Chapter 3 - The Secret My Mother Took to Her Grave
For the next two days, I barely slept.
Roman respected my request for space.
He never stopped protecting me.
Breakfast appeared outside my bedroom door.
The car was always waiting.
Arthur quietly monitored every entrance.
And Roman never once asked when I would forgive him.
That mattered.
But I still needed answers.
I traveled to the neighborhood where my mother had once worked.
The laundromat was gone.
In its place stood a luxury apartment building.
A coffee shop sat across the street.
I walked inside.
The elderly man behind the counter looked at me strangely.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for someone who used to own the laundromat.”
He studied my face.
“Who are your parents?”
“My mother was Elena Morrow.”
The cup in his hand stopped.
“You're Elena's daughter.”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the windows.
“Wait here.”
He disappeared into the back.
A few minutes later, he returned with a small envelope.
“Your mother gave this to me eighteen years ago.”
My hands shook.
“Why?”
“She said if you ever came asking questions, I should give it to you.”
I opened it.
Inside was a key.
And one sentence.
Sadi, trust the man who chooses you when he has nothing to gain.
I stared at it.
Then I understood.
Roman.
The key led to a storage unit in Queens.
Arthur wanted to come.
I refused.
“You shouldn't go alone.”
“I've spent my whole life being told I need protection.”
“You do.”
“I also need to know who I am.”
Arthur sighed.
“You sound exactly like Mrs. Valen.”
Roman had apparently given him instructions about me.
I almost smiled.
The storage unit contained boxes.
Receipts.
Old notebooks.
And a cassette tape.
I found an old player in one of the boxes.
My mother's voice filled the small unit.
“If you're hearing this, they found out.”
I covered my mouth.
“My daughter deserves the truth.”
The recording continued.
“I was hired by Richard Valen to investigate missing funds from one of his companies. At first, I thought I had discovered simple fraud.”
A pause.
“It wasn't fraud.”
I leaned closer.
“It was a network.”
Several names followed.
Some were unfamiliar.
One wasn't.
Vincent Hale.
My heart dropped.
“He wasn't working against Richard.”
My mother's voice became quieter.
“He was working with him.”
I stopped the tape.
Vincent had once been Roman's father's business partner.
Then the recording resumed.
“I found transfers routed through shell companies, political donations, and accounts controlled by people who never appeared in company records.”
A breath.
“One of those accounts used my daughter's initials.”
S.M.
I sat down.
“No.”
My mother continued.
“I don't know why.”
The tape crackled.
“But someone is building a financial identity around Sadi.”
I suddenly understood.
My name had been used to hide money.
For years.
A girl who had no power.
No connections.
No reason anyone would investigate.
A perfect cover.
The final part of the recording was barely audible.
“If anything happens to me, don't trust anyone connected to Richard Valen.”
I stared into the darkness.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
I froze.
Arthur was not supposed to be there.
The door opened.
Trevor stood outside.
He looked exhausted.
“You followed me.”
“No.”
He stepped inside.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand more than you think.”
His eyes landed on the documents.
“You found it.”
“What?”
“The storage records.”
“How did you know?”
He swallowed.
“Because I helped hide them.”
My stomach turned.
“You worked for Vincent.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
“Since you left me?”
He nodded.
“Trevor, what did you do?”
He rubbed his face.
“I thought it was only corporate theft.”
“You used my name.”
“I didn't know it was your name.”
“You lied.”
“I was desperate.”
“So you stole from me.”
“Yes.”
He looked ashamed for the first time in his life.
“Vincent promised me a promotion. He said Roman destroyed my career because of a stupid investment. He told me Roman was corrupt.”
“And you believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Because hating Roman was easier than admitting I had ruined my own life.”
I said nothing.
Trevor looked at the cassette.
“Does Roman know?”
“No.”
“You can't let Vincent get this.”
“Why?”
“Because those files don't just prove what Richard did.”
His voice dropped.
“They prove what Vincent is doing now.”
Before I could ask more, the storage unit door slammed open.
Two men entered.
Trevor shoved me behind him.
Arthur appeared from the corridor.
“Mrs. Valen!”
The men ran.
Arthur caught one.
The second escaped.
Trevor sank against the wall.
“You need to leave.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Not without her.”
Back at the townhouse, Roman listened to the recording.
When it ended, he stood completely still.
“My father destroyed people.”
I looked at him.
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
“Do you hate him?”
Roman nodded once.
“I spent years trying to build something different.”
I took his hand.
“You did.”
He looked at me.
“I should have told you about my father.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid you'd see me when you looked at him.”
I squeezed his hand.
“I don't.”
His eyes softened.
“Thank you.”
Arthur entered.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Chloe is at the gate.”
Trevor's fiancée.
Roman frowned.
“She says she has information about Vincent.”
We let her in.
Chloe looked terrified.
“I left Trevor.”
No one reacted.
She placed a phone on the table.
“I found messages.”
“To Vincent?”
She nodded.
“He hired Trevor because of Sadi.”
I looked at her.
“What does Vincent want?”
Chloe swallowed.
“He wants Roman to buy a company.”
“What company?”
She turned the phone around.
Valen Financial Archives.
My heart sank.
The archive wasn't a company.
It was the place where Richard had kept his financial records.
Vincent wanted Roman to acquire it.
Why?
Chloe whispered the answer.
“Because Vincent believes there is one missing ledger.”
Roman looked at me.
“The ledger proving everything.”
“Where is it?”
Chloe shook her head.
“We don't know.”
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice said:
“You've been looking for your mother's ledger.”
I froze.
May you like
“It’s time you stop.”
Then the call ended.
