Chapter 8: The Truth Maya Carried
Maya knew the moment Adrian looked at her.
She knew the question before he asked.
Because Marcus had planned it perfectly.
He wasn’t just exposing secrets.
He was turning people against each other.
Making everyone doubt the person standing closest to them.
“What did your father do?””
Adrian’s voice was quiet.
Maya felt like the floor beneath her was disappearing.
“My father wasn’t a bad man.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
She closed her eyes.
“I know.””
Noah stirred slightly in her arms.
Maya immediately lowered her voice.
“He was trying to protect me.””
Adrian looked at her.
“From what?””
“The truth.””
A painful silence followed.
Maya looked at Evelyn.
The older woman nodded sadly.
“Tell him.””
Maya took a breath.
“My father knew Marcus was stealing money.””
Adrian waited.
“But he also knew something else.””
“What?””
“He knew someone was helping Marcus.””
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Who?””
Maya looked down.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t?””
“No.””
Her eyes filled.
“Because my father died before he could tell me.””
Adrian looked frustrated.
“You said your father found out.””
“He did.””
“Then why don’t you know?””
Maya swallowed.
“Because he left me a message.””
Adrian froze.
“A message?””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
Maya looked away.
“I destroyed it.””
The words hit harder than she expected.
Adrian stared.
“You destroyed evidence?””
“I destroyed something that could get Noah hurt.””
His expression changed.
“What was it?””
“A recording.””
Maya’s voice shook.
“My father knew someone was watching him. He knew he was running out of time.””
She looked at Adrian.
“He told me never to trust anyone connected to Ashford Holdings.””
The irony was painful.
Because now she was standing inside the Ashford mansion.
With the son of the man her father warned her about.
“But I trusted you,” she whispered.
Adrian’s expression softened.
“Maya…”
“No.””
She shook her head.
“That’s the part I never understood.””
She wiped her tears.
“My father spent his whole life believing powerful people would destroy ordinary people if they got in the way.””
A pause.
“But you weren’t like that.””
Adrian looked down.
“I wish you had known that.””
“I wish I had too.””
For a moment, they simply stood there.
Two people who had loved each other.
Two people who had lost years because of someone else’s lies.
Then Adrian noticed something.
“You said your father left a recording.””
Maya nodded.
“You destroyed it.””
“Yes.””
“Are you sure?””
Her face changed.
“What?””
“Are you sure it was destroyed?””
Maya looked confused.
“What do you mean?””
Adrian thought about Marcus.
The files.
The manipulation.
The way everyone believed they were making choices when they were actually being controlled.
“Because everything Lauren did was based on information.””
He looked at Evelyn.
“She knew about Noah.””
He looked at Maya.
“She knew about your father.””
Then back at the files.
“She knew too much.””
Maya became still.
“You think she had the recording.””
“I think someone did.””
Before she could answer, one of the guards rushed into the room.
“Sir.””
Adrian turned.
“What?””
“We traced the photograph.””
“Who took it?””
The guard hesitated.
“It wasn’t taken by Lauren.””
Maya’s heart dropped.
“Then who?””
The guard looked at Adrian.
“It came from a security system inside the house.””
Adrian’s face changed.
“Impossible.””
The guard shook his head.
“We checked every camera.””
A pause.
“Someone installed a hidden one.””
The room went silent.
Someone had been watching them.
Inside the mansion.
For how long?
Adrian stepped forward.
“Find it.””
The guard nodded.
Then stopped.
“There’s more.””
Adrian looked over.
“What?””
“We found the access records.””
“And?””
The guard swallowed.
“The person who installed it had authorization.””
Adrian frowned.
“Whose authorization?””
The guard handed him a report.
Adrian read the name.
And the blood drained from his face.
Maya saw his reaction.
“What is it?””
He looked up.
His voice barely came out.
“It was approved under my father’s account.””
Everyone froze.
“But that’s impossible,” Maya whispered.
Adrian stared at the document.
His father had been dead for years.
Which meant one terrifying possibility remained.
Someone had been using his father’s identity.
Someone who had access to everything.
Someone who knew every secret inside the Ashford family.
And before Adrian could process it, his phone buzzed.
A message.
From the same unknown number.
One sentence.
I know where Lauren is.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
But if you want her alive, come alone.
Maya saw his face change.
“What happened?””
Adrian looked at her.
And for the first time that night, he looked afraid.
Because this was no longer about discovering the past.
Someone was still controlling the present.
And they had just made their next move.
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