Chapter 15 - EVERYTHING WE LOST
I sat in that quiet little room beneath the sloping roof, holding Elena’s letter in trembling hands, and a cold prickle ran down my spine.
Three days before she died. She had written this warning three days before that terrible night.
"She knew," I whispered, the words sticking in my throat. "She knew someone would come. She left this for me. Just in case."
Vanessa leaned forward, her gaze fixed on the paper. "Marcus said he was Elena’s brother. That was the very first thing he told me. It was his entire proof. His whole story rested on that one claim."
"And Elena left you the test," Olivia said softly from the doorway. She stepped closer, her eyes bright and serious. "She told you: if anyone says they are her brother, they are lying. And they mean you harm."
I folded the letter carefully and placed it back into its envelope. The paper felt warm, as if Elena’s warmth still lingered there somehow.
"She protected us from beyond the grave," Vanessa said quietly. "Marcus built everything on that lie. And Elena gave Adrian the one thing that destroys it completely."
But then her expression shifted. A flicker of fear returned to her eyes.
"We have proof now," she said. "Absolute proof that Marcus lied from the very beginning. But… what if he knows Elena left something like this? What if he has someone watching? What if—"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
A sound came from below. The heavy front door opening. Then slamming shut. Not gently. With force.
We froze.
"Dad?" Olivia whispered. "Did you leave the front door unlocked?"
"No," I stood up quickly. "I locked it myself this morning."
Footsteps. Heavy. Unfamiliar. Marching across the hallway floor.
And then a voice called out—rough, angry, and all too recognizable.
"I know you're up there, Adrian!"
Vanessa went pale. "That's… that's Marcus."
"But he's in custody!" I whispered. "He was arrested. He should be in a cell miles away!"
"He said it wasn't finished," Vanessa breathed. "He said that night—remember? As they took him away? He said this wasn't finished!"
"Stay here," I told them in a low voice. I stepped between them and the stairs. "Olivia, lock this door. Vanessa, keep her behind you. No matter what you hear, do not come out until I call your name three times. Clearly. Do you understand?"
"But Dad—" Olivia started.
"Promise me!"
Olivia nodded, her face pale but determined. "I promise."
I handed Vanessa Elena’s letter. "Keep this safe. It is the most important thing we have right now."
Then I stepped out into the hallway, leaving them behind, and descended the stairs alone.
Marcus stood in the entrance hall. He wore prison-issue clothing, dirty and torn, handcuffs still dangling loosely from one wrist. He had broken them. His face was bruised, his eyes wild and burning with rage. Beside him stood another man—shorter, broader, holding a heavy wrench, eyes shifting nervously. A guard, I realized. A corrupt guard who had helped him escape.
"You shouldn't be here," I said, stopping halfway down the staircase. I kept my voice steady, though my heart hammered against my ribs. "You are going back to prison. And for escaping, you will never get out again."
Marcus laughed. A harsh, jagged sound.
"I will not spend a single day in prison," he said. "Because you are going to give me Elena's letter. You are going to sign everything over to me. And then you are going to tell the police I was never here. Or this ends very differently."
"You cannot threaten us anymore," I said. "Elena had no brother. She wrote it down herself. Your entire story is a lie. Everyone will know it."
Marcus’s eyes narrowed. He took a step toward the stairs.
May you like
"So she did leave something behind," he said softly. "I suspected as much. That is why I came. Hand it over, Adrian. And perhaps I will leave your children breathing."
He nodded at the other man. The guard started up the stairs toward me.
