Semua Bab The Woman I Became After You: Bab 31 - Bab 40

I stared at the message for several minutes without moving, and the words on the screen seemed to grow darker every time I read them. Ask Adrian what his father did the night your father vanished.My first reaction was anger, though not because I believed the message. I was angry because someone had found another way to disturb the peace I had fought so hard to find. For months, people had used secrets to control me, handing me pieces of information and watching me struggle to fit them together, and every time I thought I had reached the end, another secret appeared.But this time the message involved Adrian, and that made everything different. I trusted him. I loved him. The thought that his family could somehow be connected to my father’s disappearance made my chest tighten in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.I placed the phone on the bedside table and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes I remembered Adrian telling me he loved me, his hand holding mine, hi

For the first time in a long time, I woke up without reaching for my phone to search for another answer. There was no strange message waiting for me, no unexpected call, no new secret demanding my attention. I simply opened my eyes and looked at the morning light spreading across my room, and it felt like peace. It was unfamiliar, but I liked it.I got out of bed and stood in front of the mirror, and the woman looking back at me seemed different. I had not changed overnight. I was still the same Elena with the same memories, the same scars, and the same complicated family, but something inside me had settled. I no longer felt like my past was chasing me. I had finally stopped running.My phone rang while I was getting ready for work. It was Adrian.“Good morning.”“Good morning.”“You sound happy.”“I am.”He laughed softly and said that sounded good. I told him I had finally slept well, and he said finally with a warmth in his voice that made me smile. I asked if he was coming to the

I read the message several times before I allowed myself to put my phone down. Daniel did not disappear. He was taken. And my grandfather was not the person who ordered it. The words disturbed me, but they did not frighten me the way they would have months ago. I had learned something important during my journey, that every secret eventually lost some of its power once I faced it. Still, this one was different. It involved my mother, and I could not ignore it.The next morning I drove to my parents’ house before going to the office. My mother was sitting in the garden when I arrived, and she looked surprised.“Elena, what are you doing here so early?”“I need to ask you something.”Her expression changed. “What happened?”I sat beside her. “Who took Daniel?”She went completely still, and for a moment I thought she would refuse to answer. Instead she closed her eyes. “Where did you hear that name?”“I received a message last night.”She looked frightened. “What did it say?”“That Dani

I did not speak during the drive home. Victor’s final words kept repeating in my mind. Ask your mother. I wanted to dismiss him as another liar trying to create confusion, but something about the doctor’s reaction had unsettled me. The moment Victor mentioned my mother, I remembered the way she had looked when I told her that Daniel might still be alive. She had been afraid, not simply emotional, but afraid.When Adrian stopped outside my parents’ house, I remained inside the car. He looked at me. “You do not have to do this alone.”“I know.”“Then let me come with you.”I nodded, and we walked into the house together. My mother was sitting in the living room with my father, and she looked at me and immediately knew something was wrong.“What happened?”I looked at her. “Where is Daniel?”Her face changed, and my father stood. “Elena.”“Victor knows about him.”My mother’s hands began to tremble. “What did he say?”“He told me to ask you.”She looked away, and my heart sank. “Mum, wha

I held the envelope tightly against my chest as Adrian drove away from Clara’s house. For several minutes neither of us spoke. The silence inside the car was heavy, but my mind was louder than anything either of us could say. Edward Vale. The name kept repeating in my thoughts.For years I had believed my family’s problems began with my grandfather. Then I discovered Richard Blackwell. After that came Victor, Jonathan, and the people who had helped hide the truth about my father’s disappearance. Now there was Edward Vale, a man who had remained hidden behind everyone else, a man who had controlled people without allowing his own name to appear, a man who knew about Daniel.I looked at Adrian. “Do you know anything about Edward Vale?”He kept his eyes on the road. “My father mentioned the name once.”“What did he say?”“He said Edward Vale was dangerous.”“Did he ever meet him?”“Yes.”My heart tightened. “When?”“Before I was born.”“Why did your father never tell you more?”“I think