THE ONE WHO OPENED THE DOOR
1277 Words
Chapter 9
The One Who Opened the Door
The photograph lay on the table between them.
Elias stared at it without saying a word.
Adrian Cole stood outside Old Garden Hall.
Beside him was Elias’s father.
The picture had clearly been taken recently.
Aria folded her arms, trying to calm the uneasy feeling in her chest.
“Your father knew about this place,” she said quietly.
Elias nodded.
“And Adrian was here with him.”
“Which means they both know about Room 17.”
Victoria stood across from them, her expression unusually serious.
“There’s something else,” she said.
Elias looked at her.
“What?”
Victoria hesitated before answering.
“My father told me that years ago, Elena trusted only a few people.”
“Marissa,” Aria said.
Victoria nodded.
“And someone inside the company.”
Elias’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Aria remembered the message.
You found the room. Now find out who opened the door for them.
She slowly looked at Elias.
“What if it wasn't your father who opened the door?”
Elias frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“What if someone inside the company helped him?”
Elias became still.
Adrian had access to the company's records.
He knew about the financial accounts.
He knew about Elena.
And somehow, someone had been watching Aria and Elias every step of the way.
“There are only a few people who knew we were investigating,” Elias said.
“Your father.”
“Adrian.”
“Victoria.”
“Marissa.”
Aria swallowed.
“And us.”
Elias looked at her.
“Someone else knew.”
Before either of them could say more, Elias's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
A security officer spoke from the other end.
“Sir, we found something in the company archives.”
Elias's expression changed.
“What?”
“There was an access record from the night your mother disappeared.”
Aria's eyes widened.
Elias stood immediately.
“Who accessed the files?”
The officer paused.
“That’s the problem, sir.”
“What problem?”
“The access was made using your mother's employee ID.”
Elias went silent.
Aria stared at him.
“But your mother was already gone,” she whispered.
“I know.”
---
Valencia Corporation
An hour later, Elias and Aria stood inside the restricted archives.
Rows of old documents surrounded them.
The security officer handed Elias a tablet.
“This is the access history.”
Elias scanned the screen.
His mother's employee ID had been used seventeen years ago.
The date was the exact date Elena disappeared.
Aria stepped closer.
“Can you trace the computer?”
“We tried,” the officer replied. “The terminal was destroyed years ago.”
Elias clenched his jaw.
“Of course it was.”
Aria noticed another detail.
“Wait.”
She pointed at the screen.
“There.”
A second access code appeared underneath Elena's.
Elias leaned closer.
“What is that?”
The officer looked confused.
“I don't know. That code isn't registered to any current employee.”
“Can you identify it?”
The officer shook his head.
“But there's an old label attached to it.”
“What label?”
The officer zoomed in.
G-17.
Aria's heart skipped.
“Room 17.”
Elias looked at her.
“It's connected.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Aria froze.
The archives fell completely silent.
“Elias?”
“Stay close.”
A faint sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking toward them.
Elias reached for his phone and turned on the flashlight.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a piece of paper slipped underneath the archive door.
Aria slowly picked it up.
There were only five words written on it.
ASK WHO PROTECTED ARIA.
She looked at Elias.
“What does that mean?”
Elias didn't answer.
His expression had become unreadable.
Then his phone lit up.
A message appeared.
You keep looking for the person who opened the door.
Another message followed.
You should be looking for the person who kept it closed.
Elias stared at the screen.
Aria whispered,
“Who protected me?”
Elias finally looked at her.
“I don't know.”
But something in his expression told her that he was beginning to suspect someone.
Someone close.
Someone they had trusted.
---
Later That Night
Aria sat quietly in the passenger seat while Elias drove.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
Finally, Aria broke the silence.
“You've been quiet.”
“So have you.”
She looked out the window.
“I’m thinking.”
“About?”
“About why Elena knew my name.”
Elias tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“I've been thinking about that too.”
“She wrote to me before we even met.”
“Yes.”
“And she told Marissa to protect me.”
“Yes.”
Aria turned toward him.
“Do you think our meeting was planned?”
Elias glanced at her.
“I don't know.”
“But you believe it was.”
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said,
“Maybe my mother knew that someday I'd need someone who wasn't afraid to tell me the truth.”
Aria smiled faintly.
“That's a strange way to describe me.”
“You're stubborn.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“You argue with me.”
“Because you’re annoying.”
A small smile appeared on Elias's face.
“And you're impossible.”
For a moment, the mystery disappeared.
There was only the two of them.
Then Elias's smile faded.
“I don't want you getting hurt because of my family.”
Aria looked at him.
“You can't keep protecting me by keeping me away.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
Elias looked at her for a long moment.
“I'll try.”
Aria nodded.
“That's enough.”
The car continued down the quiet road.
Neither noticed the dark vehicle following several cars behind.
Inside it, someone held an old photograph.
The photograph showed Elena.
Marissa.
And a much younger Elias.
On the back were the words:
SHE WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO MADE A PROMISE.
The stranger folded the photograph.
Then whispered,
“They're getting too close.”
---
The Next Morning
Aria woke to a message from an unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Then she saw the attachment.
It was a photograph of her as a little girl.
She stared at it in disbelief.
She had never seen the photograph before.
Underneath it was one sentence:
Your aunt wasn't the only person watching over you.
Aria's heart raced.
She immediately called Elias.
He answered on the first ring.
“Aria?”
“I got another message.”
His voice became serious.
“What did they send?”
She sent him the photograph.
There was a long silence.
Then Elias spoke.
“Aria…”
“What?”
“I've seen this picture before.”
Her breath caught.
“Where?”
“In my mother's belongings.”
Aria sat frozen.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
Elias paused.
“But I'm going to find out.”
And for the first time, Aria realized something terrifying.
Maybe the mystery wasn't about why she had met Elias.
Maybe the real mystery was—
Why had Elena been protecting her long before they ever met?
And somewhere inside Valencia Corporation, the person who knew the answer was still watching.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD