Chapter 7 - The Woman I Buried for Eleven Years Opened Her Eyes
The house stood outside Chicago.
Hidden among tall trees.
No guards.
No cameras.
Just silence.
Adrian opened the door.
I stepped inside.
And saw her.
My mother.
Alive.
Older.
Her hair streaked with gray.
Her eyes were exactly the same.
She looked at me.
Her lips trembled.
“Lena.”
I couldn't move.
Then I ran.
She caught me.
For the first time in eleven years, I heard my mother's heartbeat.
I cried against her shoulder.
She held me like I was still six years old.
“I am sorry.”
“You were alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
I pulled away.
“You should have told me.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Every birthday.”
I stared at her.
She had written twelve letters.
One for every year.
Adrian had kept them.
She finally gave them to me.
Inside each letter was the same message.
I love you.
I am sorry.
Stay away from the Falcone family.
But there was one letter dated eighteen years earlier.
It explained everything.
My mother had discovered Adrian's plan.
He wanted control of Victor's organization.
Lucas had been investigating him.
Eleanor had been trapped between them.
Then my mother found evidence that Adrian was using people.
Including her.
She threatened to expose him.
Adrian retaliated by kidnapping her.
But my mother escaped.
She gave me to Lucas.
Lucas raised me for several years before his disappearance.
After that, my mother arranged for the world to believe she had died.
She had been hiding from Adrian.
But now Adrian had found me.
I looked at him.
“You lied to me too.”
His face remained calm.
“I protected you.”
“You manipulated me.”
“Yes.”
I stepped away.
Damian appeared beside me.
His expression was conflicted.
Then he asked Eleanor something that changed everything.
“Did you know Lucas had a daughter?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“Yes.”
“Then why hide Lena from Victor?”
“Because Victor was not the only danger.”
She looked at Damian.
“You were.”
Damian froze.
She continued.
“Your mother believed you would one day become like Victor.”
“I am not him.”
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“That's why she trusted you.”
Damian swallowed.
Then Eleanor gave him a small envelope.
Inside was a letter from his mother.
My son,
If you ever meet Lena, protect her.
Not because she is the daughter of our enemy.
Because she is the one person in this family who knows what it means to lose everything without becoming cruel.
Damian looked at me.
Something changed between us.
Not desire.
Not fear.
Trust.
Then the front door exploded.
Gunfire filled the house.
Adrian grabbed my mother.
Damian dragged me toward the basement.
“Move!”
We ran down the stairs.
There was an underground tunnel.
We entered just as the house above us erupted in flames.
Damian held my hand.
“Stay with me.”
We ran for several hundred yards.
Behind us came footsteps.
Someone was following.
Then a voice echoed through the tunnel.
“Damian!”
Victor.
Damian stopped.
“My father?”
Victor appeared from the darkness.
Blood covered his shoulder.
“Adrian betrayed everyone.”
Damian raised his weapon.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I came to save you.”
Victor collapsed.
I saw the wound.
He was losing blood.
Damian caught him.
Then Victor whispered something.
“The person hunting Lena isn't Adrian.”
I looked at him.
“Who is it?”
May you like
Victor pointed toward the tunnel.
“Your mother's lawyer.”
