Chapter 9: The Truth Behind the Plan
The room became unbearably quiet.
Every eye turned toward Marcus.
The man who had walked into the mansion claiming he came to reveal the truth.
The man who had acted like he was protecting Darius.
Now stood exposed as part of the secret.
Darius looked at him.
“Was it you?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That was all Darius needed.
His disappointment showed more than anger.
“You knew.””
Marcus took a breath.
“Yes.””
Darius shook his head.
“You knew everything?””
“No.””
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Darius noticed.
“Then what did you know?””
Marcus looked at Simone.
She looked away.
“I knew she was hiding something.””
Darius stepped forward.
“You were in contact with her.””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Years.””
The word landed heavily.
Darius stared.
Years.
Not weeks.
Not months.
Years.
“So everyone has been connected except me.””
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s not fair.””
Darius looked at him.
“Fair?””
His voice rose.
“You knew my wife was hiding a secret from me.””
“I was trying to stop it from hurting you.””
“No.””
Darius pointed toward the room.
“You were trying to control when I found out.””
Marcus looked down.
Because that was true.
Simone whispered.
“Darius…”
He turned toward her.
“No.””
The word was immediate.
“I need to understand something.””
She waited.
“Was any of it real?””
The question broke something in her.
“What?””
“The pregnancy.””
His voice became quieter.
“Our future.””
He looked around the room.
“All of it.””
Simone’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
Darius frowned.
“Yes?””
“Yes, I loved you.””
“Then why?””
She couldn’t answer.
Marcus finally spoke.
“Because she thought she had no other choice.””
Darius looked at him.
“Stop speaking for her.””
Marcus went silent.
Darius turned back to Simone.
“Your turn.””
She wiped her face.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She looked at the old photographs.
“At losing everything.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It is.””
She took a shaky breath.
“You don’t know what happened before I met you.””
“Then tell me.””
Simone looked toward Ava.
Then toward the open door.
Then back at Darius.
“I was trying to fix something that happened years ago.””
“What?””
She looked at the box.
“The person in that picture.””
Darius waited.
“That person changed my life.””
“Who are they?””
Simone didn’t answer.
Not immediately.
Then she said:
“Your sister.””
The words stunned him.
Darius stepped back.
“My sister?””
Marcus nodded slowly.
Darius stared.
“That’s impossible.””
Simone looked at him.
“I knew you would say that.””
“Because she’s gone.””
“Yes.””
His face changed.
The room seemed to tilt.
His sister.
The person he had lost years ago.
The person everyone told him he had to move on from.
Was somehow connected to all of this.
“How?””
Simone looked down.
“She left behind things.””
“What things?””
“Secrets.””
Darius shook his head.
“You expect me to believe my sister was involved in this?””
“No.””
Simone looked at him.
“I expect you to hear the truth before you judge anyone.””
The irony was almost painful.
Darius looked at Marcus.
“What did you know about my sister?””
Marcus answered quietly.
“She asked me to watch over Simone.””
“Why?””
“Because she knew something was coming.””
Darius frowned.
“Something?””
Marcus nodded.
“She knew someone would eventually try to destroy your family.””
Darius looked around.
The fake pregnancy.
The hidden room.
The documents.
The messages.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
But one question remained.
“Why would my sister involve Simone?””
Simone looked at the box.
“Because she knew something about you.””
Darius froze.
“About me?””
“Yes.””
“What?””
Simone stepped closer.
Her voice dropped.
“The reason your sister disappeared…”
She stopped.
Darius waited.
But before she could finish, the lights in the mansion suddenly went out.
The ballroom disappeared into darkness.
Guests screamed.
Someone dropped a glass.
Ava cried out.
“Dad!””
Darius immediately moved toward her voice.
“I’m here!””
Emergency lights flickered on.
Dim.
Red.
Unnatural.
And then Darius saw something on the floor.
A piece of paper had been pushed underneath the door.
Everyone stared.
Darius picked it up.
His hands shook as he unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written.
*“Stop looking for answers, or you’ll lose the person you’re trying to save.””*
Darius looked up.
Because standing across the dark hallway…
May you like
was the person who had sent it.
And they were holding something that belonged to his sister.
