Chapter Seven: The First Lie
643 Words
The silver locket lay on the dining table.
Neither Alexander nor Isabella spoke.
The words inside echoed in the silent room.
“The two of you were never meant to become enemies.”
Alexander slowly closed the locket.
“Someone is playing games with us.”
Isabella looked at him.
“Or someone is trying to tell us the truth.”
His sharp gaze met hers.
“You still believe your father is innocent?”
She nodded without hesitation.
“I’ve known my father all my life. He may have secrets, but he isn’t a murderer.”
Alexander laughed bitterly.
“You don’t know what people are capable of when money and power are involved.”
“And neither do you.”
Her words hung in the air.
For the first time, Alexander couldn’t argue.
Because deep down…
He wasn’t as certain as he once was.
⸻
That afternoon…
Alexander’s phone rang.
The screen displayed an unfamiliar number.
He answered.
“This is Alexander.”
A distorted voice replied.
“If you want the truth about your father’s death…”
Alexander froze.
“…come to the old Kingston Winery.”
The call ended.
Immediately.
Ethan frowned.
“Sir, it could be a trap.”
Alexander picked up his car keys.
“I don’t care.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
“What if—”
“If I don’t return in two hours…”
Alexander looked at Isabella.
“…burn every file in the hidden room.”
Isabella stared at him.
“What?”
“They’re too dangerous.”
Without another word, Alexander walked out.
⸻
One hour later…
The abandoned Kingston Winery stood on the outskirts of the city.
Broken windows.
Dust-covered barrels.
Years of silence.
Alexander stepped inside cautiously.
“Who’s there?”
Only his footsteps answered.
Then…
A faint sound echoed from upstairs.
He climbed the wooden staircase.
The old floor creaked beneath his feet.
Suddenly—
A loud crash!
A heavy wooden beam fell behind him, blocking the staircase.
Alexander spun around.
“Who’s there?”
A figure dressed in black emerged from the shadows.
The person’s face was hidden beneath a hood.
“You’ve been searching for the wrong enemy.”
Before Alexander could react, the stranger threw a brown envelope onto the floor.
“Everything you believe is a lie.”
The hooded figure disappeared through a broken window.
Alexander chased after the stranger.
By the time he reached the parking lot…
The figure had vanished.
Only the envelope remained.
⸻
Back at Kingston Manor…
Isabella couldn’t stop pacing.
Two hours had already passed.
Alexander wasn’t answering his phone.
Just as she reached for her handbag to leave, the front door opened.
Alexander walked in.
His shirt was stained with dust.
A small cut marked his cheek.
“What happened?”
Instead of answering, he handed her the envelope.
“Open it.”
Inside was a faded photograph.
Isabella gasped.
It showed four smiling people standing together twenty-five years earlier.
Richard Kingston.
Her father.
Sophia’s father.
And…
A woman Isabella had never seen before.
On the back of the photograph were seven handwritten words.
The first liar destroyed every one of us.
Before either of them could speak, Mrs. Harris rushed into the room.
“Mr. Kingston!”
“What is it?”
She looked terrified.
“A visitor is here.”
Alexander frowned.
“I didn’t invite anyone.”
Mrs. Harris swallowed hard.
“He says…”
“…he’s Mrs. Kingston’s father.”
Isabella’s eyes widened.
“My father?”
Mrs. Harris nodded.
“He’s waiting in the living room.”
Alexander and Isabella exchanged a long look.
This was the first time Isabella’s father had ever stepped inside Kingston Manor.
Neither of them knew…
That before the night was over, one lie would be exposed…
And one person would disappear forever.
- Writer
