Chapter 18: The Woman Who Started It All
The name didn’t make sense.
Olivia’s mother.
A woman I barely remembered.
A woman who had disappeared from our lives years ago.
I looked at Olivia.
Her face was frozen.
“You’re lying.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I wish I was.””
My father looked furious.
“No. That’s impossible.””
Daniel turned toward him.
“You know it’s not.””
My father said nothing.
And that silence terrified me.
I walked closer.
“Dad.””
He looked at me.
“What happened?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“Your mother found out something.””
“What?””
He swallowed.
“Something about Olivia’s mother.””
Olivia stood.
“My mom?””
Nobody answered.
She looked terrified.
“What does my mom have to do with this?””
Daniel looked at her.
“More than you know.””
I felt the room shifting.
Everything I believed was collapsing.
My mother.
My father.
Victor.
Adrian.
Olivia.
All connected.
But the biggest question remained.
Why?
“Tell me the truth.””
My father closed his eyes.
“Your mother discovered that Victor wasn’t acting alone.””
“Who was helping him?””
He looked at Olivia.
“Her mother.””
Olivia stepped back.
“No.””
Daniel continued.
“She worked with Victor years ago. She helped create the contracts that trapped artists.””
Olivia shook her head.
“My mother would never.””
I wanted to believe her.
Because I knew what it felt like to have someone destroy the image of a parent.
But truth didn’t care about what we wanted.
My father continued.
“Elena found proof.””
“What kind of proof?””
“A recording.””
I remembered the missing evidence.
The hidden files.
The clues.
“The recording from the studio?””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
Daniel looked at the floor.
“That’s what everyone has been searching for.””
I turned toward him.
“Everyone?””
“Yes.””
“Victor.””
“Yes.””
“Adrian.””
“Yes.””
“My father.””
Silence.
I looked at my father.
“You searched for it too.””
His eyes filled.
“I was trying to destroy it.””
The words shocked me.
“What?””
“I wanted it gone.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought it would put you in danger.””
I stared at him.
“You wanted to erase the truth.””
“I wanted to erase the target on your back.””
“That isn’t your choice.””
“I know.””
His voice broke.
“I know now.””
A notification suddenly came from Daniel’s phone.
Everyone looked.
A message.
From Victor.
Daniel opened it.
His face changed.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
One sentence.
*She finally knows. Bring her to the place where Elena stopped singing.*
My blood went cold.
“The place where Mom stopped singing.””
Adrian’s words.
My mother’s clues.
The studio.
The piano.
Everything.
Then I remembered something.
A place nobody mentioned.
A place my mother stopped going.
The old concert hall.
The one where she performed her final show.
My father looked at me.
“No.””
I turned.
“You know where.””
He looked terrified.
“Maya, don’t go there.””
“Why?””
He didn’t answer.
“Why?””
His voice was barely a whisper.
“Because that’s where your mother died.””
The room went silent.
I grabbed my coat.
“Then that’s where I’m going.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“I’m coming with you.””
My father shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
For the first time all night, my father looked certain.
“Because if Victor wants Maya there…”
He looked at me.
“…he wants her to find something.””
“What?””
My father’s face turned pale.
“The truth about who really killed your mother.””
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
May you like
And somewhere in the city, the person who had spent years hiding the truth…
Was waiting for me to arrive.
