Claimed by the Rejected Author

Chapter Nine: The Secret She Buried

The words hit me harder than the thunder outside.

Your mother was here that night too.

I stared at Vanessa, unable to breathe.

"My mother?"

Vanessa nodded.

"I know what you're thinking. But you need to listen to me."

Ethan stepped between us.

"Start talking."

Vanessa glanced at Daniel, then at the hidden box on the floor.

"I didn't know everything until recently. I thought Elena was just a woman standing between me and Ethan."

Her voice cracked.

"Then I discovered the truth."

I looked at her suspiciously.

"What truth?"

Vanessa took a shaky breath.

"Your mother worked for Ethan's father."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"My father?"

"Yes."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know exactly. But she discovered something she wasn't supposed to know."

I looked toward the photographs inside the box.

"Something about this house?"

Vanessa nodded.

"This property was used for private meetings. Business deals. Things powerful people didn't want recorded."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"My father died believing every secret he'd kept had died with him."

"Apparently not," Vanessa replied.

I crouched beside the box and picked up one of the photographs.

It showed several men standing outside the house.

My eyes moved from face to face.

Then I saw him.

A younger version of Ethan's father.

Beside him stood another man.

My fingers went cold.

"I know him."

Ethan looked at me.

"Who?"

"I've seen his face."

"Where?"

I swallowed.

"Martin's office."

The room fell silent.

Vanessa's eyes widened.

"Martin Collins?"

I nodded.

"He has a framed photograph in his office. He always told me it was from an old publishing conference."

Ethan took the photograph from my hand.

"Then Martin has been lying to us."

A sudden noise came from upstairs.

Everyone froze.

Daniel immediately moved toward the staircase.

"Stay here," Ethan ordered.

Daniel disappeared into the darkness.

Seconds passed.

Then a loud crash echoed through the house.

"Daniel!"

Ethan rushed upstairs.

I followed despite his warning.

We found Daniel standing beside an open bedroom window.

"What happened?"

"He was here."

"Who?"

Daniel pointed toward the window.

"Someone escaped."

On the floor lay a small black recorder.

Ethan picked it up.

There was only one audio file.

He pressed play.

Static filled the room.

Then a woman's voice emerged.

My heart stopped.

I knew that voice.

It was my mother's.

"If Elena ever remembers this night, keep her away from the Blackwoods."

I covered my mouth.

Tears blurred my vision.

My mother had known.

She had been afraid of Ethan's family.

But why?

The recording continued.

"The man responsible isn't who you think he is."

Then the audio cut off.

I stared at Ethan.

"What does that mean?"

He looked just as shaken.

"I don't know."

Vanessa stepped closer.

"There's more."

I turned toward her.

"What?"

She reached into her coat and pulled out an old envelope.

"I found this among my father's belongings."

She handed it to me.

My name was written across the front.

Elena Hart.

My hands trembled as I opened it.

Inside was a single letter.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

My mother's.

I read the first line.

My darling Elena, if you're reading this, then the truth has finally found you.

My heart shattered.

I continued reading.

There was a night when I made a terrible choice to protect you. I trusted the wrong person, and because of that mistake, our lives were changed forever.

A tear fell onto the paper.

Then I reached the final paragraph.

The person you should fear is not Ethan Blackwood. It is the man who has been standing beside you all these years.

I stopped breathing.

Martin.

The letter couldn't be clearer.

But before I could say his name, my phone rang.

Martin.

Everyone stared at the screen.

I answered.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Then his voice came through.

"Elena."

My blood ran cold.

"Where are you?"

Another pause.

Then Martin whispered,

"You should never have gone back to that house."

The call ended.

Ethan looked at me.

I slowly lowered the phone.

"He knows."

Vanessa nodded.

"And now he knows that you remember."

Outside, headlights appeared through the broken windows.

One vehicle.

Then another.

Then another.

Ethan stepped toward the window.

"We need to leave."

Daniel drew his weapon.

"Sir, we're surrounded."

My heart pounded.

The house that had held my forgotten memories was now holding us prisoner.

And somewhere in the darkness outside, the man who had been manipulating my life was waiting.

For the first time, I understood something terrifying.

Martin hadn't stolen my manuscript because he feared what I'd written.

He had stolen it because he feared what I would remember.

And now...

I was finally remembering everything.