Chương 7
“Because I was scared.”
“Of who?”
Rachel’s eyes moved between them.
“Of the people who caused it.”
The silence was heavy.
Daniel asked carefully,
“What did you see that night?”
Rachel looked at Elena.
“I saw you arguing with Adrian.”
Elena’s heart tightened.
“About what?”
Rachel hesitated.
“The same thing that destroyed everything.”
Adrian looked confused.
“What?”
Rachel took a breath.
“You were leaving him.”
The words shocked him.
Elena said nothing.
Because somewhere deep inside, she remembered.
She had forgotten that part.
The argument.
The decision.
The moment before everything changed.
Rachel continued.
“You told him you knew someone was manipulating him.”
Adrian became pale.
“Who?”
Rachel looked directly at him.
“Marcus.”
The name felt like a final piece falling into place.
“He arrived before the accident.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Are you saying Marcus was there?”
Rachel nodded.
“Yes.”
Elena felt her heartbeat quicken.
“What happened next?”
Rachel looked toward the street outside.
Her voice became softer.
“Marcus and Adrian were fighting.”
Adrian shook his head.
“I don’t remember.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Because you hit your head.”
Then she looked at Elena.
“And because someone wanted both of you to forget.”
The truth they had been chasing for years was finally standing in front of them.
But Rachel had one more thing to say.
“The accident was not the beginning.”
She paused.
“It was the moment Marcus realized he could control both of you.”
Elena looked at Adrian.
And for the first time, they both understood.
The scar on her back was not just the result of one terrible night.
It was the evidence of a plan that had been hidden for years.
The room remained silent after Rachel finished speaking.
No one moved.
No one wanted to be the first person to accept what they had just heard.
For years, Elena believed the accident was the worst moment of her life.
Now she understood it had been something much more dangerous.
It had been the beginning of a carefully hidden betrayal.
Adrian stood near the window, staring outside.
His face had lost all color.
“Marcus was there.”
It was not a question.
It was a realization.
Rachel nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
The word came out quietly.
Almost like he was trying to convince himself.
“No, he was my closest friend.”
Rachel looked at him with sadness.
“That is why he knew exactly how to hurt you.”
The sentence broke something inside him.
Because it was true.
Marcus had not been a stranger.
He had not been an enemy standing outside the walls.
He had been inside.
He knew every weakness.
Every fear.
Every secret.
Daniel watched his brother carefully.
“Adrian.”
Adrian did not respond.
He looked at Elena.
“I don’t remember.”
Elena looked back at him.
“I know.”
“I should remember.”
“You were injured.”
“No.”
His voice became heavier.
“I should remember because you were there.”
The guilt returned instantly.
Elena saw it.
The same guilt that had followed him since the ballroom.
But this time, she did not let him disappear into it.
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
“You remembering or not remembering does not change what happened.”
He lowered his eyes.
“But it changes how I see myself.”
Elena understood.
Because she had lived with that feeling.
The feeling of waking up and wondering why something happened.
The feeling of searching for answers that never came.
Rachel sat down slowly.
“I need to tell you everything.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She folded her hands together.
“That night, I was volunteering with the emergency response team.”
She looked at Elena.
“I arrived before the ambulance.”
The memory seemed difficult for her.
“You were conscious.”
Elena froze.
“What?”
Rachel nodded.
“You were lying beside the vehicle, but you were awake.”
Elena searched her memory.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Only pain.
“You spoke to me.”
“What did I say?”
Rachel looked at Adrian.
“You said his name.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“My name?”
Rachel nodded.
“You kept saying, ‘He didn’t mean to.’”
Elena’s breathing slowed.
She had protected him.
Even then.
Even when she was hurt.
Even when she was afraid.
She had believed he was worth protecting.
Rachel continued.
“But then you grabbed my hand.”
Elena looked at her.
“You said something else.”
“What?”
Rachel hesitated.
“You said, ‘Don’t let him trust Marcus.’”
The room became completely still.
Adrian stepped back.
“No.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Adrian.”
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
“I don’t remember.”
Rachel nodded.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because after that, Marcus arrived.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
“He told me he was your brother.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“He lied.”
“Yes.”
Rachel continued.
“He said he would take care of everything.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“What did he do?”
Rachel looked uncomfortable.
“He moved you away from Elena before the ambulance arrived.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
Rachel looked at her.
“He told everyone you were in shock.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“He separated them.”
Rachel nodded.
“Yes.”
The pieces connected.
The missing time.
The confusion.
The silence afterward.
Marcus had controlled the first moments after the accident.
The moments when the truth could have been discovered.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I trusted him.”
No one answered.
Because there was nothing to say.
The betrayal was too deep.
Rachel reached into her bag and removed a small envelope.
“I kept this because I was afraid.”
She handed it to Elena.
“What is it?”
“A photograph.”
Elena opened it carefully.
Her hands stopped moving.
It showed the accident scene.
The damaged vehicles.
The rain.
The emergency lights.
And in the background, a person standing near the road.
A person wearing a dark coat.
With a red scarf.
But that was not what shocked Elena.
It was the person standing beside him.
Marcus.
And another man she recognized.
Someone from Adrian’s company.
Someone who had attended their wedding.
Someone who had smiled in every photograph.
Adrian looked over her shoulder.
His expression changed.
“Thomas.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Who is Thomas?”
May you like
“My former security director.”
The room became colder.
