Chapter 4: The Name on the Screen
The name appeared on my phone like a ghost.
I stared at it.
For a moment, the mansion disappeared.
The voices behind me disappeared.
Even the sound of my own breathing became distant.
Because some names belong to the past.
And when they return, they bring everything you buried with them.
I held Noah tighter.
The message was short.
Too short.
That was what scared me.
“Are you ready to tell him the truth?””
My heart slowed.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I knew this moment would change everything.
Behind me, Adrian was still fighting to understand what was happening.
“What is going on?”” Vanessa demanded.
I heard her footsteps.
Then Adrian’s voice.
“Stay away from her.””
Interesting.
After everything.
After all the damage.
That was the first time he sounded protective.
But it was too late.
I turned around.
Adrian stood there holding his phone.
The arrogance was gone.
His expensive clothes looked meaningless.
His jewelry looked like decoration on a man who had lost the only thing he valued.
Control.
“Nia,” he said.
I waited.
He swallowed.
“What are you hiding?””
I almost answered.
Almost.
But then I remembered every night I sat alone wondering if I was enough.
Every morning I smiled for people who had no idea what happened behind these doors.
Every time Adrian chose his image over our family.
So I simply said:
“The same thing you’ve been hiding.””
His eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa looked between us.
“I don’t like this.””
For once, I agreed with her.
Not because she was innocent.
Because she was about to discover she had never known the full story either.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Nia, whatever you think you’re doing—”
“I’m not thinking.””
I interrupted him.
“I already decided.””
The silence was heavy.
Then his phone vibrated.
Everyone looked.
Another notification.
His fingers froze.
Vanessa whispered:
“Open it.””
He did.
And the color disappeared from his face.
“What?””
I watched him read.
Once.
Twice.
Like the words might change.
They didn’t.
“What does it say?”” Vanessa asked.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
His eyes moved to me.
Not angry.
Not confused.
Terrified.
“What did you find?”” I asked.
His lips parted.
For the first time in years, Adrian had no perfect answer.
No clever excuse.
No command.
No way to control the room.
Then he whispered a name.
A name that made Vanessa step back.
A name that made me realize the secret I had spent years protecting was finally coming into the light.
And before Adrian could say anything else, the front doors of the mansion opened.
A voice came from the entrance.
“Nia.””
I turned.
And the person standing there was the last person Adrian ever expected to see.
May you like
Continue the mansion mystery
- Write Chapters 5–7
