Chapter 4 - The Mother Who Was Supposed to Be DeadSelena had spent eighteen years believing her mother was dead.
There had been a funeral.
A cemetery.
A gravestone.
Memories blurred by grief.
Now Dominic stood in front of her with a file.
“We need to verify this.”
Selena shook her head.
“No.”
“Selena.”
“No.”
“My mother died.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because the record says she died.”
“Then why do you sound like you don't believe it?”
Dominic held out a photograph.
Selena took it.
The image was recent.
A woman stood outside a hospital.
Older.
Paler.
But unmistakable.
Her mother.
Selena's knees almost gave out.
Dominic caught her.
This time she didn't pull away.
“She’s alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Connecticut.”
Selena began crying.
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
They drove there the next morning.
The hospital was private.
Security was tight.
Dominic handled the staff.
Selena waited outside Room 417.
Then the door opened.
A woman looked at her.
For several seconds, neither moved.
“Selena?”
Her voice broke.
“Mom?”
They embraced.
Selena cried like a child.
“You're alive.”
Her mother, Eleanor, held her.
“I wanted to come home.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because they threatened you.”
“Who?”
Eleanor looked at Dominic.
“The Caldwells.”
Selena froze.
“They killed your father.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Tell us everything.”
Eleanor explained.
Her husband had discovered the Caldwell family's plan to steal the trust.
He confronted Richard.
Richard hired men.
The attack was staged as an accident.
Eleanor survived.
She went into hiding.
She believed Selena would be safer if everyone thought she was dead.
But Richard continued watching her.
Then Mason entered Selena's life.
Eleanor had discovered the truth.
“He never loved you,” she whispered.
Selena looked down.
“I know.”
“Mason wanted your trust.”
“I know.”
Eleanor's eyes moved to Dominic.
“And he knows.”
Dominic remained silent.
“Knows what?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Your father didn't create the trust alone.”
Dominic stared.
“Who helped him?”
“Your mother.”
The room became silent.
Selena looked between them.
Two families.
One secret.
One trust.
One conspiracy.
Eleanor reached under the bed.
She removed a sealed envelope.
“This belongs to you.”
Selena opened it.
A handwritten note.
My daughter,
The money is not the inheritance.
The inheritance is the truth.
At the bottom was a key.
Dominic studied it.
“Do you know what this opens?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
But someone outside the hospital did.
The fire alarm sounded.
Dominic reacted immediately.
“Stay here.”
Smoke began entering the hallway.
Selena heard footsteps.
Then a voice.
“Mason.”
She turned.
He stood at the end of the corridor.
Elegant.
Calm.
Smiling.
“You look beautiful.”
Selena's blood ran cold.
“You followed me.”
“I followed the trust.”
Dominic stepped between them.
Mason laughed.
“You know what I find fascinating?”
“What?”
“You think she married you because she loves you.”
Dominic's expression didn't change.
Mason looked at Selena.
“She doesn't love you.”
Selena stared at him.
“Neither did you.”
Mason's smile disappeared.
Dominic raised his weapon.
Mason stepped backward.
“This isn't over.”
“No,” Dominic said.
“It isn't.”
Mason disappeared into the smoke.
When the fire was controlled, Eleanor was gone.
So was the key.
May you like
And Selena realized Mason hadn't come for her mother.
He had come for the key.
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