CHAPTER 13: THE FIRST HART WORKSHOP
The old Hart workshop looked nothing like the empire it became.
No golden signs.
No luxury entrance.
No security guards.
No celebrities waiting outside.
Just a forgotten building hidden on a quiet street in Beverly Hills.
A place where dust covered the windows.
A place where time seemed to stop.
The place where everything began.
I stood outside the rusted door, staring at the faded symbol above the entrance.
The same symbol I had seen inside the pink diamond.
The same symbol from my grandmother’s letter.
My mother stood beside me.
Vanessa stood on the other side.
None of us spoke.
Because we all understood something.
Whatever was inside this building...
Would change everything.
“You don’t have to do this.”
My mother’s voice was soft.
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
A pause.
“You don’t understand what’s waiting inside.”
I almost laughed.
“Mom.”
The word still felt strange.
But I forced myself to say it.
“I have spent my entire life not understanding anything.”
Her expression changed.
Pain.
“I don’t want you to lose your innocence.”
I looked at the old workshop.
“I lost that when I found out my family lied to me for twenty years.”
Nobody answered.
Because it was true.
I pushed the door open.
The hinges screamed.
A sound that felt like the building itself was warning us.
Inside...
Everything was frozen.
Old worktables.
Ancient tools.
Shelves filled with forgotten designs.
A layer of dust covered everything.
But somehow...
It still felt alive.
Like someone had been waiting.
Vanessa walked slowly through the room.
“This was where my grandfather started?”
My mother nodded.
“No.”
We looked at her.
“This was where your grandmother started.”
My mother touched an old wooden table.
“She built the first pieces here.”
I looked around.
“Then why was this place abandoned?”
Nobody answered.
Until we heard a sound.
A chair moving.
Everyone froze.
From the back room...
Someone stepped forward.
A man.
Older.
Wearing a dark coat.
And holding a folder.
My heart stopped.
Because I recognized him.
Daniel Cross.
But he looked different.
Not like the calm lawyer from the gala.
Not like the man who manipulated everyone.
He looked exhausted.
Broken.
“You came.”
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“You.”
Her voice was filled with anger.
“You almost got him killed.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I know.”
“You betrayed all of us.”
“I know.”
I stared at him.
“Then why are you here?”
Daniel looked at the old workshop.
“Because this is the only place Victoria cannot control.”
I frowned.
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
“I don’t.”
He placed the folder on the table.
“You shouldn’t trust anyone in this room.”
A strange silence followed.
Because he was right.
Nobody here had earned my trust.
Not Victoria.
Not Vanessa.
Not even my own family.
Daniel opened the folder.
Inside were old documents.
Original company records.
Photographs.
Letters.
But one document caught my attention.
A birth record.
Not mine.
Someone else’s.
I picked it up.
Then my blood froze.
Because the name written there was:
Daniel Eleanor Hart.
I looked at him.
“Your name…”
He nodded.
“My real name.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Wait.”
She looked confused.
“You’re…”
Daniel nodded.
“The last surviving member of the original Hart bloodline.”
The room went silent.
My mind struggled to process it.
“You’re related to my grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He looked at the old symbol.
“Eleanor had a brother.”
Nobody spoke.
“She had a brother who was erased from history.”
My mother whispered:
“Because of the inheritance.”
Daniel nodded.
“My grandfather was the original heir.”
My eyes widened.
“Then why did Eleanor control the company?”
“Because my grandfather didn’t want power.”
A pause.
“He wanted to create.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Just like you.”
Those words felt familiar.
Because they sounded like my grandmother.
Daniel continued.
“When my grandfather died, the company should have been divided.”
“But someone changed the documents.”
“Someone stole the ownership.”
My chest tightened.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
Like he was afraid someone might hear.
Then he whispered:
“Victoria’s family.”
Vanessa froze.
“My mother?”
Daniel nodded.
“She spent twenty years trying to recover what she believed was stolen from her.”
I shook my head.
“But she destroyed everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Because power changes people.”
A pause.
“But there is something even worse.”
He opened another file.
“This is what your grandmother discovered before she died.”
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of a secret meeting.
My grandmother.
Victoria.
Daniel.
And someone else.
Someone I recognized.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Because the fourth person in the picture...
Was me.
But younger.
Much younger.
A child.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why am I in this picture?”
Nobody answered.
Daniel’s expression became serious.
“Because Eleanor knew the truth before you were born.”
“What truth?”
He pointed at the photograph.
“She knew you were not just an heir.”
My heart raced.
“Then what am I?”
Daniel looked at the pink diamond necklace.
“The final safeguard.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel took a deep breath.
“Your grandmother created Hart Jewelry’s final inheritance system.”
He pointed to the necklace.
“The diamond does not choose the owner.”
A pause.
“The owner activates the diamond.”
I frowned.
“And how do I do that?”
Daniel looked at me.
“You already did.”
My blood ran cold.
“When?”
He answered:
“The night you repaired the necklace for the first time.”
I remembered.
Years ago.
A small crack in the setting.
A design mistake everyone ignored.
I repaired it.
And my grandmother cried.
At the time, I thought she was emotional.
Now I understood.
She wasn’t crying because I fixed jewelry.
She was crying because I had unlocked something.
Daniel continued.
“Your grandmother knew the truth would eventually come out.”
He looked around the room.
“She knew Victoria would attack.”
“She knew Vanessa would be manipulated.”
“She knew Isabella would have to hide.”
“And she knew Daniel Cross would betray everyone.”
I froze.
“Wait.”
I looked at him.
“You said you would betray everyone.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His eyes became cold.
“Because I had to.”
A pause.
“Victoria was watching me.”
My heart raced.
“So the gala…”
“Was planned.”
“The documents?”
“Planted.”
“The attack?”
Daniel looked down.
“Not by me.”
Silence.
“Then who?”
Before Daniel could answer...
The workshop lights suddenly turned on.
Every screen in the old building activated.
A video began playing.
My grandmother appeared.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Everyone froze.
Because this wasn’t a recording we had seen before.
This was new.
Her eyes looked directly at the camera.
Directly at me.
And she said:
“If you are watching this…”
A pause.
“Then Daniel has finally told you the truth.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Because he knew what was coming.
My grandmother continued:
“But there is one thing he does not know.”
The screen zoomed closer.
“The real enemy was never Victoria.”
My breathing stopped.
The room became silent.
Then my grandmother said:
“The person who destroyed this family…”
A pause.
“Is someone you have loved your entire life.”
The video cut.
And everyone looked at each other.
Because there was only one person left.
One person who had been beside me from the beginning.
One person I trusted without question.
May you like
My mother.
TO BE CONTINUED...
