Chapter 8: The Mother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Lena spent twenty years believing she knew the worst day of her life.
She was wrong.
The worst day was discovering the worst day had been a lie.
Her mother was dead.
That was what she had been told.
That was what the funeral had proven.
That was what every memory had accepted.
Except now Victor Romano stood in front of her saying nothing because there was nothing he could say.
Her mother was alive.
And she was with Leon Mercer.
The woman who had held her hand when she was a child.
The woman who sang to her when storms frightened her.
The woman who disappeared and left her alone.
Alive.
“Where?”” Lena whispered.
Dmitri’s voice came through the phone.
“An airport outside the city.””
“Bring her back,” Victor ordered.
A pause.
Then:
“She came willingly.””
Victor’s expression hardened.
“That doesn’t matter.””
“It matters because she isn’t afraid.””
Lena grabbed the phone.
“Let me talk to her.””
Nobody stopped her.
“Mom?””
Silence.
Then a voice.
Older.
But familiar.
“Lena.””
The sound nearly destroyed her.
She covered her mouth.
All those years.
All those nights.
All those unanswered questions.
“You’re alive.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Her mother breathed softly.
“Because I was protecting you.””
Lena laughed once.
A broken sound.
“Protecting me?””
She looked around the room.
“At twelve years old, I buried you.””
“I know.””
“You know?””
“I watched.””
The pain was immediate.
“You watched?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you come home?””
Silence.
Then her mother said:
“Because if I came home, they would have killed you.””
Lena looked at Victor.
Then at Clara.
Then back at the phone.
“Who?””
“The Black Crown.””
Her voice trembled.
“Your father found out what they were doing.””
“And?””
“He tried to expose them.””
Lena closed her eyes.
“Did Leon kill him?””
Her mother did not answer.
She didn’t need to.
The silence was enough.
Victor stepped closer.
“Where are you?””
Her mother answered:
“With Leon.””
Lena felt anger replace grief.
“You’re helping him?””
“No.””
“Then why are you there?””
“Because Leon has something you need.””
“What?””
“The truth about your father’s death.””
Everyone became still.
Victor spoke.
“What truth?””
Lena’s mother paused.
Then said:
“Victor, you need to listen carefully.””
The tone changed.
Serious.
Afraid.
“Your father was not killed because he discovered the Black Crown.””
Victor frowned.
“Then why?””
“Because he discovered who was funding it.””
A silence.
Lena looked at Victor.
“Who?””
Her mother whispered:
“The Romano family.””
Victor went completely still.
Lena felt the room disappear.
“What?””
Her mother continued.
“Not Victor.””
A breath.
“His father.””
Victor looked like he had been struck.
“My father died fifteen years ago.””
“Yes.””
“Then how?””
“I don’t know everything.””
Her voice shook.
“But I know your father and mine worked together.””
Clara stepped forward.
“That’s impossible.””
Lena’s mother continued.
“They created the first version of the Black Crown.””
Victor looked at her.
“No.””
“Yes.””
The word was quiet.
Certain.
“And Leon didn’t build it.””
Another pause.
“He inherited it.””
Lena’s heart raced.
All the pieces moved again.
Every answer created another question.
“Why tell me now?”” Lena asked.
Her mother’s voice softened.
“Because Leon is about to do what your father spent his life preventing.””
“What?””
“He’s going to reveal the Black Crown to the world.””
Victor frowned.
“Why would he do that?””
“Because he no longer wants power.””
The answer chilled everyone.
“He wants revenge.””
A sound came from the phone.
A door opening.
Lena heard voices.
Then her mother whispered:
“He knows I’m talking to you.””
Victor grabbed the phone.
“Where are you?””
The line crackled.
Then Leon’s voice replaced hers.
“Victor.””
Everyone froze.
Leon sounded calm.
Almost happy.
“You finally understand.””
Victor’s grip tightened.
“Where is she?””
Leon laughed.
“Still protecting everyone except yourself.””
“Where is Lena’s mother?””
“Safe.””
“That’s a lie.””
“Maybe.””
A pause.
Then Leon said:
“But here’s the truth you’ll care about.””
Lena stepped closer.
“What?””
Leon answered:
“The person who ordered your father’s death…”
The signal broke.
Static filled the room.
Then one final sentence came through.
A sentence that changed everything.
“It was someone standing beside Lena all night.””
The call ended.
Everyone looked at each other.
Slowly.
Fearfully.
Because everyone in the room understood the same thing.
The killer had been there.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
And Lena realized the truth.
May you like
She had never been trying to find the person who wanted Victor dead.
She had been trying to find the person who had been standing closest to her the entire time.
