PART 7 — THE SECRET THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND
PART 7 — THE SECRET THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND
Marcus watched the video three times.
Then four.
Then he stopped counting.
Each time, he hoped he had misunderstood.
That the audio was distorted.
That Elena’s fear was exaggerated.
That there was another explanation.
Anything.
Anything except the truth.
But every replay showed the same thing.
The same woman.
The woman he loved.
The woman who always seemed impossible to break.
Was sitting in front of a camera, terrified.
“If you’re watching this, Marcus…”
Elena’s voice trembled.
Not from sadness.
From fear.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
Marcus sat frozen.
The room around him disappeared.
The only thing that existed was Elena’s face on the screen.
“I didn’t tell you everything because I thought I could handle it myself.”
She paused.
“I thought I could protect you.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Because that sentence sounded exactly like Elena.
She always carried the weight alone.
Even when she shouldn’t have.
“I found out something about Lily before she was born.”
Marcus looked toward his daughter.
She was asleep upstairs.
Safe.
For now.
Elena continued.
“When I was pregnant, the doctors noticed something unusual in my medical records.”
Marcus frowned.
Medical records?
“What?”
He whispered.
As if Elena could hear him.
“There was a mistake.”
A pause.
“A mistake that wasn’t a mistake.”
Marcus felt cold.
Elena looked directly into the camera.
“Someone changed information.”
The words landed heavily.
“Someone altered documents connected to my pregnancy.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Why?”
He whispered.
But Elena continued.
“I started asking questions.”
A sad smile appeared.
“And that was when I realized someone didn’t want me asking questions.”
Marcus stopped the video.
His breathing became uneven.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
Cassandra.
The necklace.
The photo.
The warning.
The missing pages from Elena’s notebook.
Someone had been hiding the truth for years.
But why?
Why Lily?
He pressed play again.
Elena continued.
“I discovered that Lily was connected to a research program.”
Marcus froze.
Research program?
“What kind of program?”
Elena looked down.
“I don’t know everything.”
She swallowed.
“But I know someone wanted access to her information.”
Marcus felt anger rise.
His daughter.
A child.
Not a person to them.
Information.
A resource.
A target.
“I met someone who helped me investigate.”
Elena looked at the photo Marcus had found.
“The man in the picture.”
Marcus immediately grabbed the photo.
So that was him.
“He was trying to expose them.”
Elena’s voice became quieter.
“But then he disappeared.”
Marcus felt a chill.
Disappeared.
Not left.
Not moved away.
Disappeared.
The video continued.
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
Elena’s eyes filled.
“Not even people close to us.”
Marcus sat motionless.
Because he already knew what that meant.
Cassandra.
But Elena’s next words made his blood freeze.
“The person you need to be careful of…”
She hesitated.
“Is not Cassandra.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
The screen went black for a moment.
Then Elena returned.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had been fighting alone for too long.
“Cassandra is only a piece.”
Marcus stared.
“A piece of what?”
Elena answered.
“A group of people who have been controlling things from the shadows.”
Marcus stood up.
His chair moved backward.
This was no longer about revenge.
No longer about exposing Cassandra.
This was something much bigger.
Something that had started before Lily was born.
Something Elena died trying to uncover.
The next morning, Marcus contacted every security expert he trusted.
The guest house was upgraded.
New cameras.
New systems.
New protections.
He refused to make the same mistake twice.
He had trusted appearances.
Now he trusted evidence.
But while Marcus was strengthening security…
Someone was watching.
Across the street from the guest house, a black vehicle sat parked.
The person inside held a folder.
Photos.
Documents.
Records.
Including one photo of Lily.
The person stared at it.
Then made a phone call.
“She found the recording.”
A pause.
“No.”
A deeper voice answered.
“She doesn’t know everything.”
The person looked at Marcus’s house.
“She will.”
Another pause.
“Do we continue the plan?”
The answer came immediately.
“Yes.”
“Phase two begins.”
That afternoon, Marcus received an unexpected visitor.
A woman.
Older.
Nervous.
She stood at the gate.
The security system identified her.
No threat.
But Marcus still approached carefully.
“Can I help you?”
The woman looked at him.
Then said:
“My name is Rebecca Hart.”
Marcus froze.
The name meant nothing.
Until she added:
“I worked with Elena.”
His expression changed.
“What did you say?”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“She asked me to come if anything happened to her.”
Marcus opened the gate.
“Why now?”
Rebecca looked toward the house.
“Because Cassandra is gone.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
“She left the city.”
A pause.
“But she wasn’t running from you.”
Marcus felt uneasy.
“Then what was she running from?”
Rebecca looked him in the eyes.
“The people she worked for.”
Marcus felt the ground shift.
“Cassandra worked for someone?”
Rebecca nodded.
“She was supposed to get close to you.”
A silence followed.
Marcus could barely speak.
“Why?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then:
“Because of Lily.”
The words were familiar.
But hearing them from someone else made them more terrifying.
“What about Lily?”
Rebecca opened her bag.
Removed a file.
Placed it in his hands.
“These are the original documents.”
Marcus looked down.
Medical records.
Birth information.
Everything.
“Original?”
“Yes.”
“Who changed them?”
Rebecca’s face darkened.
“That’s the problem.”
She pointed to one name.
Marcus looked.
And his entire body went cold.
Because the signature belonged to someone he knew.
Someone he trusted.
Someone who had been part of his life for years.
Marcus looked up.
“Impossible.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“I wish it was.”
He looked back at the document.
The name stared at him.
The person who altered Lily’s records.
The person connected to Elena’s investigation.
The person hiding the truth.
Was someone Marcus never suspected.
His own father.
May you like
Victor Vale.
TO BE CONTINUED…
