Chapter 9 — The Night Derek Finally Told the Truth
Chapter 9 — The Night Derek Finally Told the Truth
My mother did not answer.
She didn't have to.
The expression on her face told me everything.
Fear.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Fear.
The kind of fear that came from hearing a name you had spent years trying to forget.
I stepped toward her.
"Who is she?"
My mother shook her head.
"Chloe, we need to leave."
"Who is my real mother?"
"Not here."
"Who?"
Derek looked between us.
"Mrs. Hart..."
My mother snapped:
"Don't call me that."
He stopped.
I stared at her.
"You've known."
She closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"Since before you were born."
My stomach twisted.
"You knew I wasn't your biological daughter."
"Yes."
"And Dad knew."
"Yes."
"And you both let me believe I was."
"Because you were our daughter."
"That isn't what I asked."
She looked at me.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"Then you need to understand that some truths don't arrive alone."
She looked toward the tunnel behind us.
"They bring people with them."
A sound echoed in the darkness.
Footsteps.
My mother immediately turned.
"Someone is coming."
Derek grabbed my hand.
"Move."
We ran.
The tunnel stretched beneath the estate like a forgotten vein.
Concrete walls.
Rusting pipes.
Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
Every few yards, another passage branched away.
I could barely keep up.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"North exit," Derek said.
"How do you know?"
"My father showed me these tunnels."
I stopped.
Derek turned.
"What?"
"You've been here before."
"Yes."
"When?"
"Eight years ago."
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"Because this is where your father brought me after I agreed to protect you."
I stared at him.
"Tell me."
"Not here."
"Now."
"We're being followed."
"Then talk while we run."
He looked at me.
For once, he didn't argue.
"Eight years ago, your father contacted me."
I kept moving.
"He told me Thomas was searching for you."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas had discovered you were Adrian's daughter."
"The original heir."
"Yes."
"And you were supposed to protect me."
"Yes."
"How?"
"By becoming someone you trusted."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's not protection."
"I know."
"You were assigned to me."
"Yes."
"You were sent to marry me."
"No."
I stopped.
Derek stopped too.
"What?"
"I wasn't sent to marry you."
"Then why did you?"
He looked exhausted.
"Because I was told to stay away."
I stared at him.
"Who told you?"
"Your father."
"Why?"
"Because he knew what my family was capable of."
"Then why did you disobey him?"
Derek's eyes met mine.
"Because I saw you."
Silence.
"What does that mean?"
"I saw you at twenty."
He took a breath.
"You were laughing with your father at that charity event."
"And?"
"I had spent months being told you were a target."
He shook his head.
"But when I saw you, you weren't a target."
"What were you?"
"A person."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So you fell in love with me."
"Eventually."
"But you still lied."
"Yes."
"You still entered my life under false pretenses."
"Yes."
"You still married me because you thought it would protect me."
"Yes."
"And then you humiliated me."
His face changed.
"I know."
"You locked me in that bedroom."
"I know."
"You let your mother treat me like garbage."
"I know."
"Why?"
He looked down.
"Because I believed if I made you hate me, you would leave."
I stared.
"What?"
"I thought the only way to get you away from my family was to make you hate me."
"That's insane."
"I know."
"You could have told me."
"I tried."
"When?"
"The night before the wedding."
I froze.
"What?"
"I tried to call it off."
"Why didn't you?"
"Brenda threatened you."
"With what?"
"She had evidence that could have destroyed your father's name."
I stared.
"What evidence?"
"Fabricated evidence."
My mother finally spoke.
"Not all of it was fabricated."
Derek turned toward her.
She continued:
"Some of it was real."
I looked at her.
"What did my father do?"
She sighed.
"Your father helped Adrian hide the trust."
"That's not a crime."
"No."
She looked at Derek.
"But Adrian's death was."
My blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
My mother stopped walking.
"Adrian didn't die because Thomas wanted the money."
She looked at me.
"He died because he was going to expose Thomas."
I swallowed.
"And Dad helped?"
"He tried to save him."
"Did he?"
She shook her head.
"No."
The footsteps behind us grew louder.
Derek pulled me forward.
"Keep moving."
We reached a steel door.
He entered a code.
The door opened.
We emerged inside an abandoned train station beneath the city.
Cold air hit my face.
My mother collapsed against the wall.
Emily rushed toward her.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded.
"I'll survive."
I looked at Derek.
"Continue."
He sighed.
"Your father didn't kill Adrian."
"I know."
"But he helped move the body."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Because Thomas threatened you."
"What did he threaten?"
"He said he would kill you if the police became involved."
My mother closed her eyes.
"Your father made a terrible choice."
"To save me."
"Yes."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone commits crimes to save me."
Nobody answered.
Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Who is my biological mother?"
My mother looked at me.
"I am."
I stared.
"You're my mother."
"Biologically."
"Then what was that message?"
She swallowed.
"Your real mother."
I felt confused.
"You just said you were."
"I am."
"Then who is she?"
My mother looked toward Emily.
Emily whispered:
"The woman who carried you."
My blood ran cold.
I stared at my mother.
"You weren't pregnant with me."
"No."
"Then how?"
She took a breath.
"You were born through a surrogate."
I frowned.
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Derek did.
"Brenda."
The world seemed to stop.
I stared at him.
"My biological mother was Brenda?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"Brenda carried you."
I couldn't speak.
My mother stepped forward.
"Your biological father was Adrian."
I stared.
"Brenda carried Adrian's child."
"Why?"
"Because Adrian was dying."
I felt dizzy.
"He wanted an heir."
"Yes."
"He used Brenda as a surrogate."
"Yes."
"But why did she hate me?"
My mother looked away.
"Because she didn't want to give you up."
Silence.
"She became obsessed with you."
My stomach turned.
"Then why did she give me to you?"
"She didn't."
"Who did?"
"Thomas."
I stared.
"Thomas took you from Brenda."
"Why?"
"To control Adrian."
My mother took a breath.
"Thomas told Brenda that if she didn't surrender you, Adrian would die."
I closed my eyes.
"She gave me away to save him."
"Yes."
"And then?"
"Adrian died anyway."
I felt tears running down my face.
"That's why Brenda hates me."
My mother nodded.
"She doesn't hate you."
"She tried to destroy me."
"Because every time she looks at you, she remembers what she lost."
I shook my head.
"That's not an excuse."
"No."
My mother looked at me.
"It isn't."
Derek stepped closer.
"There is something else."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He took out his phone.
"I found this in my father's safe."
He showed me a photograph.
A newborn baby.
Wrapped in a white blanket.
A bracelet around her wrist.
BABY HART.
My heart broke.
"That's me."
"Yes."
"Where was this taken?"
"Saint Mary's."
I looked at the date.
The day I was born.
Then I noticed another name written on the back.
C. VALE.
I stared.
"Who is C. Vale?"
Derek looked at my mother.
She went pale.
"Claudia."
I frowned.
"Who is Claudia?"
My mother didn't answer.
Derek whispered:
"Your biological grandmother."
I stared.
"Adrian's mother."
"She's alive?"
My mother nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
She hesitated.
"She lives outside the country."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas tried to kill her."
I closed my eyes.
Every answer created another question.
Every secret opened another door.
But there was one thing I couldn't let go.
"Derek."
He looked at me.
"What?"
"Earlier you said you finally told the truth."
He frowned.
"I did."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You still haven't told me the worst part."
His expression changed.
"What worst part?"
"The marriage."
He went silent.
"You said you married me to protect me."
"Yes."
"But you knew about the contract."
"Yes."
"You knew my inheritance was worth more than thirty million."
"Yes."
"You knew my family was being watched."
"Yes."
"You knew Brenda wanted access to me."
"Yes."
I looked into his eyes.
"Did you know what would happen after the wedding?"
His face went pale.
"Yes."
My heart stopped.
"What was supposed to happen?"
He couldn't speak.
"Derek."
He closed his eyes.
"You were supposed to disappear."
The words barely registered.
"What?"
"After the wedding."
"Why?"
"Because once the marriage was legally completed, the Vale Trust would activate."
"What would it do?"
"Transfer your assets."
"To whom?"
He whispered:
"Brenda."
I felt the world tilt.
"But the contract—"
"Wasn't the final contract."
I stared at him.
"There was another."
He nodded.
"One that required your signature."
"Mine?"
"Yes."
"Why would I sign it?"
"You weren't supposed to know what you were signing."
My stomach turned.
"The documents in my bedroom."
"The marriage papers."
"They contained it?"
"Hidden in the attachments."
I stared at him.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"You let me sign."
"I stopped the transfer."
"When?"
"The night you were humiliated."
I remembered.
The greasy towel.
The dining room.
The locked bedroom.
"You locked me in."
"Because Brenda wanted the final papers."
I looked at him.
"And you didn't give them to her."
"No."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because by then I had already chosen you."
I shook my head.
"You don't get to call that love."
"I know."
"You don't get to erase what you did."
"I know."
"You don't get to ask me to trust you."
"I know."
Then he said something that made me stop.
"But I can spend the rest of my life proving I should have."
A gunshot cracked through the station.
My mother screamed.
Emily grabbed me.
Derek pushed us behind a concrete pillar.
Another shot.
Then another.
Someone shouted:
"Give me Chloe!"
I recognized the voice.
Thomas.
Derek looked at me.
"Stay here."
"No."
"Chloe."
"I'm done hiding."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then nodded.
We stepped out together.
Thomas stood on the opposite platform.
A gun in his hand.
Brenda beside him.
And between them stood a woman I had never seen before.
Older.
Elegant.
Silver hair.
Cold green eyes.
She looked at me.
Then smiled.
My mother whispered:
"Claudia."
Adrian's mother.
My biological grandmother.
Thomas raised his gun.
"You wanted the truth."
He pointed toward Claudia.
"Ask her what your father did."
I looked at Claudia.
She said nothing.
Thomas smiled.
"Ask her who really killed Adrian."
My mother stepped forward.
"Thomas, stop."
He laughed.
"You've spent twenty-eight years protecting the wrong man."
I looked at my mother.
Then Claudia.
Then Derek.
Finally, I understood.
The truth wasn't just hidden.
It had been divided among them.
And every person standing in that station knew a different piece.
Thomas raised the gun.
"Tell her."
Claudia looked directly at me.
Her voice was calm.
"Your father did not kill Adrian."
I exhaled.
"But he did something worse."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
She looked at my mother.
Then at Derek.
Then at me.
"He knew who ordered the murder."
"Who?"
Claudia's eyes filled with tears.
"Your mother."
Silence.
I looked at my mother.
She shook her head.
"No."
Claudia continued:
"She ordered Adrian's death."
My mother whispered:
"That's not true."
But Claudia wasn't looking at her.
She was looking at me.
And in that moment, I realized the final secret wasn't about money.
It wasn't about the trust.
It wasn't even about Derek.
It was about the woman who had raised me.
May you like
The woman who had spent my entire life telling me she loved me.
And who might have been the person responsible for killing my biological father.
