THE FIRST PROMISE
1301 Words
Chapter 8 — The First Promise
Elias stared at the photograph on his phone.
It showed him and Aria sitting inside the car.
The picture had been taken through the windshield.
Recently.
Very recently.
Aria swallowed.
“Someone was watching us.”
Elias locked his phone.
“Stay here.”
He reached for the door.
Aria immediately grabbed his sleeve.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You don't know who is out there.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “Which is why you shouldn't go alone.”
For a moment, Elias simply stared at her.
Then he sighed.
“Fine. We're staying together.”
They entered the house.
Marissa was waiting in the living room.
One look at their faces told her something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Elias showed her the photograph.
Marissa's face went pale.
“They found you.”
Aria sat beside her.
“Auntie, we need to ask you something.”
Marissa looked at her.
“What?”
Aria placed Victoria's note on the table.
“Where was the first promise made?”
Marissa didn't answer.
Instead, she walked toward the cabinet and pulled out an old wooden box.
She placed it on the table.
“This belonged to Elena.”
Elias opened it.
Inside were several old photographs.
One showed Elena standing beside Marissa.
Another showed two younger versions of them laughing outside a small bookstore.
And the last photograph made Elias freeze.
It showed Elena holding a baby.
Beside her stood Marissa.
Elias looked closer.
“Who's the baby?”
Marissa looked at Aria.
“You.”
Aria's eyes widened.
“Me?”
Marissa nodded.
“This photograph was taken years ago.”
Elias looked at his aunt.
“Why was my mother holding Aria?”
Marissa took a deep breath.
“Because Elena promised to protect her.”
“Protect her from what?”
Marissa hesitated.
“From the people who wanted to use your family's name for their own gain.”
Elias frowned.
“That still doesn't explain why Aria was involved.”
Marissa slowly sat down.
“Your mother discovered something about a business deal between our families.”
“What kind of deal?”
“A deal involving land, money, and company shares.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“My father?”
“Your father was involved.”
Silence.
Marissa continued.
“But Elena believed someone else was secretly changing the agreements.”
“Adrian,” Elias said.
“I don't know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I truly don't know who it was.”
Aria looked at the photograph again.
“Then why did Elena write to me?”
Marissa's eyes softened.
“Because she believed your family would eventually become important to hers.”
Aria shook her head.
“But I didn't know Elias.”
“No.”
Marissa looked at Elias.
“But Elena knew your lives might cross.”
Elias stared at the old photograph.
For the first time, he wondered how much his mother had known about the future.
---
The next morning, Elias returned to Valencia Corporation.
Aria stayed with him.
They went straight to the company's oldest archive room.
“If the first promise was made somewhere connected to the company,” Elias said, “there should be a record.”
They searched through old documents.
Minutes became hours.
Then Aria found something.
“Elias.”
He walked over.
She held up a newspaper clipping.
VALENCIA CORPORATION ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP
The date was twenty-two years earlier.
Elias read the names.
His father's.
Elena's.
And Marissa's.
But something else caught Aria's attention.
At the bottom of the article was the location of the announcement.
The Valencia Family Foundation — Old Garden Hall.
Elias stared at it.
“The first promise.”
Aria nodded.
“Maybe.”
They immediately left.
---
Old Garden Hall had been abandoned for years.
The building stood behind the Valencia family's original estate.
The gates were covered with vines.
Elias pushed them open.
Inside, everything was quiet.
Aria looked around.
“This place feels like nobody has been here in years.”
“My mother used to bring me here.”
They walked through the old garden.
Elias stopped near a stone bench.
“I remember this.”
“What?”
“My mother told me that this was where she made an important promise.”
Aria looked at him.
“What promise?”
Elias shook his head.
“I was too young to understand.”
They searched around the bench.
Nothing.
Then Aria noticed a small metal plate attached underneath it.
For E.V. — Keep your promise.
Elias carefully removed the plate.
Behind it was a small compartment.
Inside was a key.
Aria looked at him.
“Another key.”
Elias picked it up.
Attached to it was a tiny tag.
Room 17.
They looked at each other.
“Same number,” Aria whispered.
Elias nodded.
“There has to be a connection.”
They returned to the old estate.
Room 17 was on the second floor.
The door was locked.
Elias inserted the key.
Click.
The room opened.
Dust covered everything.
An old desk stood beside the window.
On the desk was a wooden music box.
Aria slowly opened it.
Inside was another envelope.
This one had Elias's name written on it.
For my son.
Elias stared at it.
His hands trembled slightly as he opened the letter.
“Elias,
If you are reading this, then you are old enough to know that I did not leave you willingly.
I need you to understand something.
Your father was not the only person involved.
Someone close to our family betrayed me.
I trusted that person.
And that was my mistake.
But there is one person I trusted completely.
Marissa.
I asked her to protect Aria's family if I disappeared.
Because one day, the truth would connect you and Aria.
When that day comes, don't let anyone convince you that she is your enemy.
She isn't.
She may be the person who helps you uncover everything.
And if you have already met her...
then perhaps my plan worked.”
Elias stopped reading.
Aria's eyes filled with tears.
“She planned this.”
Elias looked at her.
“Maybe she knew we'd meet.”
Aria looked around the room.
“But why us?”
Before Elias could answer, they heard footsteps outside.
They both froze.
The footsteps stopped.
Someone was standing outside the door.
Elias quietly moved closer to Aria.
The doorknob turned.
The door opened.
Victoria stood there.
Aria's eyes widened.
“Victoria?”
Victoria looked at them.
Then at the letter.
“I knew you'd find this room.”
Elias stepped forward.
“How?”
Victoria took a breath.
“Because Elena told my father about it.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“Your father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Victoria looked down.
“Because I was afraid.”
“For twenty-two years?”
“No.”
She looked directly at Elias.
“For the last six months.”
Aria frowned.
“Why?”
Victoria slowly revealed a photograph.
It showed Adrian standing outside Old Garden Hall.
The date on the photograph was recent.
Three weeks ago.
Elias stared at it.
“He's been here.”
Victoria nodded.
“And he wasn't alone.”
Aria's heart sank.
“Who was with him?”
Victoria looked at Elias.
“Your father.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Elias's phone buzzed.
One new message.
You found the room.
A second message appeared.
Now find out who opened the door for them.
Elias looked toward the hallway.
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
Because the question wasn't just who betrayed Elena.
It was—
Who was helping them now?
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD