Chapter 15: Whispers Beneath the Silence

Morning came too soon, sunlight spilling across Melinda’s face like a cruel reminder that nothing was as it seemed.

James was already dressed, buttoning his crisp white shirt in front of the mirror. His reflection caught her eye, and for a moment, she simply watched him carefully, cautiously.

The man who had once made her feel safe now seemed wrapped in questions she hadn’t dared ask.

“You slept like a rock,” James said, his voice warm and teasing as he adjusted his cufflinks. “Did you even hear the thunder last night?”

She gave him a faint smile. “Didn’t notice.”

He leaned over, kissed her forehead, then her lips. “I’ll be late tonight. Board meeting with the East Coast investors. You remember Thomas, right?”

She nodded slowly, committing the name to memory. “Of course.”

He kissed her once more before leaving, and as the door clicked shut behind him, the silence roared to life. She waited ten minutes long enough for him to get into the elevator and drive off before grabbing her bag and pulling out the flash drive.

Her hands trembled as she plugged it into her laptop.

The file was simply titled: REVELATION_1.

She clicked play.

The footage was grainy, black and white. It showed a man tall, lean, unmistakably James standing outside a hospital room. Through the window, Melinda recognized a face she hadn’t seen in years. One that haunted her dreams and memories alike.

Andrew.

Alive. Pale. Hooked to monitors. But unmistakably alive.

Melinda’s breath caught in her throat as she watched James enter the room. There was no shock on his face. No confusion. No surprise.

They embraced.

Spoke.

James handed Andrew a manila folder and what looked like a burner phone.

Then came the line that carved itself into her like a blade:

“No one can know, not even her.”

The screen went dark.

Melinda sat frozen, her mouth dry. Her heart cracked in her chest, shattering against the walls she had spent years rebuilding. James had lied. Andrew had betrayed her. And now both were tangled in a conspiracy that reached far deeper than she imagined.

What had they been hiding?

Why had James kept Andrew’s survival a secret from her?

And worse why did Andrew look afraid?

Hours later, Melinda sat at the café across from her office, sunglasses hiding her swollen eyes. She stirred her untouched coffee, waiting.

Noah slid into the seat opposite her. “You watched it.”

She nodded slowly. “How long?”

“Since the night of the crash. Andrew was never supposed to die. But he was never supposed to return either.”

“I need answers,” she said tightly. “And I need them now.”

Noah looked around, then leaned closer. “James was Andrew’s fixer cleaning up his messes, covering his tracks, even funding some of his deals. But something changed after the accident. James took control. The only way to protect you… was to disappear Andrew.”

Melinda laughed bitterly. “You mean erase him.”

Noah’s voice dropped. “Andrew got in deep with a group overseas. Dangerous men. When things went south, James stepped in. Not out of kindness out of control. He used Andrew’s debts to take over everything. Including you.”

The realization hit like ice.

All this time, she had been a pawn. A prize passed from one manipulator to another.

“I need to see Andrew,” she said, gripping the table. “I need the truth from him.”

Noah hesitated. “That’s not easy. He’s in hiding. Not just from you from everyone. He thinks James wants him dead now.”

Melinda leaned in. “Then tell him I’m done being protected. I want to remember what they tried to make me forget.”

That night, James returned home later than usual. He looked tired, but that effortless charisma still clung to him like silk.

“Long day?” she asked, her voice soft.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Endless. I’ve missed this all day.”

She leaned into him, hiding the storm behind her eyes. “Me too.”

But her fingers clutched her phone under the counter, hitting “record.”

“James?”

“Mm?”

“If there was something… you needed to tell me. Something about the past… about Andrew. Would you?”

He stilled just for a second.

Then: “What brought this up?”

“Just… wondering. You never talk about that time.”

James pulled away gently and turned her to face him. His expression was unreadable.

“There are things better left in the past, Mel. Andrew hurt you. Deeply. I’ve spent every day since trying to help you heal. That’s what matters.”

She smiled tightly. “Right.”

He kissed her forehead and disappeared into the shower, humming the same song as before.

Melinda slipped into the guest room and sent a single message to Noah:

“I’m ready. Set the meeting. I’ll go alone.”

Because the only thing more dangerous than a lie…

It was the moment you stopped believing it.

Melinda awoke to the scent of espresso and the soft hum of classical music drifting through the penthouse. For a moment, she forgot where she was until the faint imprint of a man's warmth beside her reminded her.

James had risen early. A folded robe and a steaming cup of tea sat by her side.

She blinked, groggy but calmer than she’d been in weeks. Her chest didn’t feel quite so heavy. There was something grounding about the silence of the room, the way it wrapped around her like a balm. The events of the previous night rushed back the tears, the trembling, the way James had just held her.

Melinda hadn’t cried like that in years. Not even when her father died. And somehow, instead of feeling ashamed, she felt... lighter.

She slipped into the robe and padded out into the main lounge. James stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, shirtless in black slacks, sipping his espresso and looking like he belonged on the cover of a high-end magazine. He didn’t turn, but his voice came low and calm.

“You slept like a rock.”

She paused behind him, arms folded around herself. “Haven’t done that in a while.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You needed it.”

Before she could respond, a sharp knock broke the moment.

James’s entire demeanor shifted. His jaw tightened. “Stay behind me,” he said softly, but the warning was clear.

She frowned but obeyed.

James opened the door.

A tall, icy-blonde woman with crimson lips and a tailored cream coat stepped inside uninvited. Her heels clicked like gunshots against the polished floor.

Melinda tensed.

The woman looked at her, then back at James. “Oh,” she said with a smirk. “She’s still here.”

James's eyes narrowed. “What do you want, Selene?”

Melinda’s stomach dropped at the name.

Selene Vanderbilt.

Heiress. Business shark. And according to old tabloids, James’s ex-fiancée.

Selene made herself comfortable on the arm of the sofa, crossing one long leg over the other. “Just came to remind you that the board meeting is tomorrow. And that your father is threatening to revoke your seat if you keep skipping strategic calls.”

James remained still. “We’re done, Selene.”

She laughed low and cold. “We were never done, James. You just got bored. And now what?” Her gaze slid to Melinda. “You’re playing house with the help?”

Melinda stiffened, but James was quicker.

“Don’t,” he growled. “Not one word against her.”

Selene raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh. So she matters now?”

She turned back to Melinda with a predatory smile. “Does he know? About your little court case in Louisiana? Or about your mother’s debt?”

James’s head snapped toward Melinda.

Melinda went white.

Selene tilted her head. “Didn’t think so. Don’t worry, darling. Secrets don’t stay buried long in this city.”

She stood, brushing imaginary lint off her coat. “You’ll see me again, James. And when you do, I hope you’ve picked your empire over your latest... charity case.”

She left, perfume trailing like poison behind her.

The silence afterward was deafening.

James turned to Melinda, his expression unreadable. “What court case?”

Melinda's lips parted, but no sound came. Her throat burned.

She thought she’d buried that part of her past.

But Selene had just unearthed it.

And James had just learned she wasn’t nearly as clean as she pretended to be.