucy almost laughed despite herself.
“This is not funny.”
“I know,” Lucien said. “But somebody has to keep us from crying.”
Elena continued.
“That man wanted something from Father. Father refused.”
“What happened?”
“They threatened our family.”
Lucy swallowed.
“And then?”
Elena looked directly at her.
“Three days later, your accident happened.”
The car became silent.
Lucy felt her chest tighten.
“So they killed me because of Father?”
“They tried.”
“But you said they made you choose.”
Elena nodded.
“They caught me before I could reach you.”
Lucy stared at her.
“They told me the car had been prepared. They said you wouldn't survive.”
“Then why am I alive?”
“Because someone got to you first.”
Lucy looked at Damian.
He didn't meet her eyes.
“You.”
Damian finally looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You found me.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't tell anyone I survived.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
Damian's jaw tightened.
“Because the people who wanted you dead were still looking for you.”
Lucy stared at him.
“You could have told me.”
“You were unconscious.”
“You could have told me later.”
“I tried.”
“Then why didn't you?”
Damian looked away.
“Because your father found me first.”
Lucy froze.
“What?”
“He warned me that if I told anyone you were alive, they would kill you.”
Lucy felt tears burn her eyes.
“So you believed him?”
“I had no choice.”
She laughed sadly.
“Everyone always has a choice.”
Elena lowered her head.
“I didn't.”
Lucy looked at her.
“What did they make you do?”
Elena's lips trembled.
“They made me sign something.”
“What?”
“Your death certificate.”
Lucy went still.
The words hit harder than she expected.
“You signed it?”
“I was threatened.”
“You signed my death certificate.”
“I was trying to save you!”
“But you made me officially dead!”
Elena began crying.
“I thought you were already dead.”
Lucy looked away.
For five years, she had believed everyone had forgotten her.
Her husband had moved on.
Her sister was dead.
Her father was dead.
But now she knew none of those things were simple.
Suddenly, Damian's phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
His face changed.
Lucy noticed immediately.
“What happened?”
Damian ended the call.
“We need to go.”
“Why?”
“Someone found the house.”
Lucien sat up.
“How fast?”
“Ten minutes.”
Lucy stared at them.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
“No.”
She grabbed her bag.
“Of course. Why would I get one peaceful night?”
Lucien smiled.
“Your life is allergic to peace.”
Lucy glared at him.
“Not helping.”
They quickly got out of the car.
Damian led them through a side entrance into his old house.
The place was huge and strangely quiet.
Lucy looked around.
“You live here?”
“Sometimes.”
She shook her head.
“Rich people really need too many houses.”
Lucien laughed.
“That's what I said.”
Damian ignored them.
“Stay here.”
Lucy folded her arms.
“No.”
He frowned.
“Lucy.”
“You've hidden enough from me. I'm not sitting in another room while everyone else decides what happens to me.”
Elena stepped beside her.
“She deserves to know.”
Damian sighed.
“Fine.”
He walked toward an old wooden cabinet and opened it.
Inside was a small metal box.
He pulled it out.
Lucy stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Something I found after your accident.”
He opened the box.
Inside was a photograph.
Lucy picked it up.
Her heart stopped.
It showed her father standing beside the same scarred man Elena had described.
But that wasn't what frightened her.
Behind them stood another person.
Lucy slowly turned the photograph over.
Written on the back were four words:
**DAMIAN WAS THERE TOO.**
Lucy looked up at her husband.
“You were there?”
Damian said nothing.
Lucy stepped closer.
“You knew this man.”
Still nothing.
“Damian!”
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You finally found the photograph.”
Lucy froze.
The voice continued.
“And now you're all going to die.”
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