Amelia stared at Damian.
"My father?"
Damian nodded.
"Thomas Rose killed our father."
"You're lying."
"I expected you to say that."
Liam stepped forward.
"You don't get to manipulate her."
Damian laughed.
"Still protecting her."
He looked at Amelia.
"That's what ruined everything."
"What are you talking about?"
Damian walked down the remaining steps.
"Seven years ago, your father discovered what we were doing."
"What were you doing?"
"Moving money."
Liam's eyes narrowed.
"Tell her the truth."
"I am."
Damian looked at Amelia.
"Your father threatened to expose us."
"And you killed him?"
"No."
He smiled.
"Your father died because he betrayed everyone."
Amelia shook her head.
"My father wasn't like that."
"You didn't know him."
"Yes, I did."
"You knew the father who raised you."
Damian stepped closer.
"You didn't know the businessman."
Amelia felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"You're lying."
"Maybe."
He shrugged.
"But I have proof."
He reached inside his coat.
Liam immediately stepped between them.
"Don't."
Damian smiled.
"Relax."
He pulled out a small flash drive.
"Everything you want to know is here."
He tossed it onto the floor.
Liam picked it up.
"Why give this to us?"
"Because I want you to understand."
"Understand what?"
Damian looked at Liam.
"Why I took her from you."
Amelia froze.
"You what?"
Damian's expression became cold.
"Your father discovered that Liam was going to expose our family."
He looked at Amelia.
"And I knew the only way to stop him was to make him believe you were in danger."
Liam's face hardened.
"You threatened her."
"Yes."
"With fake photographs."
"Yes."
"And Marcus?"
Damian laughed.
"Marcus was never dead."
Amelia stared at him.
"Then why did you say he was?"
"Because it was useful."
Liam stepped forward.
"Where is he?"
Damian's smile disappeared.
"Closer than you think."
Before Liam could respond, the lights suddenly went out.
A loud bang echoed through the mansion.
Amelia screamed.
Liam grabbed her.
"Stay behind me."
Another bang.
Then silence.
The emergency lights came on.
Damian was gone.
Liam looked around.
"Damian!"
No answer.
Amelia noticed something on the floor.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
Her hands began shaking.
It showed Liam standing beside her seven years ago.
They were smiling.
Behind them, hidden in the background, stood Marcus.
Watching them.
Amelia turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
The night Liam left.
And beneath it were words.
He wasn't the one who betrayed you.
Amelia looked at Liam.
"What does this mean?"
He took the photograph.
His face went pale.
"I don't know."
But then Amelia noticed something else.
A small reflection in the photograph.
Someone was standing behind Marcus.
A woman.
She zoomed in.
Her heart stopped.
"I know her."
Liam looked at her.
"Who?"
"My mother."
Silence.
Amelia's mother had died when she was six.
She had never seen her with Liam's family.
Never.
Yet there she was.
Standing beside Marcus.
Seven years before Liam left.
Liam stared at the photograph.
"Your mother knew my family."
Amelia shook her head.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"My mother died before I was old enough to remember her."
Liam looked at the picture again.
"Then why was she there?"
Neither of them had an answer.
Suddenly, Liam's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
"Liam."
He froze.
Amelia looked at him.
The voice continued.
"You've been looking for the wrong person."
Liam's eyes widened.
"Who are you?"
The woman laughed softly.
"Ask Amelia who her mother really was."
The call ended.
Amelia stared at Liam.
"What did she say?"
He didn't answer.
"Liam."
He looked at her.
For the first time since she had known him, Amelia saw genuine shock on his face.
Then he whispered:
"Your mother may still be alive."
Amelia's world stopped.
Her mother had died twenty years ago.
At least, that was what she had always been told.
And suddenly, everything she believed about her family was beginning to fall apart.
Amelia stared at Liam.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
The words he had just said seemed impossible to understand.
"Your mother may still be alive."
Amelia slowly shook her head.
"No."
Liam stepped closer.
"Amelia—"
"No." Her voice became firmer. "My mother died when I was six."
"That is what you were told."
"My father told me she died."
"I know."
"My relatives attended her funeral."
"I know."
"I saw her coffin."
Liam's face tightened.
"Did you see her face?"
Amelia froze.
She opened her mouth, but no words came.
Liam watched her carefully.
"Think about it," he said softly. "You were six years old. You told me once that your father wouldn't let you go near the coffin."
Amelia's heart began pounding.
She remembered.
She had almost forgotten that day.
The black clothes.
The crying relatives.
The flowers.
The coffin in the middle of the church.
And her father holding her tightly.
He had refused to let her get close.
At the time, she had been too young to question it.
But now…
Why?
"I don't understand," Amelia whispered.
"Neither do I," Liam replied. "But someone knows the truth."
Amelia looked at the photograph Damian had left behind.
Her eyes remained fixed on the reflection in the glass.
The woman looked like her.
Not exactly.
But enough.
The same eyes.
The same shape of her face.
The same long dark hair.
Amelia's fingers trembled.
"Where did you get this?"
"Damian left it."
"And the woman?"
"I don't know."
Suddenly, Liam's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
His expression changed.
He answered.
"Hello?"
There was silence.
Then a woman's voice whispered.
"Stop looking for me."
Liam immediately straightened.
"Who are you?"
"Someone who should have died twenty years ago."
Amelia's eyes widened.
The caller continued.
"Your father wasn't the only person hiding secrets, Liam."
"Tell me who you are."
"You already know."
The line went dead.
Liam immediately tried calling back.
The number was unavailable.
Amelia stared at him.
"Was that her?"
"I don't know."
A loud sound suddenly came from outside.
Bang!
Amelia jumped.
Liam grabbed her hand.
"Stay behind me."
They moved toward the window.
Another sound followed.
Something had fallen near the garden.
Liam pulled out his phone and called security.
"Check the eastern side of the property. Now."
Amelia stayed close to him.
Seconds later, a security guard's voice came through the phone.
"Sir, we found something."
"What?"
"A phone."
Liam and Amelia exchanged a look.
"Bring it inside."
A few minutes later, the guard entered carrying a small black phone inside a plastic bag.
Liam examined it.
There was no SIM card.
No identification.
Only one photograph on the screen.
Amelia.
Standing outside her flower shop.
Taken that morning.
Amelia stepped backward.
Someone had been watching her.
Again.
Liam's jaw tightened.
"This isn't just about the past anymore."
A message suddenly appeared on the phone.
YOU HAVE 48 HOURS.
Another message appeared.
FIND THE WOMAN BEFORE THEY DO.
Amelia looked at Liam.
"Who are they?"
"I don't know."
The phone vibrated again.
This time, there was a photograph.
It showed a hospital.
Liam zoomed in.
A name was visible on the building.
St. Mary's Private Hospital.
Below it was a message.
ASK DR. DANIEL HAYES ABOUT THE NIGHT MARCUS DIED.
Liam stared at the screen.
"Marcus."
Amelia moved closer.
"What about him?"
"Everyone believed Marcus died in a car accident."
"Yes."
"But if my mother is alive, and Marcus is alive, then maybe the accident wasn't what we were told."
Before Amelia could respond, Liam's phone rang again.
This time, it was Ethan.
Liam answered.
"Where are you?"
"Outside the hospital," Ethan replied.
Liam frowned.
"What?"
"I started digging into Marcus Vale's accident after you asked me."
"And?"
"I found something strange."
"What?"
"The official report says Marcus died at the scene."
Liam's eyes narrowed.
"That is what we've always heard."
"But the hospital records say something different."
Amelia leaned closer.
"What do they say?"
Ethan paused.
"Someone was brought into St. Mary's Hospital that night."
"Marcus?"
"I don't know."
"Why?"
"Because the name on the admission record wasn't Marcus Vale."
Liam's expression hardened.
"What name?"
"Daniel Rose."
Amelia went completely still.
Her father's name.
Thomas Rose.
Daniel Rose had been her mother's maiden surname.
Amelia stared at Liam.
"That can't be possible."
Ethan continued.
"I need you to come here."
"Why?"
"Because I found the doctor who signed the admission papers."
"Daniel Hayes?"
"Yes."
Liam looked at Amelia.
"We're going."
"Liam," Ethan said quickly. "There's one more thing."
"What?"
"I don't think we're the only ones looking for him."
The call ended.
Liam grabbed his jacket.
Amelia followed.
"You're not leaving me behind."
"I wasn't planning to."
They drove through the city in silence.
The rain had started again.
Amelia stared through the window.
Her mother's face kept appearing in her mind.
The coffin.
The funeral.
Her father's tears.
What if it had all been a lie?
She turned toward Liam.
"Why would my father lie to me?"
"I don't know."
"Why would he make me believe my mother was dead?"
"I don't know."
"And why would his name be connected to Marcus's hospital records?"
"I don't know, Amelia."
She looked at him.
"You always say that."
"I'd rather tell you I don't know than lie to you."
She looked away.
Seven years ago, she would have believed anything he said.
Now trust was something she had to fight to give.
They reached St. Mary's Hospital.
Ethan was waiting near the entrance.
He was tall, dressed in a dark jacket, with a serious expression.
Amelia had never met him before.
Liam introduced them.
"Ethan Cole. Private investigator."
Ethan nodded.
"Amelia."
"How do you know my name?"
Ethan gave Liam a look.
"Liam told me everything."
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"Everything?"
"Not everything," Ethan said. "He still has some secrets."
Liam frowned.
"Not now."
Ethan smiled slightly.
"Fair enough."
They entered the hospital.
Dr. Daniel Hayes was waiting in a private office.
He was an older man with gray hair and tired eyes.
The moment he saw Amelia, his face changed.
He stood abruptly.
"You."
Amelia froze.
"You know me?"
The doctor looked at Liam.
Then at Ethan.
Then back at Amelia.
"I haven't seen you since you were a child."
Amelia's heart stopped.
"What do you mean?"
Dr. Hayes slowly sat down.
"I was your mother's doctor."
Silence filled the room.
Amelia's lips parted.
"My mother?"
He nodded.
"Your mother was alive after the funeral."
Amelia felt the floor disappear beneath her.
"Where is she?"
Dr. Hayes looked toward the door.
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they will know I've spoken."
Liam stepped forward.
"Who are they?"
The doctor's hands trembled.
"The people who made your mother disappear."
Suddenly, the lights went out.
The room became completely dark.
A gunshot exploded somewhere in the hallway.
Amelia screamed.
Liam pulled her down.
Ethan moved toward the door.
"Stay here!"
Another gunshot.
Glass shattered.
Then footsteps ran down the corridor.
Ethan disappeared after them.
Liam held Amelia close.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No."
They waited.
After several seconds, emergency lights came on.
Dr. Hayes was gone.
The window behind his desk was open.
Liam rushed toward it.
Below, a black car sped away.
He looked back at Amelia.
The doctor had left something behind.
A small envelope lay on the desk.
Amelia picked it up.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
She stared at it.
It showed a young woman holding a little girl.
Amelia.
And the woman was unmistakably her mother.
On the back were six words.
YOUR MOTHER NEVER STOPPED LOOKING FOR YOU.
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
Then another piece of paper slipped from the envelope.
She picked it up.
There was an address.
And underneath it:
GO ALONE.
Liam took the paper from her.
"No."
Amelia looked at him.
"We're going together."
Liam shook his head.
"This is exactly what they want."
Before they could say anything else, Ethan came running back into the room.
His face was pale.
"Liam."
"What happened?"
"I lost him."
"Who?"
Ethan looked at Amelia.
"The man who shot at us."
"What did he look like?"
Ethan swallowed.
"I didn't see his face."
"Then what did you see?"
Ethan reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a silver ring.
A black stone was set in the middle.
Liam's face went pale.
He knew that ring.
It was the same ring Marcus Vale had always worn.
Liam whispered one word.
"Marcus."
Amelia stared at him.
"But Marcus is dead."
Ethan shook his head.
"Apparently not."
Then Liam's phone vibrated.
One new message appeared.
I TOLD YOU I WASN'T DEAD.
And underneath it was another message.
NOW ASK YOUR GIRLFRIEND WHY HER MOTHER HELPED ME DISAPPEAR.
Liam slowly looked at Amelia.
For the first time, neither of them knew who they could trust.
Not her father.
Not Liam's family.
Not Marcus.
And perhaps not even the woman Amelia had spent her entire life believing was dead.
The mystery had just become more dangerous.
Because now they weren't searching for Amelia's mother.
Someone was searching for them.
And whoever it was had been waiting seven years for Liam to come home.