Part 4 The Secret Hidden Inside My Mother’s Last Message
The morning after Eleanor was arrested, I thought the nightmare was finally over.
I was wrong.
Because Eleanor’s arrest only exposed the first layer.
The deeper truth was still buried.
And my mother had left it behind for me to find.
I woke up in my hospital room to the sound of rain tapping against the window.
For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t afraid of opening my eyes.
Eleanor was gone.
The woman who had haunted my family.
The woman who tried to erase my mother.
The woman who almost took my life.
She was finally facing consequences.
But something still bothered me.
A question I couldn’t silence.
Why did my mother leave behind clues?
Why did she hide information instead of simply exposing Eleanor?
Why did she send Thomas away?
Why did she prepare for betrayal?
The answer came when Thomas entered my room.
He carried a small black box.
No bigger than a jewelry case.
I immediately recognized it.
It belonged to my mother.
“Where did you get that?”
Thomas placed it on the table.
“Your mother gave it to me two days before the yacht explosion.”
My breath stopped.
“Two days?”
He nodded.
“She knew something was coming.”
I stared at the box.
A thousand emotions rushed through me.
Anger.
Pain.
Confusion.
My mother knew she was in danger.
And she still left me.
At least that was how it felt.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
Thomas looked at me sadly.
“Because she was trying to protect you.”
I looked away.
“Everyone says that.”
My voice cracked.
“Everyone says she protected me.”
A tear slipped down my face.
“But she was gone.”
The room became quiet.
Thomas didn’t argue.
He understood.
After a moment, he opened the box.
Inside was a small device.
A memory drive.
And a handwritten letter.
My mother’s handwriting.
My hands started shaking.
I had not seen it in weeks.
The way she wrote.
The way she formed every letter.
It felt like she was still alive.
I opened the letter.
My dear Ava,
If you are reading this, then something happened.
My heart shattered.
I kept reading.
I hope you are angry with me.
Because if you are angry, it means you survived.
A sob escaped my throat.
That was my mother.
Even in her final message, she was thinking about me.
Not herself.
You will probably wonder why I didn’t tell you everything.
The truth is, knowing the truth can be dangerous when the wrong people know you know it.
Eleanor has spent years studying weaknesses.
She believes love makes people vulnerable.
She is wrong.
Love is what makes people fight.
I wiped my tears.
The letter continued.
There is someone inside the company helping her.
Someone I trusted.
Someone close.
I froze.
Thomas watched me carefully.
“Keep going.”
I continued.
I created a plan.
If anything happened to me, the evidence would be released.
But only when you were ready.
Not before.
Because Eleanor would not hesitate to destroy you.
I looked up.
The room suddenly felt colder.
My mother didn’t just suspect Eleanor.
She knew.
She knew someone wanted her dead.
And she prepared a way to fight back.
I pressed the memory drive into my hand.
“What is this?”
Thomas answered quietly.
“The truth.”
We connected it to a laptop.
The screen filled with files.
Thousands of them.
Emails.
Financial records.
Private conversations.
Then one folder appeared.
The name made my heart stop.
Operation Phoenix.
I clicked it.
Inside were photographs.
Eleanor.
Daniel Cross.
Several company executives.
Meetings.
Secret payments.
Plans.
The date of the first document was three months before the explosion.
This wasn’t a sudden betrayal.
It was a takeover.
They had planned everything.
My mother’s death.
My disappearance.
The transfer of the company.
Everything.
I kept scrolling.
Then I found something strange.
A video file.
Recorded the night before the yacht explosion.
I clicked play.
My mother appeared on screen.
Sitting in her office.
Looking exhausted.
But calm.
“Hello, Ava.”
I covered my mouth.
Hearing her voice again broke something inside me.
“If you are watching this, I’m sorry.”
She paused.
“I’m sorry you had to learn about the world this way.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“But I need you to know something.”
Her expression changed.
More serious.
“Eleanor was not working alone.”
My heart stopped.
Thomas looked at me.
The video continued.
“There is someone else.”
My mother took a deep breath.
“Someone I trusted for many years.”
The screen froze for a second.
Then she said the name.
“Daniel.”
The room went silent.
I stared at Thomas.
“No.”
He didn’t speak.
“No,” I repeated.
Because Daniel had been there for me.
He helped my mother.
He comforted me.
He stood beside me after the explosion.
He was the one person I thought was safe.
But the video continued.
“I don’t know how far Daniel has gone,” my mother said.
“But I know this.”
She leaned closer.
“If anything happens to me, do not trust him.”
The video ended.
I sat there frozen.
The man who helped uncover Eleanor…
was possibly part of the reason my mother died.
A horrible realization settled over me.
Maybe Eleanor wasn’t the only monster.
Maybe she was just the loudest one.
Thomas closed the laptop.
“We need to find Daniel.”
But before we could move…
the hospital room door opened.
A nurse stepped inside.
“Miss Vale?”
I turned.
“Yes?”
She looked nervous.
“There is someone here to see you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
The nurse hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Daniel Cross.”
My blood ran cold.
Because he wasn’t supposed to know.
Not yet.
I looked at Thomas.
He immediately stood.
But it was too late.
Daniel entered.
And the moment he saw my face…
he knew.
I had found the truth.
His expression changed.
The friendly mask disappeared.
The same mask Eleanor wore.
The one my mother warned me about.
Daniel slowly closed the door behind him.
May you like
Then he said:
“You weren’t supposed to watch that video.”
