Chapter 6: The Woman Who Controlled the Empire
Nobody spoke.
The room that had once belonged to Claire suddenly felt like a courtroom.
Mara stood there holding the notebook with her name written inside.
For the first time since I met her, she looked powerless.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Just hurt.
“Explain,” I said.
My voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
Mara placed the notebook down.
“I can’t.””
I stared at her.
“You can’t?””
She looked at the pages.
“Not yet.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“Mara, after everything?””
She turned toward him.
“You think I don’t know what this looks like?””
“It looks like Claire discovered you were involved.””
Mara’s jaw tightened.
“I know.””
That answer shocked me.
She wasn’t denying it.
She wasn’t fighting.
She was accepting suspicion.
“Then tell us the truth.””
Mara walked to the window.
“When Vincent disappeared, everyone believed he was dead.””
I watched her carefully.
“But you didn’t.””
“No.””
The room became silent.
“Why?””
“Because I knew my brother.””
Her voice softened.
“Vincent was brilliant. Ambitious. And he believed the Bellandi name belonged to him.””
Thomas frowned.
“You thought he was alive?””
“I knew.””
I felt a chill.
“Then why hide it?””
Mara looked at me.
“Because I was trying to protect this company.””
I laughed.
A bitter sound.
“By hiding the truth?””
“Sometimes the truth destroys more than lies.””
I thought about Claire.
About the secrets.
About my daughter holding a drawing of a man she should never have known.
“You knew Claire was investigating Vincent.””
“Yes.””
“And you let her.””
Mara looked down.
“I tried to stop her.””
“Again.””
This time her expression changed.
“She didn’t listen.””
I looked at the notebook.
“What did Claire find?””
Mara hesitated.
Then she answered.
“Vincent had been secretly building a network inside Bellandi Holdings for years.””
Thomas frowned.
“Using fake companies?””
“Yes.””
“And Daniel’s identity?””
Mara nodded.
“He needed someone outside the family.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why me?””
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Mara said:
“Because Claire loved you.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
“What does that have to do with anything?””
“Vincent knew Claire would never believe you were guilty.””
She looked at me.
“He knew she would investigate.””
A painful silence followed.
Claire hadn’t been careless.
She had been targeted because she was loyal.
Because she loved me.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
No one spoke at first.
Then a familiar voice.
Vincent.
“You’re learning quickly.””
My grip tightened.
“You killed Claire.””
A pause.
“No.””
The calmness in his voice made me angry.
“She made a choice.””
“What choice?””
“She chose the truth over survival.””
My hands shook.
“Where is she?””
Silence.
Then:
“You really don’t know.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Vincent continued.
“Daniel, your wife wasn’t killed.””
The room disappeared around me.
Thomas looked at my face.
Mara stood completely still.
“What did you say?””
Vincent lowered his voice.
“Claire was alive when she left.””
My breathing became uneven.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
I heard movement on his end.
Then a sentence that shattered the last piece of certainty I had.
“She left because she discovered what you did before you lost your memory of it.””
My blood ran cold.
“What are you talking about?””
But Vincent had already ended the call.
A few seconds later, my phone received a message.
One photograph.
I opened it.
And everything inside me stopped.
It was Claire.
Alive.
Standing beside me.
Three years ago.
The night she disappeared.
But I wasn’t holding her hand.
I wasn’t comforting her.
May you like
I was handing her a folder.
And Claire’s face was filled with fear.
