Chapter 6: The Woman Behind the Secret
1682 Words
Adrian had never driven that fast to his mother's house.
The city blurred beyond the windshield as he pressed harder on the accelerator, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
His mother's name kept repeating in his mind.
Margaret Blackwood.
The woman who had been with Amelia the night she disappeared.
The woman who had always warned him to stay away from Amelia.
The woman who had somehow known Amelia was leaving before Adrian did.
Five years.
Five years of believing Amelia had abandoned him.
What if she hadn't?
His phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered immediately.
"Tell me everything."
"We found the hospital record, sir."
"And?"
"There is something unusual."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"What?"
"The record shows Amelia was admitted under a different surname."
He frowned.
"Which surname?"
"Blackwood."
The world seemed to stop.
"What?"
"She was registered as Amelia Blackwood."
Adrian slammed his foot on the brake at a red light.
His heart pounded.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir. But the record was changed later."
"Changed by whom?"
"We're trying to trace it."
Adrian stared straight ahead.
Someone had tried to erase Amelia's connection to his family.
Someone had wanted the truth buried.
And suddenly, one thought became impossible to ignore.
His mother.
"Send everything to my phone."
"I already have."
Adrian ended the call.
The traffic light turned green.
He drove on.
---
I sat beside Ethan's bed that morning, watching him sleep.
His small chest rose and fell peacefully.
Unlike mine.
I hadn't slept all night.
Adrian's words kept playing in my head.
if he's my son, i will find out.
I knew he would.
That was what frightened me.
For five years, I had protected Ethan from the Blackwood family.
But now the past had found us.
I gently brushed Ethan's hair away from his forehead.
"I'm sorry, baby."
He stirred.
"Mommy?"
I smiled.
"Go back to sleep."
"Are you sad?"
My heart broke.
"No."
He opened his sleepy eyes.
"You cry when you're sad."
I froze.
Children noticed everything.
"I'm just tired."
He reached for my hand.
"Don't be sad, Mommy."
I squeezed his fingers.
"I won't."
But I knew I was lying.
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
you should have stayed away from Adrian.
My blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
the truth will destroy your son.
I stood immediately.
Who was this?
How did they know about Ethan?
I typed:
who are you?
The message was seen.
No reply.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Who is this?"
A woman's voice finally spoke.
"You need to listen carefully."
I recognized the voice.
My blood turned to ice.
"Margaret?"
A soft laugh came through the phone.
"Still as intelligent as I remember."
I stepped away from Ethan's bed.
"Why are you calling me?"
"You should never have returned."
"I didn't return. Your son found me."
"Then leave again."
I clenched my jaw.
"No."
Her voice became colder.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"I understand perfectly."
"No, Amelia. You don't."
"I know what you did."
Silence.
My heart raced.
"You were at the hospital that night."
Another silence.
"You knew I was pregnant."
Nothing.
"You knew Ethan was Adrian's son."
The line went completely quiet.
Then Margaret said something that made my knees weaken.
"I knew."
My hand covered my mouth.
For five years, I had wondered.
Now I had the answer.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you let me leave?"
"Because I had no choice."
"You always have a choice!"
My voice rose.
Ethan stirred in the bedroom.
I lowered my voice.
"You destroyed my life."
"I saved my son's future."
"By taking his child away?"
"By protecting him from you."
I felt tears burning my eyes.
"You never knew me."
"I knew enough."
"What does that mean?"
Margaret didn't answer.
"Tell me!"
She sighed.
"You think Adrian would have chosen you if he knew you were carrying his child?"
My heart shattered.
"He loved me."
"He was twenty-seven and foolish."
"He would have chosen us."
"You don't know that."
"I know him better than you think."
"You knew the man he was."
Her voice became bitter.
"I know the man he had to become."
I wiped my tears.
"What did you do?"
"I gave you a choice."
I remembered that night.
The hospital room.
The envelope.
The threats.
My trembling hands.
The way Margaret had looked at me.
"Leave Adrian," she continued, "and I would make sure you and the baby were safe."
"You threatened me."
"I warned you."
"You told me Adrian would lose everything."
"He would have."
"And you told me you'd destroy my family."
"Because I knew you wouldn't leave otherwise."
I closed my eyes.
Five years of pain.
Five years of wondering whether Adrian had ever loved me.
Five years of raising Ethan alone.
All because of her.
"Does Adrian know?"
"No."
"Does he know about Ethan?"
"Not yet."
I swallowed.
"But he will."
Margaret's voice became dangerously calm.
"That is why I'm calling you."
"What do you want?"
"Leave the city."
"No."
"Amelia."
"I'm not running anymore."
"You should."
"I spent five years running because of you."
"And it kept your son alive."
I froze.
"What does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
"Margaret!"
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
My hands were shaking.
keep your son alive.
What had she meant?
---
Adrian arrived at his mother's mansion fifteen minutes later.
He walked through the front doors without waiting for the servants.
"Where is my mother?"
The housekeeper looked frightened.
"Sir, Mrs. Blackwood is in the garden."
Adrian didn't respond.
He walked straight through the mansion.
He found Margaret sitting beneath a white canopy, calmly drinking tea.
She looked up.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she smiled.
"Adrian."
"Mom."
She studied his face.
"You look angry."
"I am."
"Why?"
He placed the hospital document on the table.
Her eyes immediately fell to it.
For the first time, her composure cracked.
Adrian saw it.
"You know what this is."
She slowly placed her cup down.
"Where did you get that?"
"That's not an answer."
"Adrian—"
"Were you at the hospital five years ago?"
Silence.
"Answer me."
Margaret looked away.
"Yes."
His chest tightened.
"Why?"
"I was helping someone."
"Amelia."
Her eyes returned to his.
"Yes."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Why was she registered as Amelia Blackwood?"
Margaret's face hardened.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
"I did what I had to do."
"What did you do?"
"I protected you."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
His voice cracked.
"Who exactly were you protecting me from?"
"From a life you weren't ready for."
"You mean Amelia?"
Margaret said nothing.
"Was she pregnant?"
Her silence was enough.
Adrian stopped breathing.
"Mom."
She closed her eyes.
"Yes."
The word hit him like a bullet.
His entire world tilted.
He took a step backward.
"She was pregnant?"
"Yes."
"With my child?"
Margaret didn't answer.
Adrian's voice became a whisper.
"Was she carrying my child?"
"Yes."
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"No."
He shook his head.
"No."
"Adrian—"
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"You knew I had a child?"
"Yes."
"And you let me believe Amelia abandoned me?"
"I did what was necessary."
His fist slammed onto the table.
"Necessary?"
The tea cup jumped.
"You stole five years from me!"
"I saved you from ruining your life."
"My life?"
His voice echoed across the garden.
"She was my life!"
Margaret stood.
"She would have destroyed everything."
"You destroyed everything!"
He stared at his mother.
"I have a son."
She looked away.
"Yes."
Adrian's breathing became uneven.
"Ethan."
Margaret's eyes snapped toward him.
Adrian noticed.
"You know his name."
She said nothing.
"You've known about him."
"Adrian, listen to me."
"No!"
He stepped back.
"How many times did you see him?"
Margaret remained silent.
His eyes narrowed.
"How many?"
"Never."
He didn't believe her.
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"Then why did you react when I said his name?"
Margaret's face became pale.
Adrian understood.
There was more.
Much more.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing."
"Mom."
He leaned closer.
"If you lied to me about anything else..."
He stopped.
His voice lowered.
"I will find out."
Margaret stared at him.
"You don't know what you're doing."
"For the first time in my life, I know exactly what I'm doing."
He turned to leave.
"Adrian."
He stopped.
"Stay away from Amelia."
He slowly turned around.
"Why?"
"Because the truth isn't what you think it is."
"What truth?"
Margaret's eyes were filled with fear.
Before she could answer, Adrian's phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered.
"Sir, we've found another record."
"What?"
"The hospital had a second file."
Adrian's face changed.
"What does it say?"
Marcus hesitated.
"There's an emergency report from the night Amelia disappeared."
"Read it."
"It says a man came to the hospital looking for Amelia."
Adrian frowned.
"Who?"
"We're still identifying him."
"Marcus."
"Sir, there's more."
"What?"
"The report says the man claimed to be Ethan's father."
Adrian froze.
His eyes moved slowly toward his mother.
Margaret had gone completely pale.
Adrian lowered the phone.
"Who was the man?"
Marcus's voice came through the speaker.
"We're trying to confirm it."
Adrian stared at his mother.
She knew.
He could see it in her eyes.
She knew exactly who that man was.
And suddenly, Adrian realized something terrifying.
Maybe the biggest secret wasn't that Ethan was his son.
Maybe the biggest secret was who else had been fighting to claim Amelia and her child five years ago.
Adrian walked toward his mother.
"Tell me his name."
Margaret said nothing.
"Mom."
Still nothing.
His voice became cold.
"Tell me his name."
She finally whispered:
"Lucas."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
There was only one Lucas he could think of.
His former best friend.
The man who had disappeared from his life five years ago.
The man Adrian had believed was dead.
His phone slipped slightly in his hand.
"Lucas is alive?"
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Adrian stared at her in horror.
"And he knows about Ethan."
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