Chapter 5: The Truth She Was Afraid to Tell
Adrian Cole had spent his entire life believing that truth was something you could force into the open.
Ask the right question.
Apply enough pressure.
Find the right person.
Eventually, the truth would surrender.
But Simone taught him something he never wanted to learn.
Sometimes the truth was hiding because it was afraid.
For three days after discovering she was alive, Adrian barely slept.
He stopped attending unnecessary meetings. He canceled dinners. He ignored business calls from people who wanted updates about the scandal surrounding his family.
The most powerful man in the city had become a man sitting alone in his office every night, staring at security footage of a woman he loved walking through an abandoned train station.
Alive.
Afraid.
Alone.
Malcolm placed a folder on Adrian’s desk.
“We found the safe locations Victor used.””
Adrian opened it.
Inside were names, addresses, financial records.
Everything that connected Victor to the operation.
But Adrian wasn’t looking for Victor anymore.
Not really.
He was looking for Simone.
“Any sign of her?””
Malcolm hesitated.
Adrian noticed immediately.
“What?””
“We have a possible location.””
“Possible?””
“A small apartment. Paid cash. Connected to Denise Carter.””
Adrian stood.
“Take me there.””
Malcolm nodded.
Then Adrian stopped him.
“Alone.””
“Sir—”
“I said alone.””
Malcolm looked like he wanted to argue.
But he knew better.
Because this wasn’t a business decision.
This was a husband trying to find his wife.
The apartment building was older than anything Adrian usually entered. The hallway smelled like old paint and rain-soaked concrete. Nothing about the place belonged in his world.
And maybe that was the point.
Simone had spent two months somewhere he would never think to look.
He reached the door.
His hand hovered over the handle.
For the first time in years, Adrian Cole was nervous.
Not in a boardroom.
Not during a negotiation.
Not when facing enemies.
Here.
At a door.
Because behind it was the woman he buried.
He knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
Then he heard it.
A voice.
“Who is it?””
Adrian stopped breathing.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it every morning for twelve years.
“Simone.””
Silence.
The kind of silence that hurt.
Then the door opened.
And there she was.
Not a memory.
Not a photograph.
Not a dream.
Simone.
Her hair was shorter. Her face was thinner. There was a scar near her eyebrow. She looked exhausted.
But she was alive.
Adrian stared.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Simone whispered:
“You shouldn’t be here.””
Those were not the words he imagined.
Not I missed you.
Not I’m sorry.
Not I love you.
You shouldn’t be here.
Adrian swallowed.
“I spent two months standing at your grave.””
Her eyes filled instantly.
“I know.””
“You knew?””
Simone looked away.
That hurt more than anything.
“You knew I was alive and you let me believe you were dead?””
Her expression broke.
“No.””
“No?””
“I let you believe I was gone.””
The difference sounded small.
But it wasn’t.
Adrian stepped inside.
“Explain.””
Simone closed the door.
For the first time in two months, they were in the same room.
And somehow they felt farther apart than ever.
“Victor planned everything,” she said.
Adrian nodded.
“I know.””
Her eyes widened.
“What?””
“We know about Claire.””
The color left Simone’s face.
“Claire…”
“She’s been identified.””
Simone covered her mouth.
The pain on her face told Adrian everything.
“You knew her.””
“Yes.””
“Tell me.””
Simone sat down slowly.
“Claire found Victor’s accounts. She discovered he was moving money through fake companies connected to the port.””
“And you helped her?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
That question broke something inside her.
“Because I tried.””
Adrian stopped.
“What?””
Simone looked at him.
“I tried to tell you.””
The room became heavy.
“The night before the crash, I was going to meet you. I had everything. Documents.
Names. Transfers. Proof.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
“Because Victor knew.””
Adrian frowned.
“How?””
“Because someone close to you was giving him information.””
The words hit him.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“You suspected me?””
Simone looked devastated.
“No.””
“Then why hide from me?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I knew Victor had access to everything around you. Your employees. Your schedule.
Your security. Your home.””
Adrian looked away.
“He knew you better than anyone,” she whispered.
The sentence hurt because it was true.
Victor had been family.
“He knew what I would do,” Simone continued.
“He knew I would protect you. He knew I would come running home.””
“And you thought staying away protected me?””
“Yes.””
Adrian laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it hurt.
“You decided alone that losing you was better than risking me?””
Simone looked down.
“I thought you were safer without me.””
Adrian stared at her.
The woman who knew his heart better than anyone had misunderstood the one thing he needed most.
“She was wrong.””
Both of them turned.
Lily stood near the doorway holding Bruno’s leash.
The little girl looked between them.
“She was wrong,” Lily repeated.
Despite everything, Adrian almost smiled.
Simone wiped her tears.
“You brought Bruno?””
Lily nodded proudly.
“He missed you.””
The Cane Corso walked toward Simone immediately.
She fell to her knees and hugged him.
For a moment, Adrian saw the woman he married.
Not the survivor.
Not the woman who ran.
His Simone.
Then the moment ended.
Because survival had consequences.
And they still had a killer to stop.
That night, Simone finally gave Adrian the one thing she had kept hidden.
A flash drive.
“The evidence Claire saved.””
Adrian looked at it.
“Why didn’t Victor find this?””
“Because Claire gave it to me.””
Inside were files that could destroy Victor.
But there was something else.
A recording.
Simone pressed play.
Victor’s voice filled the room.
“You should have stayed out of this, Claire.””
Then another voice.
A voice Adrian recognized.
His face changed.
“No.””
Simone looked at him.
“You know him?””
Adrian stared at the speaker.
Because standing beside Victor in the recording was someone he never expected.
Someone inside his own company.
May you like
Someone he trusted.
And suddenly the betrayal went deeper than he imagined.
