DARK OBSESSION

CHAPTER SIX: THE WEB OF LIES

The rain had stopped by morning, but the sky remained covered in thick gray clouds.

Ivy Daniels sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the photograph in her hands.

Damien.

Her mother.

Elena Cole.

Three people connected by a secret she still couldn't understand.

And now Daniel had warned her not to trust Damien.

She had barely slept.

Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Daniel's voice.

"Ask him about the night Elena disappeared."

Ivy looked at the clock.

6:17 a.m.

She had made a decision.

She was going to find the truth herself.

No Damien.

No Daniel.

No anonymous messages.

Just the truth.

She opened her laptop and began searching for everything she could find about Elena Cole.

For hours, she read old articles and archived reports.

Most of the information was incomplete.

Some articles had mysteriously disappeared.

Others had been edited.

But one document caught her attention.

It was an old police report.

Case: Elena Cole — Missing Person

Ivy read the details carefully.

Then she saw something that made her heart stop.

Last known location: Blackwood Estate.

Ivy leaned back.

Her mother had disappeared from Damien's family home.

Why?

And what had happened there?

At Blackwood Holdings, Damien hadn't slept either.

He stood before the enormous windows of his office, looking down at the city.

Nathan entered quietly.

" Sir."

Damien didn't turn.

" Tell me everything."

" We traced the message that was sent to you."

" And?"

" It came through an encrypted account."

" Can you identify the person?"

" Not yet."

Damien finally turned.

" What about Daniel?"

" We checked his phone records."

" And?"

" Nothing connects him directly to the messages."

Damien's expression darkened.

" Then why did he tell Ivy not to trust me?"

Nathan hesitated.

" Maybe because he doesn't."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

" That isn't good enough."

Nathan placed another file on the desk.

" We found something else."

Damien opened it.

Inside was an old photograph of Elena.

But this photograph had something unusual.

A man stood behind her.

Damien recognized him immediately.

His father's former business partner.

Victor Hale.

Damien's face hardened.

" He's supposed to be dead."

Nathan shook his head.

" Apparently, he isn't."

Meanwhile, Ivy arrived at Kingston Publishing House.

Lily immediately noticed that something was wrong.

" You look terrible."

" Thanks."

" You know what I mean."

Ivy sighed.

" I found something about my mother."

Lily's expression softened.

" What?"

" She disappeared from the Blackwood estate."

Lily stared at her.

" Are you serious?"

" Yes."

" And Damien knows?"

" I think so."

" Then why hasn't he told you?"

Ivy looked away.

" That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Before Lily could respond, the office lights flickered.

Both women looked up.

The lights returned.

A moment later, Ivy's computer screen went black.

Then a message appeared.

STOP LOOKING.

Ivy's blood ran cold.

Lily stepped closer.

" Someone hacked your computer."

Another message appeared.

YOUR MOTHER MADE THE SAME MISTAKE.

Ivy stood abruptly.

" That's enough."

She unplugged the computer.

Lily grabbed her arm.

" Maybe you should go home."

" No."

" Ivy—"

" I've spent my whole life knowing almost nothing about my mother."

Her voice trembled.

" I'm not stopping now."

That afternoon, Damien arrived at Ivy's apartment.

She opened the door but didn't invite him inside.

" You shouldn't be here."

" I need to talk to you."

" I don't trust you."

" I know."

" Daniel told me something."

Damien's expression changed.

" What?"

" He said I should ask you about the night my mother disappeared."

Damien was silent.

Ivy's heart sank.

" You know."

" I know part of it."

" Then tell me."

Damien looked away.

" It was twelve years ago."

" I don't care how long ago it was."

" I was twenty years old."

" And?"

" I came home that night and found my father arguing with Elena."

Ivy's breath caught.

" What were they arguing about?"

" Money."

" That's what the newspapers said."

" It wasn't just money."

Damien paused.

" Elena had discovered something."

" What?"

" I never found out."

Ivy stared at him.

" You're lying."

" I'm not."

" You've lied to me before."

Damien's jaw tightened.

" I was protecting you."

" I didn't ask you to."

" I know."

He looked directly into her eyes.

" But I should have told you sooner."

Ivy folded her arms.

" What happened after the argument?"

" My father told me to stay out of it."

" And Elena?"

" She left the house."

" Alone?"

Damien hesitated.

" No."

Ivy's expression changed.

" Who went with her?"

Damien didn't answer.

" Who?"

" Victor Hale."

Ivy frowned.

" Who is Victor Hale?"

" My father's former business partner."

" Where is he now?"

" We believed he was dead."

Ivy's eyes widened.

" Believed?"

Damien nodded.

" Until today."

Ivy stepped away from the door.

" Why didn't you tell me this?"

" Because I wasn't certain."

" About what?"

" Whether Victor was responsible for Elena's disappearance."

" And now?"

Damien's expression was cold.

" Now I think he might be."

A sudden noise came from inside the apartment.

Both of them turned.

Ivy's heart raced.

" Did you lock your windows?"

" Yes."

Damien stepped inside.

" I'll check."

" You can't just—"

He raised a finger.

" Stay here."

He moved through the apartment.

A few moments later, he returned.

" Nobody's here."

Ivy exhaled.

Then Damien noticed something on the floor.

A small black envelope.

He picked it up.

Ivy immediately recognized it.

" That's the same type of envelope."

Damien opened it.

Inside was a single photograph.

Ivy's eyes widened.

It was a picture of Elena holding baby Ivy.

But written across the bottom were three words:

SHE WASN'T ALONE.

Damien stared at the photograph.

Ivy whispered:

" What does that mean?"

Neither knew.

Then Damien noticed something else.

In the corner of the photograph was a reflection in a window.

A second person stood behind Elena.

Damien zoomed in on the image.

His face changed.

Ivy noticed.

" Who is that?"

Damien didn't answer.

" Damien."

He looked at her.

" It's my father."

Ivy's stomach dropped.

" Your father was there?"

" Yes."

" But you said he wasn't."

" I said I didn't know."

Ivy's voice became cold.

"You keep giving me half-truths."

Damien lowered the photograph.

"Because every truth I uncover leads to another lie."

That night, Ivy decided she needed answers that Damien couldn't give her.

She went to the address listed in an old police report.

It was an abandoned property once owned by Blackwood Holdings.

The building was surrounded by overgrown grass and broken fencing.

Ivy stood outside, uncertain.

Then she noticed something.

The front door was unlocked.

She stepped inside.

Dust covered everything.

Old furniture remained scattered throughout the rooms.

She found a staircase leading upstairs.

At the end of the hallway was a locked door.

Ivy tried the handle.

Nothing.

Then she noticed a small key beneath an old flowerpot.

Her hands trembled as she unlocked the door.

Inside was a room filled with boxes.

Old documents.

Photographs.

Letters.

She began searching.

Then she found a journal.

The first page contained one sentence:

If anything happens to me, find my daughter.

Ivy's heart raced.

She turned the page.

The next sentence made her freeze.

Her name is Ivy Daniels, but the Blackwoods must never know where she is.

Ivy covered her mouth.

Someone had deliberately hidden her from Damien's family.

But why?

She turned another page.

Before she could read it, the door slammed shut behind her.

Ivy spun around.

Someone was standing in the doorway.

A man's voice came from the darkness.

" You should have stopped looking."

Ivy stepped backward.

" Who are you?"

The man moved closer.

" You really are your mother's daughter."

Then the lights went out.