Chapter Ninety: The Past Returns

The email arrived on a Thursday.

No subject line. No signature. Just a name I hadn't seen in years.

Thomas Kane.

Adrian's uncle. His father's brother. The only family he had left.

I stared at the screen for a long time. I didn't open it. I just looked at the name. The same name as Adrian's father. The same name as the man who had died because of Henry Ashford.

Adrian had never mentioned him. Not once. Not in all the months we'd been together. Not in all the conversations about his father. Not in all the late nights when he'd told me about his childhood. Not in all the moments when he'd let his guard down.

I didn't know he had an uncle.

I picked up my phone. I called Felix.

"I need everything on Thomas Kane," I said.

"Adrian's uncle?"

"You know him?"

"I know of him. He disappeared after Adrian's father died. No one's heard from him in years."

"Then find out where he's been."

I hung up. I opened the email.

Adrian,

I know you don't want to hear from me. I know you blame me for what happened to your father. I know you've spent years trying to forget I exist.

But I have information. Information about Henry Ashford. Information about what really happened. Information that could change everything.

I'm in the city. I'm staying at the Regent Hotel. Room 412.

Come alone.

—Thomas.

I read it twice. Then I set it down.

Adrian needed to see this. But I wasn't sure I wanted him to.

---

I found him in his office.

He was on the phone. He hung up when he saw me. He saw my face. He stood.

"What happened?"

I handed him the phone. He read the email. He read it twice. His jaw tightened.

"Thomas," he said.

"You never mentioned him."

"No."

"Why?"

He set the phone down. He walked to the window. He didn't turn around.

"Because he's a coward. Because he ran when my father needed him. Because he disappeared and left us to deal with everything alone."

I walked to him. I stopped a few feet away.

"He says he has information. About Henry. About what really happened."

"I know what he says."

"You're not going to see him."

He turned. He looked at me.

"I'm going to see him," he said.

"No."

He blinked. "What?"

"I'm going to see him. Not you."

He stared at me. He didn't speak.

"He asked you to come alone. He asked for you specifically. Which means he wants something. He wants to manipulate you. He wants to use your grief against you."

"I know how to handle myself."

"I know you do. But this is different. This is your father. This is your family. This is the wound that's been bleeding for fifteen years."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

"Let me go," I said. "Let me find out what he wants. Let me protect you."

He was quiet for a long time. Then he nodded.

"Fine," he said. "But you're not going alone."

"I'm taking Sloane."

"Take Leo too."

"Fine."

I reached for his hand. I took it. His fingers were warm. Steady.

"I'll be back," I said.

"You promise."

"I promise."

I left.

---

The Regent Hotel was old.

Not elegant old. Just old. Worn carpets. Flickering lights. A receptionist who didn't look up from her phone. The kind of place where people went when they didn't want to be found.

Sloane stayed in the car. Leo followed me to the elevator. We rode to the fourth floor in silence.

Room 412 was at the end of the hallway. I knocked.

No answer.

I knocked again.

The door opened.

Thomas Kane was not what I expected.

He was older than Adrian. Mid-fifties. Gray hair. Tired eyes. He looked like a man who had spent years running from something. He looked like a man who had finally stopped.

"You're not Adrian," he said.

"No."

"Who are you?"

"Elena Voss. His wife."

He looked at me. He looked at Leo. He stepped aside.

We walked in.

---

The room was small. A bed. A table. A chair. A suitcase in the corner. Nothing else.

Thomas sat on the edge of the bed. I sat in the chair. Leo stood by the door.

"You're the one who exposed Henry," Thomas said. "I read about it. In the papers. The trial. Everything."

"Yes."

"You're the reason he's going to prison."

"Yes."

He nodded. He didn't smile. But something in his expression shifted. Something lighter.

"Good," he said. "He deserves it."

I didn't respond. I just waited.

"Adrian blames me," he said. "For what happened to his father. For running. For not being there."

"Did you run?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I was scared. Because Henry threatened me. Because he threatened my family. Because I thought if I disappeared, he would leave them alone."

"They didn't leave them alone."

"I know. I know that now. I know I was wrong. I know I failed my brother. I know I failed Adrian."

He stopped. He looked at the floor.

"I've been running for fifteen years. I've been hiding. I've been telling myself it was the right thing to do. But it wasn't. It was the coward's thing to do."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"You said you have information," I said. "About Henry. About what really happened."

He nodded. He reached into his suitcase. He pulled out a folder. He handed it to me.

"This is everything I have," he said. "Everything I've been gathering for fifteen years. Everything I couldn't give to Adrian."

I opened the folder. Documents. Photographs. Recordings. A full dossier on Henry Ashford. His operations. His connections. His weaknesses.

"Why didn't you give this to someone?" I asked. "Why didn't you go to the authorities?"

"Because I was scared. Because I didn't know who I could trust. Because I thought if I stayed hidden, Adrian would be safe."

I closed the folder. I looked at him.

"You were wrong," I said.

He nodded. "I know."

I stood. I walked to the door. Leo followed.

"Elena."

I stopped.

"Tell Adrian I'm sorry," he said. "For everything."

I didn't turn around. I didn't respond.

I walked out.

---

I gave the folder to Felix that night.

He spread the documents across the conference table. He read through them. He studied the photographs. He listened to the recordings.

"This is more than we had," he said. "This is everything."

"I know."

"How did you get this?"

"Adrian's uncle."

Felix looked at me. He didn't ask anything else.

"We can use this," he said. "We can take Henry down. For good."

I looked at the documents. At the photographs. At the evidence.

"Then let's do it," I said.

---

That night, I found Adrian on the balcony.

He was standing at the railing. The city stretched out in front of him. The sun was setting. Orange. Pink. Gold.

I stood beside him. He didn't turn.

"Thomas," I said.

"You saw him."

"Yes."

"And?"

"He gave me a folder. Everything he's been gathering for fifteen years. Everything he couldn't give to you."

He didn't respond.

"He's sorry," I said. "For everything."

He turned. He looked at me. His eyes were dark. Unreadable.

"I don't care," he said.

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"I know," I said.

We stood there. The city hummed. The clock ticked.

I reached for his hand. I took it. His fingers were warm. Steady.

We didn't speak. We didn't need to.