Chapter 8 - The Woman Behind the CurtainThe old house had been sold two years earlier.
Cassidy had assumed it was empty.
It wasn't.
Daniel found the hidden entrance behind a wood-paneled wall.
Cassidy stepped inside.
A narrow staircase descended.
The air smelled damp.
At the bottom was a room filled with photographs.
Dozens.
Cassidy and Brendan.
Their wedding.
Their first anniversary.
Their vacations.
Every photograph had been taken from a distance.
Someone had been watching them.
Arthur found a desk.
“This is surveillance.”
Cassidy walked toward the largest photograph.
It showed her sleeping beside Brendan.
The date was two months after the wedding.
She remembered that night.
She had been sick.
Brendan had told her she was imagining things.
The camera had been positioned directly above the bed.
Cassidy felt sick.
Then she saw another photograph.
Jessica.
Standing beside Lily.
Both women were outside Morrison Global.
Jessica had been there three months before she claimed to meet Brendan.
Cassidy turned.
“Jessica lied.”
Arthur nodded.
Daniel found a hidden folder.
Inside was a financial trail.
Money transfers.
Medical payments.
Property rentals.
Private security invoices.
Everything led to one company.
Vale Strategic Advisory.
Arthur stared.
“No.”
Cassidy looked at him.
“What?”
“Adrian Vale.”
“The man everyone thought was dead.”
Arthur opened another document.
Adrian had not died.
He had disappeared after Victor Morrison's death.
And he had continued receiving payments from Morrison Global.
For eighteen years.
Cassidy's stomach tightened.
“Who authorized them?”
Arthur checked.
“Diane.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Daniel motioned everyone to stay silent.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then silence.
Daniel moved toward the stairs.
Suddenly a woman appeared.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
Scar near her eyebrow.
Cassidy knew immediately.
Lily.
The two sisters stared at each other.
For several seconds neither moved.
Cassidy whispered:
“Lily?”
The woman looked at her.
“Cassidy.”
Her voice broke.
Cassidy took a step.
Lily stepped back.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because you shouldn't have come.”
“I've been looking for you.”
“You didn't know I existed.”
“I was told you died.”
Lily laughed bitterly.
“I was told you forgot me.”
Cassidy felt tears burning her eyes.
“I was six.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because they wouldn't let me.”
“Who?”
Lily looked toward the stairs.
“Everyone.”
Cassidy stared.
“What happened?”
Lily shook her head.
“Your father sent me away.”
Cassidy's heart stopped.
“No.”
“He did.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed someone wanted to use me.”
Cassidy was silent.
Lily continued.
“They told him the company would be destroyed unless I disappeared.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Who told him?”
Lily looked directly at him.
“Victor Morrison.”
Cassidy's face went pale.
“Victor saved me.”
“No.”
Lily's voice hardened.
“Victor hid me.”
“From whom?”
Lily answered:
“Your father.”
The room fell silent.
Cassidy looked at Arthur.
Arthur looked confused.
Lily walked toward the desk.
She opened a drawer.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
She handed it to Cassidy.
“Your father left this for you.”
Cassidy opened it.
The letter was dated six months before his death.
My daughter,
If you're reading this, I failed to protect both of you.
Cassidy's hands shook.
The next line was worse.
Lily did not die.
But neither did I believe she was safe.
I trusted the wrong man.
Victor.
Cassidy looked up.
“Why would Victor hide Lily?”
Lily's eyes filled with anger.
“Because Lily wasn't the real beneficiary.”
Cassidy stared.
“What?”
Lily pointed to the trust document.
“You think Protocol 7 belongs to you.”
“It does.”
“No.”
Lily's voice dropped.
“It belongs to whoever holds the original Ellison bloodline seal.”
Cassidy frowned.
“What seal?”
Lily reached inside her coat.
She pulled out a small metal pendant.
Cassidy recognized it.
The same crescent symbol as her mother's necklace.
Lily whispered:
“Your father gave this to me.”
Cassidy stared.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Daniel pulled Cassidy to the floor.
Another shot.
Glass shattered.
Lily grabbed Cassidy's hand.
“There's another way out.”
Cassidy followed her.
Behind the desk was a hidden door.
They ran.
As they entered the tunnel, Cassidy heard footsteps behind them.
Someone shouted:
“Take Cassidy alive!”
Lily turned to her.
“Now you understand.”
Cassidy's heart hammered.
“What?”
Lily's eyes hardened.
May you like
“They never wanted the company.”
“They wanted me.”
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