Part 9: The Truth About Lauren
Part 9: The Truth About Lauren
Elena stared at the message.
Four words.
Meet me alone. Come now.
No explanation.
No apology.
No warning.
Just a demand.
And the old Elena would have been terrified.
The old Elena would have trusted the wrong person because she wanted to believe people were good.
But she wasn’t that woman anymore.
She had learned.
Trust was not something you gave because someone needed it.
Trust was something people earned.
She showed the message to Sophia.
The other woman immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Elena looked at her.
“She’s dangerous.”
“Maybe.”
Sophia stepped closer.
“Then why go?”
Elena looked toward the dark window.
“Because if Lauren is involved…”
A pause.
“I need to know why.”
Evelyn stood.
“I’ll send people with you.”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
Everyone looked at her.
Elena took a breath.
“If Lauren thinks I’m alone, she’ll talk.”
Sophia frowned.
“That’s a risk.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at the three people in the room.
“But we’re already living inside one.”
Silence.
Because she was right.
The truth had always been dangerous.
They had just been pretending it wasn’t.
The meeting place was an old coffee shop near the river.
The kind of place Lauren used to love.
Quiet.
Private.
Almost forgotten.
Elena arrived first.
She sat near the window.
Watching every person who entered.
Every shadow.
Every movement.
Then the door opened.
Lauren walked in.
Elena barely recognized her.
The woman who always looked perfect now looked exhausted.
Dark circles under her eyes.
Hair pulled back carelessly.
No confidence.
No armor.
Just a person who had been running.
Lauren saw her.
Stopped.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Lauren whispered:
“You came.”
Elena’s expression remained cold.
“You asked me to.”
Lauren nodded.
She sat down.
Silence.
Finally, Elena spoke.
“Why?”
One word.
But it carried everything.
Why did you lie?
Why did you send me there?
Why did you betray me?
Lauren looked down.
“I knew you would hate me.”
“Yes.”
Lauren closed her eyes.
“I deserve that.”
Elena waited.
Because she was done accepting half-truths.
“Start talking.”
Lauren looked out the window.
“Eight years ago, I worked for Hawthorne Industries.”
Elena froze.
“What?”
“I was their legal consultant.”
A pause.
“I saw things.”
The same phrase everyone used.
But Lauren continued.
“Things Richard was doing.”
Money transfers.
Fake companies.
Hidden accounts.
The same crimes Daniel discovered.
“You knew?”
Lauren nodded.
“I tried to report it.”
“What happened?”
Her voice became bitter.
“They destroyed my career.”
Elena stared.
“They threatened me.”
A pause.
“Then Daniel found me.”
Lauren looked down.
“He was already investigating.”
“So you helped him.”
“Yes.”
“Then why involve me?”
Lauren’s eyes filled.
“Because Daniel was right.”
Elena frowned.
“About what?”
“He knew Richard would expect someone like me.”
A lawyer.
A professional.
Someone with power.
“He would watch people like us.”
Lauren looked at Elena.
“But he would never watch someone like you.”
The words hurt.
Not because they were cruel.
Because they were true.
A young woman desperate for money.
A nanny.
Someone invisible.
“He needed someone Richard would underestimate.”
Elena looked away.
“So you used me.”
Lauren flinched.
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
“I did.”
A pause.
“And I hate myself for it.”
Elena remained silent.
Lauren reached into her bag.
Pulled out a small envelope.
“Daniel gave me this.”
Elena looked at it.
“What is it?”
“The last piece.”
Elena didn’t touch it.
“What does it contain?”
Lauren swallowed.
“The name of the person controlling everything.”
A cold feeling moved through Elena.
“Richard?”
“No.”
Silence.
“Someone above him.”
Elena opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
An old photograph.
A group of people.
Executives.
Business partners.
Family friends.
Her eyes moved across the faces.
Then stopped.
Her breathing changed.
“No.”
Lauren watched her.
“You know him?”
Elena stared.
A man in the photo.
A man she had seen before.
A man who had helped her mother.
A man who donated money to the hospital.
A man everyone called generous.
Her mother’s longtime family friend.
Victor Hale.
The billionaire investor.
The man who had once offered to help pay her father’s medical bills.
The man who recommended Lauren as a lawyer.
The man who seemed like the only good person in this story.
“He…”
Elena couldn’t finish.
Lauren nodded.
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Lauren’s voice softened.
“Daniel discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That Richard wasn’t controlling the empire.”
A pause.
“Victor was.”
The pieces crashed together.
Victor.
The money.
Lauren.
The job advertisement.
The timing.
Everything.
Elena whispered:
“Why would he do this?”
Lauren answered:
“Because Hawthorne Industries was never about the family.”
She leaned closer.
“It was about control.”
Victor built networks.
Companies.
Influence.
He placed people where he needed them.
Richard was just a face.
A public figure.
A shield.
“And Daniel?”
Lauren looked away.
“Daniel was a threat.”
“Because he found out.”
“Yes.”
Elena’s hands tightened.
“And me?”
Lauren looked at her.
“You were supposed to expose everything.”
A pause.
“But Victor didn’t expect one thing.”
“What?”
“You would actually care about Noah.”
Silence.
Because that was the part nobody planned.
Elena wasn’t supposed to become emotionally involved.
She wasn’t supposed to love the child.
She wasn’t supposed to protect Sophia.
She wasn’t supposed to turn against everyone.
But she did.
Suddenly, Lauren looked toward the window.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
Elena asked.
Lauren whispered:
“We’re not alone.”
Elena turned.
Outside the coffee shop.
A black SUV stopped.
Two men got out.
Lauren went pale.
“No.”
“Who?”
She looked at Elena.
“Victor.”
The name felt heavier than before.
The door of the coffee shop opened.
A man walked in.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
A familiar face.
Victor Hale.
He looked directly at Elena.
And smiled.
“Miss Reyes.”
Everyone froze.
He walked closer.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
Elena stood.
“You planned everything.”
Victor smiled.
“Not everything.”
A pause.
“You surprised me.”
Lauren moved between them.
“Leave her alone.”
Victor looked at Lauren.
“You always were sentimental.”
His eyes returned to Elena.
“You know, Daniel made the same mistake.”
Elena’s expression hardened.
“What mistake?”
Victor smiled.
“He believed people were more important than power.”
A pause.
“And now he’s dead.”
The room went silent.
Elena felt something inside her settle.
Not fear.
Not anymore.
Anger.
“You killed him.”
Victor looked almost disappointed.
“Careful.”
A pause.
“Accusations require proof.”
Elena lifted the photograph.
“I have enough.”
Victor laughed softly.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“You have a story.”
A pause.
“I have an empire.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
And suddenly...
His expression changed.
For the first time.
Fear.
“Impossible.”
He looked at Elena.
“What did you do?”
Elena didn’t answer.
Because she had no idea.
Then Victor heard the voice on the phone.
A police investigator.
The final words Elena heard were:
“Mr. Hale, you are under investigation.”
Victor stared.
“How?”
A pause.
The investigator answered:
“Because someone sent us everything.”
Victor looked at Lauren.
Then Elena.
Confused.
Because neither of them had done it.
Then Elena’s phone buzzed.
One final message.
May you like
From an unknown number.
Daniel’s last plan is complete.
