Chapter 13 - THE SECRET FROM THE PAST
I left the cabin at first light. I walked alone to the main road, carrying nothing but the DNA report, the documents, and the locket.
I didn’t run. I walked straight toward the roadblock. Toward Vanessa’s men. Toward whatever waited for me.
They found me within an hour. Two unmarked cars. Four officers. They pulled guns. Cuffed me. Threw me into the backseat. Not a single question. Not a single word.
They drove me straight to Vanessa’s house. The one I had once called home.
She was waiting in the study. Standing behind my father’s desk. Exactly where she had always wanted to be.
“Hello, Adrian,” she said. Calm. Polished. Perfect.
I sat in the chair opposite her. Hands still cuffed.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Safe.”
She smiled. “He will be safer with me. You are unstable. Dangerous. Everyone knows that now.”
“Everyone knows you killed my father,” I said. “Everyone knows you killed Richard. Tried to kill Ethan. Imprisoned Lila. Chained your own son outside in the rain just to manipulate me.”
Vanessa leaned forward. Her smile didn’t falter.
“Prove it,” she whispered. “Every witness is dead. Every document is altered. Every story is mine. You have nothing. And soon… Caleb will forget you ever existed.”
That was when I pulled the locket from my pocket. Set it on the desk between us.
Vanessa’s eyes flickered. Just for a second.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Ethan. From the storage unit. From the place you thought you had cleaned out.” I opened it. Held it up. “You gave this to Richard. Or was it to my father? Or perhaps… you gave it to the man who helped you kill him.”
Vanessa stood up quickly. “That is mine.”
“On the back,” I said, turning it over, “carved in tiny letters. Initials. Not Richard’s. Not Ethan’s. Not mine.”
I pushed it toward her.
**V + A — FOREVER.**
She stared at it. Pale. Trembling.
“You carved it,” I said. “Years ago. Before any of this. Before Ethan left. Before Father died. Before Caleb was even born. You loved me, Vanessa. You loved me all along. And you destroyed everything… just so you could keep me.”
Silence filled the room. Thick. Heavy.
“I did it for us,” she whispered. Tears spilled over. Real tears. “Your father was going to send you away. Ethan was going to ruin you. Richard was going to take everything. I protected you. I got rid of them all. So we could be together. So Caleb could have everything.”
“You chained him outside,” I said. “You lied. You killed. You destroyed lives… because you were afraid I would leave you.”
“I did it because I love you!” she cried out. “Can’t you see that? I did it so we could be a family!”
“You chained our son,” I said, my voice breaking. “And you framed me. And you killed anyone who stood in your way. That isn’t love, Vanessa. That is obsession. And it has to end.”
May you like
She sank back into the chair. Covered her face.
“I just wanted you to need me,” she sobbed. “I just wanted you to stay.”
