BENEATH HIS SECRET

THE WARNING

The black car disappeared around the corner.

Amara remained frozen beside the glass doors, staring at the empty street.

"Amara."

Elena's voice pulled her back.

She turned.

Her sister looked more frightened than she had ever seen her.

"What is happening?" Amara asked.

Elena shook her head.

"Not here."

Adrian stepped closer.

"We need to move."

Elena immediately looked at him.

"I don't trust you."

Adrian's expression remained calm.

"You don't have to trust me. But if someone is watching this building, standing here arguing isn't going to help."

Elena hesitated.

Amara looked between them.

"She's right."

Elena frowned.

"You agree with him?"

"No. I agree that we should leave."

Adrian nodded.

"There's a private exit."

He led them through a side corridor.

Amara walked between Adrian and Elena, her mind racing.

The blue file.

Her mother's house.

The letter.

Someone watching them.

And now Elena was acting as though Adrian was dangerous.

She needed answers.

The three of them reached the parking garage.

Adrian unlocked his car.

"Get in."

Elena stopped.

"No."

Adrian looked at her.

"If you have another plan, I'm listening."

Elena glanced around the garage.

"We shouldn't use the main roads."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be watching them."

Adrian's expression hardened.

"Who?"

Elena didn't answer.

Amara stepped toward her.

"Elena, enough."

Her sister looked at her.

"You deserve the truth."

"Then tell me."

Elena took a deep breath.

"Our mother wasn't just involved with Adrian's father."

Amara waited.

"She was helping him."

"Helping him do what?"

"Expose Victor Hale."

The name meant nothing to Amara at first.

Then she remembered seeing it in the file.

"Victor Hale?"

Elena nodded.

"He was one of the most powerful businessmen in the country."

"And our mother knew him?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She worked with him."

Amara stared at her.

"Mom worked for Victor?"

"Before she discovered what he was doing."

Adrian folded his arms.

"What was he doing?"

Elena looked at him.

"Moving money through companies that didn't officially exist."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Shell companies."

"Yes."

Amara looked confused.

"And my mother discovered this?"

"She discovered much more than that."

Elena's voice became quieter.

"She discovered that Victor wasn't working alone."

A silence settled over the garage.

Amara suddenly felt cold.

"Who else was involved?"

Elena looked at Adrian.

"Your father's business partner."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"Daniel Cross."

Elena nodded.

"But Daniel disappeared."

"He didn't disappear."

Adrian stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

Elena looked toward the entrance.

"He was killed."

Amara covered her mouth.

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw what happened."

Adrian stepped closer.

"You were there?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Five years ago."

His voice became tense.

"And my father?"

Elena looked away.

"I didn't see what happened to him."

Adrian's eyes hardened.

"But you know something."

"I know enough to tell you that you should stop searching."

"I won't."

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly."

Elena shook her head.

"No, you don't. Your father wasn't the only person who tried to expose Victor."

She looked at Amara.

"Our mother did too."

Amara's heart tightened.

"What happened to her?"

Elena didn't answer.

"Elena."

Her sister's eyes filled with tears.

"She died before she could finish."

Amara swallowed.

"Was it an accident?"

Elena looked down.

"That's what everyone was told."

Amara understood.

"But you don't believe it."

"No."

Adrian's phone suddenly vibrated.

He looked at the screen.

A message.

His expression changed.

Amara noticed immediately.

"What?"

He turned the phone toward them.

There was a photograph.

It showed Elena entering the old Bennett family house.

Underneath it was a message:

WE KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

Elena's face went pale.

"They found us."

Adrian immediately started the car.

"Get in."

This time, Elena didn't argue.

They drove out of the garage.

For several minutes, nobody spoke.

Amara sat in the back seat.

She watched the streets through the window.

Everything looked normal.

People walking.

Cars passing.

Shops opening.

But she knew better now.

Danger could be hiding behind any window.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Your family's old house."

Elena looked at Adrian.

"No."

"We need the letter."

"That's exactly where they'll expect us to go."

"Then they'll expect us to go alone."

Adrian glanced at her through the mirror.

"We won't."

Elena looked away.

Amara leaned forward.

"What exactly is in the letter?"

Elena hesitated.

"I don't know."

"You said you read it."

"I read part of it."

"What did it say?"

Elena's voice dropped.

"It said you must never trust the person who gives you the blue file."

Amara stared at her.

"That's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because Adrian didn't give me the blue file."

Elena turned toward her.

"Exactly."

Amara's heart skipped.

"What do you mean?"

Elena looked at Adrian.

"He wasn't supposed to find it."

The car suddenly became silent.

Adrian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"Elena."

"I'm telling her the truth."

"What truth?"

Elena looked at Amara.

"The blue file was meant for you."

Amara's breath caught.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Then who left it?"

Elena shook her head.

"That's what we need to find out."

Adrian suddenly slowed the car.

Ahead of them, another vehicle had stopped in the middle of the road.

A black SUV.

The same tinted windows.

Adrian looked in the rearview mirror.

Another black car was behind them.

They were surrounded.

"Everyone stay calm," he said.

Amara's heart began racing.

Elena grabbed her hand.

"Whatever happens, don't leave me."

Adrian shifted the car into reverse.

The vehicle behind them started moving forward.

He looked at the side street.

Then back at the road.

"Hold on."

He turned sharply.

The car jumped onto the narrow side road.

Amara was thrown against the seat.

Elena grabbed the handle.

Behind them, the black SUV followed.

Adrian drove faster.

"Where are you going?" Amara asked.

"Somewhere they won't expect."

The road narrowed.

Buildings rushed past the windows.

Finally, Adrian turned into an underground parking area and switched off the headlights.

The black SUV continued past the entrance.

Everyone remained silent.

After several seconds, Adrian spoke.

"They didn't see us."

Elena released a breath.

Amara looked at Adrian.

"How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't."

She stared at him.

"You took a chance?"

"Yes."

For some reason, that answer made her trust him a little more.

Then Adrian looked at Elena.

"Now tell us everything."

Elena remained silent.

"Elena."

She closed her eyes.

"There is one more thing."

Amara waited.

Elena slowly opened her eyes.

"The night our mother died, she called me."

"What did she say?"

Elena's voice trembled.

"She told me that if anything happened to her, I should protect you."

Amara felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"Why me?"

Elena looked at her.

"Because she believed you would be the one to finish what she started."

Amara stared at her sister.

Outside, rain began falling against the windshield.

Adrian looked at the dark road ahead.

And somewhere in the city, someone was still searching for them.

But now Amara knew something she hadn't known before.

Her mother's death wasn't the end of the story.

It was the beginning.