Chapter8:Sealed
1004 Words
Aria could not breathe properly.
The restaurant suddenly felt too small.
Too warm.
Too loud.
Her uncle.
The moment Kael mentioned sealed records connected to the Taylor family, every instinct inside her screamed danger.
Because Daniel Taylor never simply stole money.
He erased people.
After her parents died, entire pieces of their lives vanished unnaturally fast.
Bank accounts closed.
Properties transferred.
Documents missing.
Even photographs disappeared from storage boxes.
At the time, Aria had been too young and devastated to fully understand how terrifying that actually was.
Now?
Now she understood perfectly.
Kael noticed the panic building behind her eyes immediately.
“Aria.”
She stood up too quickly.
“I need to go.”
“Sit down.”
“No.”
The sharpness in her voice made nearby diners glance over briefly.
Aria lowered her voice instantly.
“I need to check on my grandmother.”
“That’s not what this is about.”
God.
Why was he so good at reading her?
“I said I need to leave.”
Kael’s gaze darkened slightly.
“And I said someone is actively searching your family records.”
The words stopped her cold.
Fear twisted violently beneath her ribs.
Because deep down…
Aria had always known something was wrong.
Not emotionally wrong.
Systematically wrong.
Like somebody carefully removed pieces of her family history one by one.
Kael reached into the inside pocket of his suit calmly before sliding a thin black folder across the table toward her.
“I shouldn’t be showing you this yet,” he admitted quietly.
Yet?
Aria stared at the folder cautiously before opening it slowly.
Inside were printed documents.
Legal reports.
Archived photographs.
Financial transfers.
And one thing circled heavily in black ink:
TAYLOR FAMILY TRUST — SEALED BY COURT ORDER.
Her heartbeat stopped.
“What is this?”
Kael remained silent for a moment.
Then—
“Your family was richer than you think.”
Aria laughed once.
A broken sound.
“That’s impossible.”
“It isn’t.”
Her fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through the papers.
Luxury properties.
Private investments.
International accounts.
Numbers so large they barely looked real.
“No…”
Her voice cracked softly.
“This can’t be right.”
Kael watched her carefully.
“Most of the assets disappeared after your parents died.”
Aria’s chest tightened painfully.
“My uncle.”
“Yes.”
“But he told us there was debt.” Her breathing grew uneven. “He said my father failed investments. He said the insurance company rejected everything.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“He lied.”
The world tilted.
Everything.
Every horrible year.
Every missed meal.
Every hospital bill.
Every humiliation.
All while her inheritance existed somewhere beyond locked records and stolen documents.
Aria suddenly shoved the folder shut violently.
“I need air.”
She turned immediately.
But before she could walk away—
Kael caught her wrist gently.
The contact sent another strange warmth racing beneath her skin.
Not normal warmth.
The silver locket beneath her shirt suddenly pulsed hot again.
Aria gasped softly.
Kael froze instantly.
His eyes lowered toward the necklace.
“…Again.”
The word slipped from him quietly.
Aria stared at him.
“What do you mean again?”
Kael’s expression changed immediately.
Too fast.
Like he regretted saying it.
“Nothing.”
“No,” Aria snapped. “You keep looking at this locket like it means something. What do you know?”
The tension between them sharpened instantly.
Kael released her wrist slowly.
“You’re overwhelmed.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Aria.”
“Tell me the truth.”
For one dangerous second…
It looked like he actually might.
But then his phone buzzed sharply again.
Kael glanced at the screen.
His expression turned deadly.
Not cold.
Deadly.
Adrian’s name flashed repeatedly across the screen.
Kael answered immediately.
“What?”
Silence.
Then—
“Who accessed it?”
Another silence.
Aria watched his face darken further with every passing second.
“No,” Kael said quietly.
“That’s impossible.”
Fear crawled slowly through her stomach.
“What happened?”
Kael lowered the phone.
Someone had broken through sealed company archives connected to the Taylor family less than twenty minutes ago.
And according to security logs…
The intruder used clearance belonging to a dead woman.
Aria frowned.
“…What?”
Kael’s eyes locked onto hers.
“Your mother.”
The world stopped.
“No.”
“She accessed the files at 1:13 PM.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It isn’t a joke.”
Aria stepped backward slowly.
Her pulse thundered painfully inside her ears.
“My mother is dead.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“The system says otherwise.”
Silence crashed between them.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
Then suddenly—
The lights inside the restaurant flickered once.
Aria’s breath caught.
Again.
The silver locket burned against her chest violently now.
Not warm.
Burning.
A sharp ringing filled her ears.
And for one horrifying second—
The restaurant disappeared.
Darkness flashed across her vision.
Whispers echoed faintly around her.
Ancient.
Distorted.
Unfamiliar.
Then—
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
Terrified.
“Run, Aria.”
The vision vanished instantly.
Aria stumbled backward hard against the table.
Kael caught her immediately before she fell.
“Aria!”
Her breathing turned uneven.
“What—”
The restaurant lights stabilized again.
People continued eating normally around them.
Nobody else noticed anything.
But Kael’s grip around her shoulders tightened slightly.
Because he saw the fear in her face.
And worse—
He saw the faint golden glow disappearing beneath the collar of her shirt.
His expression changed instantly.
Shock.
Real shock.
“Impossible,” he whispered.
Aria looked up at him shakily.
“What’s happening to me?”
Kael stared at her silently for a long moment.
Then finally—
He spoke the one sentence that shattered the remains of her normal life.
“Your family wasn’t destroyed because of money, Aria.”
His voice lowered carefully.
“It was hunted.”
- Writer
