Chapter 5 - The Woman in the PhotographAdrian's gun remained steady.
But his hand was shaking.
That tiny tremor told me something.
He was afraid.
Not of us.
Of someone else.
“Where is my mother?” I repeated.
Gabriel stepped between us.
“Put the gun down.”
Adrian laughed.
“You always did think you were in charge.”
“I am.”
“Not for long.”
Clara raised her weapon.
Both brothers aimed at each other.
I stood between them.
Then I noticed something.
Adrian wasn't looking at me.
He was staring at Gabriel.
“Why are you protecting her?”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“Because she deserves to know.”
“Know what?”
“That you were married to the wrong brother.”
The words hit me strangely.
I looked at Adrian.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Gabriel did.
“Adrian married you because he believed Evelyn Vale was a powerless socialite.”
“I wasn't.”
“I know.”
Gabriel stared at me.
“You were never random.”
“What?”
“You were selected.”
“By who?”
“Your father.”
My pulse raced.
“My father knew Adrian?”
“Years before.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Gabriel lowered his gun.
Then Adrian laughed.
“You still haven't told her the worst part.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
Adrian's face hardened.
“Your mother wasn't the victim.”
I stared.
“What?”
“She was one of them.”
Clara shouted, “Don't!”
Adrian ignored her.
“She wasn't kidnapped because she knew too much.”
He smiled.
“She was taken because she knew where the money was.”
I shook my head.
“You're lying.”
“Ask her.”
He pulled out a phone.
Pressed play.
My mother's voice filled the room.
“Evelyn, if you are hearing this, you cannot trust Clara.”
Clara's face went white.
My mother continued.
“Your father never protected me.”
I stared at Clara.
The recording continued.
“He worked with the Mercers.”
Then static.
Then silence.
I couldn't breathe.
Adrian watched me carefully.
“You believe me now?”
“No.”
He looked almost pleased.
“Good.”
“What?”
“Because if you believed everything immediately, you'd be just as easy to manipulate as the people who came before you.”
Gabriel looked at him sharply.
“You said you wanted her alive.”
“I do.”
“Then stop.”
Adrian looked back at me.
“The only reason you're alive is because your father made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“Me.”
My blood went cold.
“What kind of deal?”
He stepped closer.
“Eleven months ago, before we met, your father contacted me.”
I felt dizzy.
“He knew I was investigating the Mercer accounts.”
“He knew everything.”
“Then why let me marry you?”
Adrian smiled.
“Because he wanted you close to the operation.”
I remembered the first time we met.
The charity gala.
The champagne.
The way Adrian had approached me.
The sudden romance.
The expensive gifts.
The marriage proposal after only four months.
It had seemed obsessive.
Now it looked calculated.
“You never loved me.”
“No.”
His honesty hurt more than the lie.
“I chose you.”
“For what?”
“To access the one account nobody could open.”
“What account?”
Adrian leaned closer.
“Your father's.”
Clara suddenly fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside Adrian.
He moved.
Gabriel shoved me down.
Another gunshot exploded.
The room became chaos.
Someone screamed.
I crawled behind the table.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness.
Gunfire.
Footsteps.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I fought.
“It's me.”
Gabriel.
“Where is Adrian?”
“Gone.”
“Where's Clara?”
“Gone.”
I stood.
“What about my mother?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“Also gone.”
A terrible silence followed.
Then he handed me something.
A key.
“What is this?”
“Your father's account key.”
I stared.
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“Because Adrian was right about one thing.”
“What?”
Gabriel's eyes hardened.
“Your father knew this day would come.”
He pointed toward the wall.
Behind the old painting was a safe.
I opened it with the key.
Inside was a single envelope.
My name was written across it.
In my father's handwriting.
I opened it.
One sentence.
EVENLY, NEVER TRUST THE WOMAN WHO TELLS YOU SHE IS YOUR MOTHER.
My hands began to shake.
Then the phone in my pocket rang.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Evelyn?”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
My mother.
“She lied to you,” my mother said.
“Who?”
A long pause.
May you like
Then:
“Your father.”
