"Under your father's grave."
My mother's words echoed inside my head.
I stared at her.
"No."
She didn't move.
"No, Mom. You're not telling me there's a secret door under my father's grave."
"There is."
My heart pounded.
"What is behind it?"
She looked at the silver key in my hand.
"The truth."
I almost laughed.
"Everything in my life is suddenly 'the truth.' Richard has his truth. Elena has hers. Adrian has his. Malik has his."
I looked at Malik.
"And my own mother keeps giving me pieces."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I was trying to protect you."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then stop protecting me!"
My voice broke.
"Tell me everything."
She looked away.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because once that door is opened, there is no going back."
I stepped closer.
"I'm already past the point of no return."
Silence.
Then Adrian spoke.
"She has to see it."
My mother looked at him sharply.
"You promised."
"I promised to protect Lina."
"And I promised Samuel."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Samuel is dead."
My mother flinched.
"And Lina is alive."
He looked at me.
"She deserves the truth."
Malik stepped forward.
"I'll go with her."
My mother immediately shook her head.
"No."
Malik stopped.
"You cannot go."
"Why?"
"Because Samuel specifically said you must never see what is beneath that grave."
Malik's face changed.
"What?"
My heart tightened.
"What did my father say about Malik?"
My mother didn't answer.
I turned to Malik.
"What did you do?"
He shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Then why would my father mention you?"
"I don't know."
"You always say that."
He looked hurt.
"Lina…"
I walked past him.
"I need answers."
Daniel followed me.
"I'll come."
I turned.
"Why?"
"Because I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything."
"I killed your father."
The words silenced everyone.
Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
"Even if I didn't know who he was, I still pulled the trigger."
I stared at him.
"I don't know if I can forgive you."
"I don't expect you to."
Then he looked at Malik.
"But I won't let anyone hurt you again."
Malik nodded.
"Then let's go."
My mother stepped forward.
"Wait."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old photograph.
She handed it to me.
"This is the last thing your father gave me."
I looked at the picture.
Samuel stood beside a young man.
I recognized him immediately.
Adrian.
But there was someone else in the photograph.
A much younger Malik.
My breath caught.
"Why are they together?"
My mother whispered,
"Because your father trusted all three of them."
I looked at Malik.
"You knew my father."
"Yes."
"How?"
"I was working for him."
My stomach tightened.
"Doing what?"
"Protecting you."
"Since when?"
"Since before you were born."
I stared at him.
The room seemed to disappear around me.
"Before I was born?"
Malik nodded.
"Your father knew there would be people coming after his family."
"And he chose you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Malik looked at the photograph.
"Because he knew my family had connections to the people hunting him."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, Adrian interrupted.
"It means we need to leave."
We drove to the cemetery in silence.
The sky was dark.
Heavy clouds covered the moon.
When we reached Samuel's grave, I stood there for several seconds.
My father's name was carved into the stone.
SAMUEL GRANT.
My knees weakened.
I had spent years believing he had abandoned me.
Now I knew he hadn't.
He had died trying to protect me.
I touched the gravestone.
"I'm sorry, Dad."
A tear rolled down my cheek.
"I should have known you loved me."
Malik stood behind me.
He didn't touch me.
For once, he gave me space.
I took the silver key from my pocket.
"Where is the door?"
My mother had given me instructions before we left.
I walked around the grave and stopped near the base.
There was a small metal plate hidden beneath the grass.
I brushed the dirt away.
A heart-shaped lock appeared.
My hands trembled.
The silver key fit perfectly.
I turned it.
CLICK.
The ground beneath the gravestone shifted.
Daniel stepped backward.
"What the—"
A narrow section of earth opened.
A staircase appeared beneath us.
Cold air rose from the darkness.
I stared down.
"How long has this been here?"
Adrian answered.
"Twenty years."
I looked at him.
"And nobody found it?"
"Your father made sure nobody could."
I took the first step.
Malik caught my arm.
"Wait."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"You don't know what's down there."
I pulled my arm away.
"Neither do you."
His face tightened.
"Lina…"
"You wanted me to trust you."
"I still do."
"Then let me go."
He stared at me.
Finally, he nodded.
We descended.
The stairs seemed endless.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Another heart-shaped lock was carved into it.
I inserted the key.
The door opened.
Inside was a small underground room.
There were boxes everywhere.
Photographs.
Documents.
Old phones.
Hard drives.
And on the far wall were dozens of pictures of me.
At different ages.
Five.
Eight.
Twelve.
Sixteen.
Eighteen.
Twenty.
My hands began shaking.
"Someone watched me my entire life."
Adrian walked toward the photographs.
"These aren't Richard's."
I turned.
"How do you know?"
He pointed at the corner of one picture.
There was a symbol.
A silver heart wrapped around a black snake.
The same symbol from the attacker's wrist.
The same symbol on my bracelet.
My heart raced.
"Then whose are they?"
Nobody answered.
I walked toward a desk.
There was one final envelope.
My name was written on it.
But this time, beneath my name were four words.
OPEN WHEN YOU REMEMBER.
I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
I looked at it.
And my blood ran cold.
It showed me as a little girl.
Standing beside Samuel.
Beside Malik.
Beside Adrian.
Beside Daniel.
But behind us stood another woman.
A woman I had never expected to see.
My mother.
Holding a gun.
And beneath the photograph was a handwritten sentence:
YOUR MOTHER WAS THE ONE WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER.