The Secret He Left Behind のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 81 - チャプター 90

Elena didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there. Time felt blurred, stretched, and twisted into something unrecognizable. All she knew was the aching hollow in her chest and the burning sting in her eyes. She had cried until her tears ran dry, yet somehow the pain still found a way to pour out of her. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she sat on the cold floor of Lydia’s living room, her back pressed against the wall, knees pulled tightly to her chest.Her palms were shaking, full of sweat. Her breathing… uneven, turning into quiet, broken sobs that refused to stop.Aria.My baby.My sunshine.My entire world.“Elena…” Lydia whispered from somewhere beside her, her voice soft, strained, and thick with worry.Elena didn’t move. Didn’t look up. Didn’t speak. She stared blankly at the tiled floor, her vision blurred from exhaustion and tears.Lydia had been trying everything—water, blankets, holding her, rubbing her back, w

Adrian’s fingers trembled around the phone. He pressed it tighter, the screen illuminating his tense features in the dim light of the living room. Elena’s voice was barely audible through the line—broken, ragged sobs catching in her throat, each one a sharp pang in his chest. Words failed her, but not his fear.A calm, firm voice cut through the static of his panic.“Good day Adrian… it’s Lydia. Elena can’t talk right now. She’s… she’s too shaken.”Adrian blinked, focusing on the voice. Relief flickered—thank God, at least he could get some guidance—but the sensation was fleeting. His chest tightened immediately after, every muscle taut with mounting dread.“How… how did Aria go missing?!” His voice cracked, urgent, barely contained. Every heartbeat pounded in his ears. “Tell me… tell me what happened!”There was a brief pause on the line, and then Lydia spoke, her tone calm but firm, a tether against his spiraling panic.“Adrian

Adrian remained kneeling beside Elena, his hands firmly holding her shoulders as if anchoring himself as much as her. Her breathing was shallow, uneven, but calmer than when he had first arrived. Her eyes were glassy, traces of tears still glistening under the soft afternoon light streaming through the windows. The air in Lydia’s living room was heavy, threaded with the fragile sense of security that came from Adrian being present, yet the absence of Aria gnawed at them all. Lydia hovered nearby, her presence gentle and attentive, keeping quiet to give Elena the space she needed, her hand occasionally brushing against Elena’s arm in quiet reassurance.“Elena… can you stand?” Adrian’s voice was low, urgent, but not harsh. His fingers massaged her shoulders gently, easing the tension he felt radiating from her. “We need to talk about her. About Aria.”Elena nodded, her grip on his arms tightening just slightly as she steadied herself. Her lips trembled, but her gaze

Ethan’s hands were stiff on the wheel the entire drive home. Not from fear of being followed—he knew the city too well to be tailed—but from the turmoil boiling under his ribs.This is wrong.This is stupid.Nathan will skin you alive for this.Then he glanced at the rear-view mirror.Aria was curled in the seat, small hands gripping her bracelet like it was the only solid piece of the world left. Her nose was pink from crying. She tried to blink away the tears, but they kept sliding down her cheeks one by one.The sight ripped something open in him.He exhaled slowly. “We’re almost there,” he said softly.She didn’t answer. She only held onto her little bracelet tighter.When they reached his apartment complex, Ethan parked in the underground lot—quiet, private. As he came around to open the back door, Aria stiffened.He crouched low, bringing himself to her eye level. “Aria… I’m not going to hurt you.

Lydia halted so abruptly that a passing cyclist had to swerve around her. Her breath hitched in her throat, Ethan’s words echoing over and over until they no longer sounded real:“Aria is with me.”For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The late afternoon street blurred around her — cars, conversations, footsteps — everything fading except the tall figure standing a few feet away.She turned sharply, eyes wide, voice barely steady.“What… what do you mean she’s with you?”Ethan didn’t move.Her pulse spiked painfully. “Answer me. Where did you see her? How did you find her? What were you even doing at the fountain? And why have you still been following me ever since you asked me about Elena and Adrian?”Her voice trembled with adrenaline, though she tried to force it still.He had approached her once.Then again.Now he was trailing her.Her suspicion sharpened until it cut like glass.“Are you stal