All Chapters of Stolen by my Dad best friend : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Tessa's POVI stared at the address until the words blurred together.The old Morgan Hotel.Everyone in Westbridge knew it—or knew of it. The building had stood abandoned for years, ever since the fire. Dad had drilled it into me from childhood: never go there. He'd never explained why, just made it clear through the sharpness of his tone that the place was off-limits.And now someone claiming to know where my mother was had sent me here.Alone.Daven was still staring at the message on my phone."Don't go," he said.I looked at him. "You don't even know what I'm going to say.""I know you." His voice was firm. "And I know you're thinking about going."I swallowed hard. "What if it's my mother?""What if it isn't?" He turned toward me, his jaw tight. "Tessa, whoever sent this knows about your mother. Knows about the hotel. Knows enough about your family to know exactly how to get you there."I stared at the screen again, at those words I'd read a hundred times in the last hour."I have

Tessa's POV"That's the man who was supposed to be dead."I stared at the photograph. The stranger stood between my mother and Daven outside the Morgan Hotel, looking unnervingly calm. Like none of them knew this picture would eventually matter."Who is he?" I asked.Daven's jaw tightened. He didn't answer."Daven.""I thought he died," he finally said."When?""Twenty-one years ago."The number hit me like a punch. "The same year my mother disappeared?""Yes."I took the photo from his hand. There was something off about this man's eyes—not because I recognized them, but because they felt familiar in a way I couldn't explain. Like I'd seen them reflected somewhere."What's his name?" I asked.He hesitated. "Adrian Morgan.""Morgan?" I glanced toward the dark house behind us. "The hotel family?""Yes.""So my mother knew him." I watched his face carefully. "And you knew him.""Yes.""And Dad?"His silence was all the answer I needed. I stepped back, feeling the betrayal settle into my

Tessa's POVI couldn't move.Adrian stood outside the house, and everything I'd believed about him—dead for twenty-one years—fractured into pieces I couldn't put back together.Daven's jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle working. He watched Adrian like Adrian might dissolve if he looked away."How is he alive?" I whispered."I don't know.""You said—""I know what I said." His voice was sharp. Defensive. "I believed it was true."Another car pulled up. Adrian's. He climbed back into the driver's seat with no urgency, no fear. Like he had all the time in the world.My phone buzzed.*You finally found the photograph.*Then: *I know exactly what you're holding.*"How does he—"Daven took the phone from my hands. His knuckles went white as he gripped it.*Room 17 wasn't the only place where Monalisa left something behind.*"Don't respond," Daven said."How do you know it's him?""Because Adrian is the only person who knew that photograph existed."The realization sank like a

Tessa's POV He walked back to the desk and picked up the old black folder. His movements were deliberate, stalling."There was a promise," he finally said."What promise?""The one Adrian mentioned."My heart began pounding again."Between you and my mother?""Yes."I needed answers now, not fragments. "What did she make you promise?"Daven closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, something had shifted in his expression—resignation, maybe. Surrender."To protect you.""From my father?""From anyone who wanted to use you.""Why would anyone want to use me?""Because you were the evidence."The word hung between us like a blade."Evidence of what?"His jaw tightened. "You were born into something dangerous, Tessa. Your mother discovered something about Victor. Something that could have destroyed him."I shook my head, but the denial felt weak even to me. "My dad isn't a criminal.""I didn't say he was.""Then what did he do?"Daven's gaze locked onto mine. "That's what I've been

Tessa's POV I stared at Daven.He was still holding his phone, but his eyes weren't on the screen anymore.They were fixed on me."He's waiting for you," I repeated slowly.Daven nodded."Adrian said Victor isn't waiting for me. He's waiting for you.""I heard him.""Then why?"His jaw clenched. He looked away instead of answering.I stepped closer."You keep saying you don't know, but every time something happens, you look like you've already seen it before. What happened twenty-one years ago?""I told you what I remember.""No. You told me pieces." My voice rose. "You told me my mother disappeared. You told me she gave me to you. But you didn't tell me *why* you're the one she trusted. You didn't tell me about the second crib. You didn't tell me—""I protected you," he said, and there was anguish in his voice now. "Everything I did, every lie I told, was to keep you alive.""Then tell me the truth now."He turned away.I grabbed his arm. "Daven. Adrian is working with someone. Vict