HIS LAST CHOICE HIS FOREVER

The photograph

The silence inside the archive room became suffocating.

Ethan stared at Isabella.

Victoria stood several feet away, her face unusually pale.

"What do you mean by my family?" Ethan finally asked.

Isabella didn't answer immediately.

Her eyes remained on Victoria.

"Ask her."

Ethan turned toward Victoria.

"Victoria?"

Victoria swallowed.

"I don't know what she's talking about."

"Then why do you look terrified?"

Victoria's eyes widened.

"I'm not terrified."

Isabella gave a quiet laugh.

"You were perfectly confident a minute ago."

She stepped closer.

"Until I mentioned my father."

Victoria's jaw tightened.

"You don't know anything about me."

"Then explain the photograph."

Victoria's hand tightened around the old photograph.

Ethan noticed.

"What photograph?"

Victoria quickly moved her hand behind her back.

"It's nothing."

"Let me see it."

Ethan's voice was firm.

Victoria hesitated.

Then she slowly handed him the photograph.

Ethan looked down.

His expression changed.

Isabella watched him carefully.

"What is it?"

He didn't answer.

She stepped closer and looked over his shoulder.

Her breath caught.

The photograph showed three people standing outside an old building.

Her father.

Ethan's father.

And a much younger Victoria.

Isabella's heart pounded.

"Why are you in a photograph with my father?"

Victoria looked away.

"I knew him."

"You said you didn't."

"I said I didn't know what you were talking about."

"You lied."

Isabella reached for the photograph, but Ethan held it back.

"Wait."

She looked at him.

"Why?"

Ethan studied the picture again.

"I've never seen this."

"Neither have I."

"Maybe there's an explanation."

Isabella's eyes narrowed.

"Of course there is."

She pointed toward the photograph.

"That's what I'm trying to find."

Ethan looked at Victoria.

"Tell us what happened."

Victoria shook her head.

"There is nothing to tell."

"Victoria."

His voice became colder.

She looked at him.

"You won't believe me."

"Try me."

Victoria remained silent.

Isabella crossed her arms.

"You were connected to my father."

"No."

"You were standing beside him."

"I met him once."

"When?"

Victoria hesitated.

"Years ago."

"Why?"

"I don't remember."

Isabella almost laughed.

"You don't remember meeting the man whose death changed my entire life?"

Victoria's eyes flickered.

"I was young."

"So was I."

The words came out sharper than Isabella intended.

For a moment, Victoria looked almost guilty.

Then her expression hardened again.

"Your father wasn't the man you think he was."

Isabella froze.

"What did you say?"

Victoria looked directly at her.

"Your father had enemies."

"I know."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Can't?"

Victoria shook her head.

"If I tell you, you're going to put yourself in danger."

Isabella stepped closer.

"My father is dead. My family has lied to me for years. Someone tried to kill me. And now I find out your name is connected to my father."

Her voice trembled with anger.

"Don't tell me I'm in danger as if I don't already know."

Victoria looked at Ethan.

"She needs to stop digging."

Isabella followed her gaze.

"Why?"

Victoria didn't answer.

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"Victoria, what aren't you telling us?"

Victoria took a shaky breath.

"Your father knew Isabella's father."

Ethan stiffened.

"My father?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying again."

Victoria's eyes filled with frustration.

"I was told never to talk about it."

"By whom?"

She looked at Ethan.

Then at Isabella.

Her lips parted.

But before she could speak, the lights suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Isabella gasped.

"Ethan?"

"I'm here."

She felt his hand close around hers.

"Stay behind me."

A loud crash came from the far side of the archive.

Someone was inside.

Ethan immediately pulled Isabella closer.

"Don't move."

Victoria whispered, "Someone's here."

A shadow moved between the shelves.

Isabella's heart raced.

"Who is that?"

No answer.

Then footsteps.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Coming toward them.

Ethan reached for his phone and switched on the flashlight.

The beam cut through the darkness.

Nothing.

"Stay here."

He moved forward.

Isabella grabbed his arm.

"No."

He looked at her.

"Don't go alone."

For a moment, something softened in his expression.

Then he nodded.

They moved together.

Victoria stayed behind them.

Another crash came from the opposite side.

Isabella turned.

"Over there."

Ethan immediately followed the sound.

They reached the end of the aisle.

A window stood open.

The curtains moved in the cold morning air.

Someone had escaped.

But something lay on the floor.

Isabella bent down.

It was an envelope.

Her name was written across it.

ISABELLA SINCLAIR

Her fingers trembled as she picked it up.

Ethan looked at her.

"Don't open it."

She ignored him.

She tore the envelope open.

Inside was a single sheet of paper.

She unfolded it.

Her eyes moved across the words.

Your father didn't die because of a business deal.

Isabella's heart stopped.

She read the next line.

He died because he discovered what the Kingston family had done.

Her hand began to shake.

Ethan noticed.

"What does it say?"

Isabella looked up at him.

Before she could answer, Victoria whispered behind them.

"No..."

They both turned.

Victoria was staring at the paper.

Her face had lost all color.

"You know something," Isabella said.

Victoria shook her head.

"No."

"Then why are you scared?"

Victoria's eyes filled with tears.

"Because that handwriting..."

She stopped.

Isabella stared at her.

"What about it?"

Victoria slowly stepped closer.

"I've seen it before."

"Whose handwriting is it?"

Victoria looked at Ethan.

Then at Isabella.

Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Your father's."

Isabella's blood ran cold.

"That's impossible."

"I know."

"But he's dead."

Victoria nodded.

"Exactly."

Ethan took the paper from Isabella.

He read it.

His expression became unreadable.

Then his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

His face immediately changed.

"Who is it?" Isabella asked.

Ethan didn't answer.

He walked a few steps away before answering.

"Hello?"

A man's voice came through the phone.

Ethan's eyes darkened.

"What?"

Isabella watched him carefully.

His expression shifted from confusion to shock.

Then anger.

"Where?"

He listened for a few seconds.

"I'll be there."

He ended the call.

Isabella approached him.

"What happened?"

Ethan looked at her.

"My father."

Her heart skipped.

"What about him?"

"He's asking for you."

Isabella frowned.

"Why?"

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"He said there's something you need to know about your father."

Silence filled the room.

Isabella looked at the letter in her hand.

Then at Victoria.

Then back at Ethan.

For the first time, Ethan didn't look like the powerful, untouchable CEO everyone feared.

He looked worried.

And that frightened Isabella more than anything else.

Because if Ethan's father was finally ready to speak...

Then the secret surrounding her father's death might finally be exposed.

But Isabella didn't know one thing.

The old man wasn't calling her to reveal the truth.

He was calling her because someone had discovered that she was getting too close.

And that person had already decided what needed to happen next.