CHAPTER 5 — PRESTON'S SECOND LIFE
CHAPTER 5 — PRESTON'S SECOND LIFE
The darkness lasted three seconds.
It felt like three years.
I held Sophie against my chest.
Her fingers were digging into my arm.
"Mommy."
"I'm here."
"I can't see."
"I know."
I tried to keep my voice calm.
But my heart was pounding so hard that I could barely hear anything else.
Then emergency lights flickered on.
A dull red glow filled the vault.
The steel door remained sealed.
Adrian was already at the control panel.
"Nobody move."
I looked at him.
"Can you open it?"
"Not from here."
"What?"
"The system has been overridden."
"By who?"
He didn't answer.
I already knew.
The voice came through the speaker again.
"Elena."
I froze.
"Who are you?"
A soft laugh.
"You've been asking that question for years."
I stepped closer to the speaker.
"Show yourself."
"I will."
"When?"
"When you're ready to hear the truth about your husband."
I looked at Preston.
He stood completely still.
His face had gone pale.
The voice continued.
"Preston Hale has two lives."
I stared at him.
"One belongs to you."
A pause.
"The other belongs to me."
The speaker went silent.
I turned toward Preston.
"Who is that?"
He didn't answer.
"Preston."
Nothing.
I walked toward him.
"You told me you didn't know."
"I didn't."
"You told me you had nothing to do with my father's death."
"I didn't."
"You told me your father was the one involved."
"He was."
"Then who is this?"
Preston looked at me.
And whispered:
"My handler."
The word hit me harder than any accusation.
"Your what?"
He swallowed.
"My handler."
I stared at him.
"You're working for someone."
"I used to."
"Used to?"
"Before I met you."
I laughed.
"How convenient."
He looked at me.
"Elena, please."
"No."
I pointed toward the speaker.
"Tell me everything."
He closed his eyes.
"I can't."
"Then we're done."
He opened them.
"Wait."
"No."
"I'll tell you."
"Now."
He nodded.
"Everything."
Preston sat down against the wall.
He looked exhausted.
Not like the arrogant man who had stood beside Margaret earlier that night.
Not like my husband.
Like someone who had spent years carrying a secret too heavy for one person.
"I was twenty-four when I met your father."
I folded my arms.
"You said you were twenty-seven."
"I lied."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because your father wanted me to disappear."
"Disappear?"
"From my old life."
He looked at Richard.
"Richard knows."
I turned.
Richard nodded.
"Your father recruited him," he said.
"Recruited him for what?"
"Protection."
I looked back at Preston.
"Protection from whom?"
"The Whitmores."
I frowned.
"But you were a Hale."
"My father was."
"Thomas Whitmore's partner."
"Yes."
"Why would he protect me?"
Preston looked down.
"Because my father had already decided you were going to die."
My stomach twisted.
"What?"
"He believed eliminating you would end your father's bloodline."
"Why?"
"Because your father had transferred the controlling shares to you."
I remembered the documents.
The foundation.
The trust.
The inheritance.
My father had known.
Preston continued.
"My father ordered me to get close to you."
I felt sick.
"So Margaret was right."
"Partly."
"Partly?"
"He wanted me to marry you."
"And you did."
"Yes."
"Because of the inheritance."
"At first."
I stared at him.
"At first?"
He looked at me.
"Then I fell in love with you."
I wanted to believe him.
That was the worst part.
Because some part of me still did.
"Tell me about Margaret."
Preston's jaw tightened.
"She was never supposed to be part of this."
"But she was."
"Yes."
"When did you meet her?"
"Before you."
My chest tightened.
"How long?"
"Two years."
"Did you love her?"
"No."
"Did you sleep with her?"
He looked away.
I didn't need an answer.
My throat burned.
"How long?"
"Before our marriage."
"And after?"
Silence.
I closed my eyes.
"Answer me."
"Once."
The word barely came out.
I felt something inside me break.
"Once?"
"It was before Sophie was born."
I looked at him.
"You lied to me."
"Yes."
"Again."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Margaret threatened you."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's your excuse?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"It's the truth."
"Explain."
"She told me if I left her, she would tell my father you were alive."
I stared.
"You thought your father would kill me."
"Yes."
"So you slept with her to protect me?"
"I made a terrible choice."
"Yes."
"You have every right to hate me."
I looked away.
I did hate him.
But I also knew something was missing.
Something important.
"Why did Margaret want you?"
Preston answered quietly.
"She didn't."
"What?"
"She wanted access to you."
I turned.
"What does that mean?"
"Your accounts."
"The company."
"Your inheritance."
"She needed me to trust her."
"And you?"
"I was supposed to get you to sign over your voting rights."
I stared.
"Did I?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I never asked."
I looked at him.
"Why not?"
He smiled sadly.
"Because by then, I loved you."
A sound came from the speaker.
The mysterious voice returned.
"How touching."
Preston stood.
"Show yourself."
The voice laughed.
"You still don't understand, Preston."
"Understand what?"
"You were never protecting Elena."
Preston froze.
"You were protecting yourself."
The speaker clicked off.
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
Adrian stepped forward.
"I do."
Everyone turned.
Adrian looked at Preston.
"Your handler isn't who you think he is."
"Who is he?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the cabinet.
He opened a drawer.
Pulled out a file.
And placed it in front of Preston.
"Read."
Preston opened it.
His face changed.
I leaned closer.
The first page contained a photograph.
A young man.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
I recognized him.
Preston did too.
He whispered:
"No."
I looked at the photograph.
"Who is that?"
Preston stared at it.
"My brother."
I froze.
"You have a brother?"
"I thought he was dead."
Adrian shook his head.
"He isn't."
I looked at the photograph again.
The date underneath made my blood run cold.
It had been taken three months ago.
Preston stepped backward.
"That's impossible."
Adrian said nothing.
"I saw him die."
"When?"
"Twenty years ago."
"How?"
"Car accident."
Adrian nodded.
"That's what you were told."
Preston looked at him.
"Who is he?"
Adrian finally answered.
"Daniel Hale."
Preston's face went white.
"My brother."
I looked at the photograph.
Then at the speaker.
Then at Preston.
The voice.
The mysterious caller.
The man who knew everything.
I whispered:
"Daniel."
The speaker came alive.
"Very good."
Preston stepped toward it.
"Daniel?"
A pause.
"Hello, little brother."
Preston's knees nearly gave way.
"You..."
"I thought you were dead."
"I was."
"What?"
"For twenty years."
Silence.
"Until your father needed me."
Preston stared at the speaker.
"What did he do?"
"He found me."
"Why?"
"To finish what he started."
"What?"
"Destroying the Hale family."
I looked at Preston.
"Why would your father want that?"
Daniel laughed.
"Because your father was never the villain."
He paused.
"Mine was."
The speaker went silent.
Nobody moved.
Then the vault door unlocked.
The steel panels rose.
Fresh air entered the room.
I held Sophie closer.
Adrian looked toward the corridor.
"We need to leave."
"Why?"
"Because this place isn't safe anymore."
I turned to Preston.
He was still staring at the speaker.
"Your brother."
He nodded.
"Daniel."
"What does he want?"
"I don't know."
Adrian answered:
"Everything."
We left the vault.
Outside, the house was silent.
Too silent.
I walked into my father's old study.
Preston followed.
I turned.
"Stay away from me."
He stopped.
"I understand."
"I don't trust you."
"I know."
"You lied to me for ten years."
"I know."
"You married me under false pretenses."
"Yes."
"You cheated on me."
"Yes."
"You knew my family was in danger."
"Yes."
"And you still expect me to believe you love me?"
He looked at me.
"No."
"Then what do you want?"
He answered quietly.
"For you and Sophie to survive."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because Daniel isn't coming for the company anymore."
"What is he coming for?"
Preston looked toward Sophie.
"He wants the person who can legally inherit it."
My blood froze.
"Sophie."
He nodded.
I pulled Sophie behind me.
"Why?"
"Because your father changed the inheritance structure before he died."
I remembered the document.
The child beneficiary.
I whispered:
"Sophie."
Preston nodded.
"Your daughter is the key."
That night, we moved to a safe house.
Sophie slept in the next room.
I sat alone at the kitchen table.
The documents were spread in front of me.
Everything I had believed about my life had collapsed.
My father's death.
My mother's supposed death.
The Whitmores.
Preston.
Daniel.
The company.
The inheritance.
None of it was what it seemed.
I looked at the photograph of Preston and Daniel.
Two brothers.
One alive.
One supposedly dead.
And somehow, both connected to my family.
At three seventeen in the morning, someone knocked on the door.
I reached for the gun Adrian had given me.
"Who is it?"
A woman's voice answered.
"Elena."
My heart stopped.
I knew that voice.
It was impossible.
I opened the door.
My mother stood outside.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
I couldn't breathe.
"Mom?"
She looked at me.
Then at the house.
Then behind me.
"Where is Sophie?"
I stepped backward.
"How are you alive?"
She grabbed my arm.
"There's no time."
"What happened to you?"
She looked terrified.
"Your father didn't die because of the company."
"Then why?"
She looked directly into my eyes.
"Because of Preston."
My heart stopped.
"You're lying."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I was there."
I stared at her.
"You killed him."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I didn't."
"Margaret said you did."
"Margaret doesn't know the truth."
"Then tell me."
My mother looked toward the hallway.
Her voice dropped.
"Your father wasn't killed by a person."
I frowned.
"What?"
"He was killed by a system."
I didn't understand.
She gripped my hand.
"A network your father created."
I stared.
"Why?"
"To protect our family."
"Then why did it kill him?"
She looked at me.
"Because someone took control."
"Who?"
My mother whispered:
"Preston."
I froze.
Behind me, a floorboard creaked.
I turned.
Preston stood in the hallway.
He had heard everything.
My mother looked at him.
Her face changed.
"You're still alive."
Preston stared at her.
"You knew."
She nodded.
"You knew all along."
"Yes."
He stepped closer.
"Who is Daniel working for?"
My mother looked at me.
Then she said:
"The same person your father feared most."
"Who?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Me."
Silence.
I stared at my mother.
"What?"
She closed her eyes.
"I built the network."
My blood turned cold.
"The network that killed your father?"
She nodded.
"But I lost control of it."
"To whom?"
She looked at Preston.
"To your husband."
I turned toward him.
Preston's face was blank.
My mother whispered:
"That's why he married you."
I felt the room tilt.
"To control the company?"
"No."
"Then what?"
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"To control you."
The lights suddenly went out.
Sophie screamed from the bedroom.
I ran.
The window was open.
Her bed was empty.
On the pillow was a note.
Three words.
SHE'S WITH ME.
May you like
And beneath it, a signature.
DANIEL.
