Chapter 3 - The Woman in the PhotographThe next morning, Mia woke to find a photograph on her bedside table.
It showed a young woman with long dark hair.
She was smiling.
Mia immediately recognized her.
Her mother.
But there was someone beside her.
A younger Julian.
Mia picked up the photograph.
Her fingers trembled.
Behind the picture was a handwritten note.
Claire and Julian — Summer of 2006.
Mia stared.
She had never owned a photograph of her mother with another person.
She turned the picture over.
A second note had been written in faded ink.
If anything happens to me, trust Julian.
Mia's heart raced.
Someone had placed it there deliberately.
She ran downstairs.
Julian was in the library.
“Where did you get this?”
He looked at the photograph.
His face changed.
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
Julian stood.
He studied the handwriting.
“That's Claire's.”
Mia nodded.
“She wrote that I should trust you.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“I wish she had been able to tell me everything.”
Mia looked at him.
“Did you love her?”
“As my sister.”
“Then why didn't you find her?”
The question hurt.
Julian had no answer.
“I was twenty-one.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“No.”
He sat down.
“I was afraid.”
Mia listened.
“Your grandfather controlled everything,” Julian continued. “The company. The family. Everyone's lives.”
“What happened to my mother?”
“I don't know.”
“You said someone wanted her gone.”
“I believe she discovered something.”
“What?”
Julian looked at the photograph.
“Something involving the company.”
Meanwhile, Elena was meeting someone beneath an abandoned parking garage.
A man stepped from the shadows.
He was older.
Elegant.
Cold.
His name was Victor Blackwood.
Julian's uncle.
Mia's great-uncle.
“You failed,” Victor said.
Elena's jaw tightened.
“She has DNA proof.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“She knows she's a Blackwood.”
“Then convince her she's unstable.”
Elena stared at him.
“You want me to frame a thirteen-year-old?”
Victor smiled.
“I want you to protect everything we've built.”
“What about Julian?”
“If necessary, him too.”
Elena looked away.
She had married Julian for his wealth.
But she had never expected to become trapped inside a family whose secrets went deeper than money.
Victor handed her a folder.
“Claire kept records.”
Elena opened it.
Inside were copies of financial documents.
Several accounts.
Offshore transfers.
Millions of dollars.
And one name repeated again and again.
Victor Blackwood.
Elena looked up.
“What did Claire discover?”
Victor's expression hardened.
“She discovered that her father was stealing from the company.”
“And you?”
“I corrected the problem.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“You killed her?”
Victor said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Back at the mansion, Mia found another clue.
Hidden inside the old ring was a tiny compartment.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Only six words were written.
The truth is beneath the chapel.
Mia showed Julian.
They went to the old family chapel that evening.
Beneath the wooden altar, they found a loose stone.
Underneath it was a metal box.
Julian opened it.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Birth records.
Medical records.
Photographs.
And a letter from Claire.
Julian unfolded it.
His face became pale.
He read aloud.
“If you are reading this, Father has lied to you.”
Mia stepped closer.
Claire's letter revealed everything.
She had discovered that her father was stealing millions from the company.
She had confronted him.
He threatened her.
She planned to expose him.
Then she discovered she was pregnant.
She knew her father would use the baby against her.
So she disappeared.
But she had not died.
She had escaped.
The final line made Julian's blood freeze.
If they tell you I died, don't believe them.
Julian looked at Mia.
“She may still be alive.”
Mia's breath caught.
“My mother?”
Julian nodded.
But before they could read further, the chapel doors slammed shut.
May you like
Someone had locked them inside.
Then smoke began creeping beneath the door.
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