CHAPTER 12 — THE VOICE FROM THE PAST
CHAPTER 12 — THE VOICE FROM THE PAST
The recording ended.
But nobody moved.
The silence inside the Hawthorne mansion felt heavier than any scream.
Elena stared at the small audio recorder sitting on the table.
A tiny device had just destroyed years of memories.
Years of trust.
Years of believing she understood her own life.
But now everything was different.
Because the voice on that recording belonged to someone she knew.
Someone she trusted.
Someone who had stood beside her while she searched for the truth.
Elena slowly turned toward Daniel.
His face had lost all color.
“You knew.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Don’t.”
Her voice was cold.
“Not another lie.”
“Elena, listen to me.”
“No.”
She stepped backward.
“I spent this entire night finding out everyone has been lying.”
“Victor.”
“Marcus.”
“Claire.”
“My own sister.”
“And now you.”
Daniel looked hurt.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
Elena laughed quietly.
“That’s what everyone says after they hurt me.”
Amelia stepped between them.
“Elena.”
“No.”
She looked at her sister.
“I need answers.”
The room became tense.
“Who was that voice?”
Nobody answered.
Elena looked at Victor.
“You know.”
The billionaire looked away.
That was enough.
She turned to Marcus.
“You know too.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
Then Elena looked at Amelia.
“You brought this here because you wanted me to hear it.”
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Her voice trembled.
“Who was it?”
Amelia took a deep breath.
“The voice belonged to someone who was protecting the person responsible.”
Elena frowned.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Amelia looked toward Daniel.
Then back at Elena.
“It was someone who worked for the Hawthorne family.”
Daniel immediately reacted.
“Amelia.”
She continued anyway.
“Someone who had access to everything.”
Elena looked confused.
“Then why did you look at Daniel?”
Amelia stayed silent.
And Elena understood.
“Because he knows who it is.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
The truth was finally catching up with him.
“I knew the person existed.”
“But I didn’t know their identity.”
Elena stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if I knew…”
Daniel’s voice broke slightly.
“I would have told you.”
The answer surprised her.
Because it sounded honest.
For the first time that night, Daniel didn’t sound like someone hiding something.
He sounded like someone who had been trapped too.
Suddenly, Lily’s voice came from the staircase.
“Elena.”
Everyone turned.
The little girl stood there.
The doctor who had been watching her was gone.
But Lily was back.
Elena rushed toward her.
“Lily.”
She hugged the child tightly.
“Are you okay?”
Lily nodded.
“He let me go.”
Elena froze.
“Who?”
Lily looked toward the hallway.
“The man who took me.”
Everyone became alert.
“Where did he go?”
Lily looked confused.
“He said he had to fix his mistake.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“What man?”
Lily looked at him.
“The man who always visited me.”
Elena’s heart tightened.
“Visited you?”
Lily nodded.
“When I was behind the wall.”
The room went silent.
“You knew someone was coming?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Lily looked at Elena.
Then she whispered:
“Your fiancé.”
Everyone looked at Daniel.
Again.
But this time, Daniel didn’t defend himself.
He simply stood there.
Broken.
“Elena…”
She shook her head.
“Let her finish.”
Lily continued.
“He wasn’t mean to me.”
“He brought me food.”
“He told me someone would find me.”
Elena looked confused.
“Then why did you say he scared you?”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because he was scared.”
“What?”
“He was scared of the person who locked me there.”
That changed everything.
Daniel looked up.
“Lily…”
The little girl nodded.
“He told me not to trust anyone.”
“Even him.”
A strange silence filled the room.
Because the truth was becoming more complicated.
Daniel wasn’t the person who trapped Lily.
He was the person who knew she was trapped.
But why had he hidden it?
Before anyone could ask, the mansion’s security system suddenly activated.
A loud alarm echoed through every hallway.
Then the main screen in the library turned on.
A video appeared.
Everyone froze.
It showed Claire Hawthorne.
Alive.
Sitting in a dark room.
Her face was bruised.
Her voice was weak.
“If you are watching this…”
She looked directly into the camera.
“Then they failed to stop Elena.”
Elena stepped closer.
Claire continued.
“I need you to understand something.”
“I was never trying to hide Lily.”
“I was trying to protect her from the person who wanted her dead.”
The screen flickered.
Then Claire said the words that made Elena’s blood run cold.
“The person who destroyed our family…”
“Was not Victor.”
“Was not Daniel.”
“It was someone Elena has trusted since childhood.”
The video paused.
Then one final image appeared.
A photograph.
A person standing beside young Elena.
Someone from her past.
Someone she never suspected.
Elena stared at the screen.
Her breathing stopped.
Because the person in the photograph was someone who had comforted her after her parents died.
Someone who promised to protect her.
Someone who had been part of her life for years.
And someone who had known the truth all along.
Elena whispered the name.
“No…”
The screen went black.
But the damage was done.
The past had finally returned.
And this time…
May you like
It wanted revenge.
TO BE CONTINUED — CHAPTER 13: THE PERSON WHO RAISED ELENA
