I stared at Adrian.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The room felt strangely cold despite the fact that the windows were closed.
"Where is Richard?" I asked.
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the empty space where Richard had been standing.
Then he turned the lock on the door.
"Gone."
My heart pounded.
"How?"
"There is another exit."
Malik immediately stepped forward.
"You knew he would escape."
Adrian looked at him.
"Yes."
Malik's jaw tightened.
"You planned this."
Adrian didn't deny it.
I looked between them.
"What exactly did you plan?"
Adrian walked toward the table.
"Richard has spent years believing he controls everyone around him. He doesn't realize that someone has been watching him too."
"Who?"
Adrian looked directly at me.
"Me."
I frowned.
"You?"
"Yes."
I shook my head.
"I don't understand."
"You weren't supposed to."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because the moment you knew the truth, you became a target."
I laughed bitterly.
"I've been a target my entire life."
Adrian's expression softened.
"I know."
Something about the way he said it made me uncomfortable.
"You always know everything."
He didn't respond.
I looked at Malik.
"And you."
He lowered his eyes.
"You knew about Adrian too?"
"No."
"Don't lie to me."
"I didn't know what he was doing."
Adrian interrupted.
"Malik knew enough."
Malik turned toward him.
"Don't."
Adrian ignored him.
"He knew Richard had people watching Lina."
"I was protecting her."
"By lying to her?"
Malik's expression hardened.
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
I hated hearing them argue about me as if I wasn't standing there.
"Stop."
Both men looked at me.
"I am tired of people deciding what I should know."
I looked at Adrian.
"You said you were protecting my mother."
"Yes."
"You said you were protecting me."
"Yes."
"But you never told me why."
Adrian sighed.
"Because your mother made me promise."
"What promise?"
"To keep you alive."
I swallowed.
"That's it?"
"No."
His voice became quieter.
"She also made me promise never to tell you who I really was."
My heart skipped.
"What do you mean?"
Adrian reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small black envelope.
He placed it on the table.
"Your mother gave me this twenty years ago."
I stared at it.
"What's inside?"
"Your father's final message."
I froze.
"Samuel?"
Adrian nodded.
My hands began shaking.
"Why do you have it?"
"Because Samuel trusted me."
Malik stepped closer.
"You never told me that."
"I didn't need to."
Malik looked angry.
"You've been hiding this all these years."
"Yes."
I picked up the envelope.
It was old.
The edges were worn.
My name was written across the front.
LINA.
My heart broke just looking at it.
I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
My eyes moved across the first line.
My daughter,
I stopped breathing.
I had never seen those words before.
My daughter.
I pressed my fingers against the paper.
Tears blurred my vision.
I continued reading.
If you are reading this, then I am already gone.
I covered my mouth.
Malik stood silently beside me.
The letter continued.
There are things your mother cannot tell you. There are things Richard will never admit. But there is one thing you must know.
I swallowed.
You were never the reason they came after me.
My eyes narrowed.
Then what was?
I read on.
You were the reason they could control me.
My hands began trembling.
Richard knew I would do anything to keep you alive. He used that against me.
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid."
I looked back at the letter.
There was another paragraph.
There is someone you must never trust completely.
My heart stopped.
I looked at Malik.
He was staring at me.
I continued.
Not Richard.
My breath caught.
Not Elena.
I looked at Adrian.
His face had become unreadable.
Not even the man who saved you.
My eyes widened.
I looked at Malik again.
The man who saved me.
My father was warning me about Malik.
But then I read the final sentence.
The person who betrayed me was the person I trusted most.
The letter ended.
No name.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I lowered the paper.
"Who?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at my mother.
"Who did Dad trust?"
She closed her eyes.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I swear I'm not."
I turned to Adrian.
"Do you know?"
He remained silent.
"Adrian."
Nothing.
"Tell me."
He finally spoke.
"Samuel trusted me."
My heart dropped.
"You?"
"I was one of the people he trusted."
"Then you could be the betrayer."
His expression didn't change.
"Yes."
Malik stepped forward.
"He isn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because I was there."
I turned toward him.
"Where?"
"The night your father died."
Silence.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
Malik looked at Adrian.
"And so was he."
I stared at both men.
"You both watched my father die?"
"No," Adrian said.
"We tried to save him."
"Then why did he die?"
Neither answered.
Suddenly, Daniel rushed toward the window.
"Someone's outside."
Everyone froze.
Adrian immediately reached for his weapon.
Malik moved in front of me.
My mother grabbed my arm.
Then we heard it.
A car engine.
Another.
Then another.
Three vehicles stopped outside the house.
Adrian looked through the curtain.
His face changed.
"It's Richard."
My stomach dropped.
"How did he find us?"
Adrian turned toward me.
His eyes went straight to the flash drive in my hand.
"He didn't."
I frowned.
"Then who did?"
Adrian's voice became barely audible.
"Someone inside this room."
I looked around.
My mother.
Malik.
Daniel.
Adrian.
Grace.
My blood ran cold.
One of them had betrayed us.
Then my phone vibrated.
I looked down.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG PERSON.
Another message followed.
THE TRAITOR IS STANDING BESIDE YOU.
I slowly raised my eyes.
And someone behind me whispered,
"Lina… don't turn around."