The Shadow Behind The Silver Emblem
813 Words
The mansion was unusually quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet.
The kind where everyone had too many thoughts and nobody wanted to say them.
Elena sat on the sofa, staring at the folder Adrian had placed on the table.
The Silver Emblem.
Even the name sounded like trouble.
She looked at Adrian.
"So let me understand something."
Adrian looked up from his notes.
"That usually means you're about to complain."
"I am not complaining."
"You are."
"I'm asking important questions."
"With an aggressive tone."
"Because the answers are always annoying."
Adrian leaned back.
"Fair enough."
---
Elena opened the folder.
There were no photographs this time.
No dramatic evidence.
Just documents.
Names.
Dates.
Information.
And somehow that felt more dangerous.
"How long have you known about them?"
Adrian was silent for a moment.
"Years."
Elena slowly looked up.
"Years?"
"Yes."
"And you never thought to mention this?"
"I didn't know if you were ready."
She stared at him.
"That is the most frustrating sentence people say."
"Why?"
"Because everyone uses it when they decide things for me."
Adrian understood the meaning behind her words.
Maria.
Claire.
Everyone who had tried to protect her by hiding the truth.
---
"The Silver Emblem isn't just a criminal group," Adrian explained.
"They have influence."
"People inside powerful places."
"People who can erase records, change information, and make problems disappear."
Elena frowned.
"So basically they're rich criminals with better organisation."
Adrian looked at her.
"That is surprisingly close."
"Thank you."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"I accepted it anyway."
---
Elena closed the folder.
"And my mother found out about them?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"We don't know everything yet."
She sighed.
"Your favourite answer."
"It's an honest answer."
"It's an annoying answer."
"Those two things can exist together."
Elena pointed at him.
"See? This is why people find you difficult."
"People?"
"Me."
"I noticed."
---
For a moment, they both smiled.
A small moment.
A normal moment.
Then Elena's expression became serious again.
"What did Maria discover?"
Adrian looked at the folder.
"Something they didn't want anyone to know."
"That's still not an answer."
"No."
He paused.
"But it's the reason Victor was afraid."
Elena looked away.
Everything always came back to Victor.
The man who knew too much.
The man who disappeared.
The man who left behind pieces of a story nobody could complete.
---
"Do you think Victor was working with them?"
The question surprised Adrian.
"Why?"
"Because he knew them."
Adrian thought carefully.
"Knowing someone doesn't mean being on their side."
Elena looked at him.
"You sound like you're defending him."
"I'm saying we don't know enough to judge him."
She nodded slowly.
That was one thing she respected about Adrian.
He didn't rush to conclusions.
Even when she did.
Which happened often.
---
"You're doing it again."
Adrian looked at her.
"Doing what?"
"Being calm."
"I should apologize?"
"Maybe."
"I won't."
She smiled.
"At least you're honest."
---
Later that evening, Elena found Adrian still reading through the documents.
She walked into the room carrying two cups of coffee.
He looked surprised.
"You made coffee?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I bought it."
"That makes more sense."
She handed him one.
"Don't sound so disappointed."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You have the emotional range of a wall."
"A wall doesn't argue with you."
"Exactly. Lucky wall."
---
For several minutes, they sat quietly.
Not investigating.
Not searching.
Just existing.
Elena looked at the folder again.
"You know what's strange?"
"What?"
"A few months ago, my biggest problem was normal life."
"And now?"
"Now I'm involved with a secret organisation."
Adrian nodded.
"Your life changed quickly."
She looked at him.
"That's a very polite way of saying my life became a disaster."
"I was trying to be positive."
"You're terrible at it."
"I know."
---
Suddenly, Adrian's phone rang.
The change in his expression was immediate.
Elena noticed.
"Who is it?"
He looked at the screen.
"No name."
"That's never good."
He answered.
Silence.
Nobody spoke.
Then the call ended.
Elena waited.
"Well?"
Adrian placed the phone down.
"Someone knows we're looking into the Silver Emblem."
The room became quiet.
"How do you know?"
"Because they wanted me to know."
Elena frowned.
"What did they say?"
Adrian looked at the folder.
Then at her.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Sometimes silence is the message."
Elena stared.
"You're telling me mysterious people are now sending mysterious silence?"
"Yes."
"That is the most annoying thing I've ever heard."
---
Outside the mansion, a car remained parked across the street.
Inside, a
person watched the lights of the building.
A silver emblem rested on the dashboard.
A phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
They have found Victor's records.
A reply came moments later.
Then they are closer than expected.
The phone screen went dark.
The car drove away.
And for the first time in ten years...
The Silver Emblem paid attention to Elena.
- Writer
