The Mask Falls

The red lights flashed against the office walls. The sound of sirens began to fill the air outside. Silas was staring at his phone, his face completely pale. Everything he had worked for was burning, and my sister was standing there with a smile on her face.

"You did this," Silas said, his voice shaking. He looked at Seraphina as if he were seeing a monster for the first time. "You set the building on fire?"

"I did what I had to do, Silas," Seraphina said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking totally calm. "If I can’t be the wife of the richest man in the city, then no one will be. Besides, once your company is gone, you’ll have nothing left but me. We can start over. Away from her."

She pointed a finger at me. I stood up from my desk, my heart beating fast. I wasn't just angry anymore; I was done playing games.

"You really are pathetic, Seraphina," I said. I walked around the desk, ignoring the warning lights. "You think destroying his life will make him love you? You don't even know what love is. You ran away when he was broke, and you ran away when he was blind."

Seraphina laughed. "And you stayed like a loyal dog. Look where it got you, Rebecca. He still signed those divorce papers. He still chose me the moment I walked through the door."

"He chose a lie," I countered. I turned to Silas, who was leaning against the wall, looking lost. " Silas, look at the necklace she’s wearing. Look at it closely."

Silas blinked, focusing on the gold locket around Seraphina’s neck. "That’s... that’s the gift I gave the woman who stayed with me in the hospital. I told her the key inside was the key to my heart."

"Check the key, Silas," I challenged.

Seraphina tried to cover the locket with her hand, but Silas moved faster. He was an intern now, but he still had the strength of the man I had married. He grabbed her wrist and pulled the locket from her neck. He snapped it open.

His eyes went wide. The locket was empty.

"Where is the key, Seraphina?" Silas asked. His voice was low and scary.

"I... I must have dropped it! It's been two years, Silas!" she stuttered, her face turning from white to red.

I reached into my blazer pocket. I pulled out a small, old-fashioned silver key. I held it up so the red light caught the metal.

"Is this what you’re looking for?" I asked.

Silas looked at the key, then at me. He looked like he had been struck by lightning. "You... you have it? But how?"

"Because I never took it off," I said. I pulled a thin chain from under my shirt. I had kept it hidden for years, a secret reminder of the only time I felt Silas truly needed me. "The nurses gave it to me the night you were discharged. Seraphina wasn't there, Silas. She was in Paris. I was the one who listened to your heartbeat every night for three weeks."

The silence in the room was heavy. Even the sirens outside seemed to fade away. Silas looked at Seraphina, then back at me. The truth was finally sinking in. The "placeholder" was the one he had actually promised his life to.

"You lied to me," Silas whispered to Seraphina. "Every word you said since you came back was a lie."

"Silas, wait," Seraphina started, but he pushed her hand away.

"Get out," Silas commanded. "Before I call the police and tell them exactly who started that fire."

Seraphina looked at me with pure hate. She realized she had lost. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the office, her heels clicking loudly on the floor.

I stood there, holding the key. I should have felt happy. I should have felt like I won. But looking at Silas’s broken expression, all I felt was a dull ache.

"Rebecca," Silas said. He took a step toward me. "I... I don't know what to say. I’ve been such a fool."

"Yes, you have," I agreed. I put the key back in my pocket. "But the fire is still burning, Silas. Your company is dying. My system is being hacked. We don't have time for an apology."

I sat back down at my computer. My fingers flew across the keys. I was the architect. I could fix this, but I needed him to focus.

"Silas! Stop staring at me and get over here," I ordered. "I need you to call your security team. Tell them to open the emergency vents in the basement. If we don't vent the servers now, the whole block will blow."

Silas didn't hesitate. He picked up the phone and started barking orders. For the next twenty minutes, we worked together. It felt like the old days, but different. This time, I was the one in charge.

Finally, the red lights stopped flashing. The screen turned green.

"It's over," I breathed, leaning back. "The fire is under control. The data is safe."

Silas leaned over my desk, his face close to mine. He smelled like expensive coffee and regret. "Why did you save me? After everything I did, why did you save my company?"

"I didn't do it for you," I said, looking him in the eye. "I did it for the people who work there. And because I don't let anyone destroy what I built, even if my name isn't on the front of the building."

Silas reached out, his hand hovering near my cheek. "I want to make this right, Rebecca. I’ll give you anything. I'll sign the partnership. I'll give you half of Vane Industries."

"I don't want half, Silas," I said. "I want to know why my father thinks there is something in your basement that belongs to me, something more important than money."

Silas froze. His hand dropped. A look of real fear crossed his face.

"The basement?" he repeated. "Rebecca, there's something you don't know. My mother... she’s been keeping a secret in the vault. A secret about your real identity."

Before he could explain, the office door flew open again. It was Logan. He looked worried, and he was holding a tablet.

"Rebecca, we have a problem," Logan said. "The news just leaked a photo of you and Silas from last night. But that's not the worst part. Your mother just went live on TV. She’s claiming you aren't a Frost at all."

I stood up, my heart dropping. "What?"

"She says you were kidnapped as a baby," Logan said, showing me the screen. "And she has the DNA test to prove it."

I looked at Silas. He looked like he already knew.

"Who am I, Silas?" I demanded.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged. A group of men in dark suits stepped out. They weren't police. They weren't security. They were wearing the crest of the Royal Family of the neighboring country.

The lead man stepped forward and bowed deeply to me.

"Princess Rebecca," he said. "It is time to come home."