Chapter 25: “The Dead Man's Secret”

Taylaa's POV

The lie sat heavily on my chest long after Luca left.

I hated lying.

Especially to family.

But lately, every conversation with Luca felt like a game where neither of us was showing our full hand.

And somehow, I was beginning to believe Damian had been right all along.

The thought should have comforted me.

Instead, it terrified me.

Because if Damian was innocent...

Then someone else wasn't.

And every road seemed to lead back to Luca.

Three days passed.

Three long, exhausting days.

No more photographs appeared.

No more threatening messages arrived.

Yet somehow that felt worse.

Like the silence before a storm.

Every morning, I walked Noah to school myself.

Every afternoon, I picked him up personally.

I checked over my shoulder constantly.

Watching.

Waiting.

Expecting someone to appear.

Nobody did.

But the fear never left.

On Thursday morning, Michael called.

His voice sounded urgent.

"Can you come to my office?"

My stomach tightened.

"What happened?"

"I found something."

Those four words were enough.

Within forty minutes, Tayla was sitting across from him.

Several files covered his desk.

New files.

On top sat a faded photograph.

Michael slid it toward her.

"This was taken eight years ago."

Tayla picked it up.

The image showed three men standing outside a luxury hotel.

One was Victor Salazar.

She recognized him immediately.

The second man was much younger.

Dark hair.

Expensive suit.

Confident smile.

Luca.

Her heartbeat stumbled.

And the third man...

She froze.

"No."

Michael watched her carefully.

"You know him?"

Taylaa nodded slowly.

Because the third face belonged to someone she had seen before.

Not in person.

In Damian's office.

Inside an old family photo album.

The man standing beside Victor and Luca was Damian.

"No..."

She whispered again.

Her mind immediately started racing.

Nothing made sense.

If Damian had been investigating Victor...

Why was he standing beside him?

Why was he smiling?

Why did they look like friends?

Michael leaned back.

"That's exactly what I asked myself."

Tayla lowered the photograph.

"What does this mean?"

Michael folded his hands.

"It means the story is much bigger than we thought."

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Harder to breathe in.

Because every answer seemed to create three more questions.

"Tell me everything."

Michael nodded.

Then opened another file.

"Eight years ago, Victor Salazar invested heavily in several businesses."

He pointed toward Luca.

"One of them involved Luca."

Then he pointed toward Damian.

"And one involved Damian."

Tayla frowned.

"So they worked together?"

"For a while."

The answer hit harder than expected.

Because it completely changed her understanding of the past.

Michael continued.

"According to records, Damian ended his partnership after less than a year."

"Why?"

Michael hesitated.

Then handed her another document.

The moment Tayla read it, her blood ran cold.

Investigation.

Fraud.

Money laundering.

Hidden accounts.

Victor's businesses weren't legitimate.

They never had been.

And Damian had discovered it.

Years ago.

Long before anyone else.

"Then why wasn't Victor arrested?"

Michael's expression darkened.

"Because every witness disappeared."

The same answer as before.

The same terrifying truth.

The room became silent.

Tayla looked back at the photograph.

Three smiling men.

One dead.

One imprisoned.

One free.

The realization made her feel sick.

That evening, Tayla couldn't stop thinking about it.

Even while helping Noah with homework.

Even while making dinner.

Even while pretending everything was normal.

Nothing felt normal anymore.

Because for the first time, she was seeing Damian differently.

Not as a businessman.

Not as a husband.

As a man who had spent years carrying secrets alone.

And maybe trying to protect her from them.

Around seven, the doorbell rang.

Her stomach immediately tightened.

Luca.

Of course.

Lately he seemed to appear whenever she was thinking about him.

Noah rushed toward the door before she could stop him.

"Uncle Luca!"

Luca smiled warmly.

The same smile everyone trusted.

The same smile Tayla was beginning to fear.

He stepped inside carrying a large box.

"What is that?" Noah asked.

"A surprise."

Noah practically bounced with excitement.

Luca opened the box.

Inside sat a brand-new gaming console.

Noah gasped.

"NO WAY!"

His eyes looked ready to explode from happiness.

Taylaa immediately stiffened.

The gift was expensive.

Very expensive.

Far too expensive.

"Luca..."

"It's nothing."

His answer came too quickly.

"Noah deserves something good."

Noah threw his arms around him.

And for a second, Taylaa saw genuine affection in Luca's eyes.

Which only made everything more confusing.

Because monsters weren't supposed to care.

Yet Luca clearly cared about Noah.

Didn't he?

Later that night, after Noah finally went to bed, Taylaa confronted him.

"You shouldn't buy things like that."

Luca looked up from his drink.

"Why not?"

"Because you're not his father."

The words escaped before she could stop them.

The room instantly went silent.

Luca froze.

Only for a second.

But Tayla noticed.

A strange expression crossed his face.

Pain.

Anger.

Something darker.

Then it vanished.

Replaced by a smile.

But this smile wasn't warm.

It wasn't friendly.

It wasn't even convincing.

It felt like a mask.

"You're right."

His voice sounded different now.

Colder.

More controlled.

"I'm not his father."

The way he said it made her uncomfortable.

Very uncomfortable.

Across the city, Damian sat inside his prison cell.

His lawyer had left hours ago.

Yet one thought refused to leave him alone.

Victor Salazar.

The photograph.

The investigation.

The murder.

Because there was one detail Michael still didn't know.

One detail Damian had never told anyone.

Not even Tayla.

Not even the police.

Not even his lawyer.

A secret he had carried for eight years.

Damian closed his eyes.

And remembered that night.

The night Victor died.

The night everything changed.

The night he saw the killer's face.

And the reason he had stayed silent all these years.

Was because the killer wasn't a stranger.

The killer was family.

And if the truth ever came out...

It would destroy everything.

Including Tayla.

Including Noah.

Including the last pieces of the life he was still trying to save.