Chapter 3 - Elena couldn't breathe.She read the message three times.
Then a fourth.
Dante reached for the phone.
She pulled it away.
“What did he do?”
“Elena.”
“What did you do?”
“I didn't kill your mother.”
“I didn't say kill.”
He went silent.
The answer frightened her more than any denial could have.
Mara stared between them.
“Elena, maybe this is fake.”
“It could be.”
Dante's voice remained calm.
“But someone knows exactly where to hurt you.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then explain why my mother is in that video.”
“I can't.”
“Can't or won't?”
He lowered his voice.
“Can't.”
A security officer hurried into the garage.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Dante turned.
“We found something.”
They followed him to a parked sedan near the service entrance.
The trunk was open.
Inside was Camille.
Alive.
Barely conscious.
Blood stained one side of her dress.
Elena rushed forward.
“Camille.”
Camille's eyes fluttered.
“Don't…”
“What happened?”
“Don't trust…”
Her hand shook.
She pointed at Dante.
Everyone went silent.
“Dante?”
Camille tried to speak.
“Moretti…”
Dante's face became unreadable.
“What did she say?” Elena asked.
The officer checked Camille's pulse.
“She needs an ambulance.”
An ambulance was called.
As paramedics worked, Elena noticed something taped beneath the trunk lid.
A photograph.
She pulled it free.
It showed four people standing outside an old construction site.
Her mother.
Julian's father.
A much younger Dante.
And another man Elena didn't recognize.
On the back, someone had written:
THE FOUR WHO BUILT THE LIE.
Elena stared.
“Dante.”
He looked at the photo.
His expression changed.
“That shouldn't exist.”
“Why?”
“Because that meeting never happened.”
“Then why is your face in it?”
He didn't answer.
Mara looked closer.
“Wait.”
She pointed toward the man Elena didn't recognize.
“That's Harold Mercer.”
Julian's father.
Elena's eyes widened.
“So my mother knew the Mercers.”
“Yes,” Dante said.
“And you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He inhaled slowly.
“Because eleven years ago, your mother hired me.”
“For what?”
“To protect Haven Point.”
Elena stared.
“Haven Point didn't exist eleven years ago.”
“The project did.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why have I never heard any of this?”
“Because Claire made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
Dante's gaze hardened.
“Never tell you.”
Elena felt betrayed.
“What exactly was she protecting me from?”
Before he could answer, the ambulance doors slammed shut.
Camille was taken away.
The security officer approached.
“We found another thing in the trunk.”
He handed Dante a small envelope.
Dante opened it.
His face went still.
“What?”
He passed it to Elena.
Inside was a newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
LOCAL ARCHITECT CLAIRE HART KILLED IN HIGHWAY ACCIDENT
The date was eleven years old.
Below the headline, someone had circled one sentence.
Police reported the vehicle had unexplained brake failure.
On the back was a handwritten note.
THE BRAKES WERE CUT.
Elena's vision blurred.
“My mother was murdered.”
Dante didn't deny it.
“Who did it?”
“I don't know.”
“You knew she was in danger.”
“Yes.”
“And you let her die?”
“No.”
“Then where were you?”
His eyes closed for a moment.
“Out of town.”
“Doing what?”
He opened his eyes.
“Following the man who ordered the hit.”
“Who?”
Dante hesitated.
Then he said one name.
“Harold Mercer.”
Elena stared.
Julian's father had died seven years ago.
She suddenly understood why Julian looked terrified earlier.
He knew.
Or suspected.
The garage door began closing.
Every security light flickered.
Dante turned sharply.
Someone was standing on the upper level.
A woman.
Black coat.
Pale face.
She stepped into the light.
Elena's heart stopped.
Dante whispered,
“Claire.”
Her mother looked directly at Elena.
Then she raised one finger to her lips.
May you like
“Run.”
The garage exploded into darkness.
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