Chapter 4
765 Words
The accusation
Adrian stared at the note.
The room was silent.
Amara could hear her own heartbeat.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
The words on the paper hung between them like a storm waiting to break.
Slowly, Adrian lifted his eyes.
And looked directly at her.
Amara felt her stomach tighten.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
Adrian didn't answer.
Not immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on her.
As if he was seeing her for the first time.
As if he was searching for something.
“You don't actually believe that, do you?” Amara whispered.
A muscle in Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I don't know what to believe anymore.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because for the first time since they met...
Adrian Vale looked at her with doubt.
Amara took a step back.
The look in Adrian's eyes hurt more than she wanted to admit.
After everything that had happened, after all the questions she still had, he was looking at her like she might be the enemy.
“You think I had something to do with your father's death?”
Her voice was quiet.
But the pain behind it was impossible to hide.
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't have to.”
Adrian looked away.
For the first time, he seemed frustrated.
Not with her.
With himself.
“With everything I've learned, I can't ignore that message.”
Amara crossed her arms.
“It's a piece of paper left by someone who wants to manipulate you.”
Adrian knew she was right.
That was the worst part.
Because the message had worked.
It had planted a seed of doubt.
And doubt was dangerous.
Especially when secrets were involved.
A sudden knock interrupted the silence.
Three sharp knocks.
Everyone froze.
Adrian immediately became alert.
“Stay here,” he said.
Amara rolled her eyes.
“You keep saying that.”
“This isn't a joke.”
The seriousness in his voice made her stop arguing.
Adrian opened the door.
The same man from earlier stood outside.
His face was pale.
“Sir, we have a problem.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“What happened?”
The man swallowed hard.
“We searched the old storage unit.”
“And?”
The man hesitated.
Then he spoke.
“We found a file with Amara Bennett's name on it.”
Amara felt the blood drain from her face.
A file.
With her name on it.
Created years before she ever met Adrian.
And according to the date on the folder...
Someone had been tracking her since she was a child.
“No.”
The word escaped Amara's lips before she could stop it.
“That has to be a mistake.”
The man shook his head.
“We checked the records twice.”
Amara looked at Adrian.
Then back at the man.
“Who created the file?”
Neither of them answered.
And that silence frightened her more than any answer could have.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
“The name on the file was removed.”
Amara frowned.
“Removed?”
“Someone didn't want us to know who started it.”
The room fell silent again.
Then the man handed Adrian a photograph.
Adrian's eyes widened slightly.
A reaction so small most people would have missed it.
But Amara saw it.
“What is it?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He slowly turned the photograph around.
Amara's breath caught.
The picture showed a little girl standing beside Adrian's father.
The little girl was smiling.
Holding his hand.
And that little girl…
It was Amara.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Amara stared at the photograph.
Her mind refused to process what she was seeing.
“That isn't possible.”
Her voice barely sounded like her own.
She had never met Adrian's father.
At least...
That was what she had always believed.
“Where did you get this?” she whispered.
The man looked at Adrian.
“We found it inside the same file.”
Amara's hands trembled.
“Why would I be in a photograph with your father?”
No one had an answer.
Or at least...
no one was willing to give it.
Then something slipped from the back of the photograph.
A folded piece of paper.
Adrian picked it up.
Slowly unfolded it.
And read the first line.
The color drained from his face.
“What is it?” Amara asked.
Adrian looked at her.
Then at the note.
Then back at her.
“You were there the night my father died.”
- Writer
