Chapter 9 — The Mistress Who Chose the Wrong Side
Chapter 9 — The Mistress Who Chose the Wrong Side
At 5:18 a.m., Camille called me.
I almost didn't answer.
Almost.
Then I saw the number.
CAMILLE HARPER.
Julian's mistress.
The woman who had worn my grandmother's emeralds.
The woman who had smiled while throwing me out of my own resort.
The woman who had spent nine years believing Julian would eventually make her his wife.
I answered.
"Where are you?"
Her breathing was uneven.
"Elena."
"Where?"
"I need to see you."
"No."
"Please."
I sat at the edge of the bed.
"You have thirty seconds."
Silence.
Then she whispered:
"Julian is going to kill me."
My blood went cold.
"Why?"
"Because I found something."
"What?"
"I know who really owns the resorts."
I stood.
"Where are you?"
"Bellmont Grand."
I froze.
The first resort.
The oldest property in the Vale empire.
The place beneath which the witness was supposedly hidden.
"What are you doing there?"
"I came looking for Julian."
"And?"
"I found the door."
"What door?"
She began crying.
"The one he told me never to open."
I woke my father.
Within fifteen minutes, the security team had surrounded Bellmont Grand.
The resort was officially closed.
No guests.
No employees.
No visitors.
At least, that was what the records said.
The building stood on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic.
Rain hammered the windows.
The lobby was dark.
Cold.
Empty.
I walked through the entrance with Alexander beside me.
Adrian followed.
My father stayed close behind.
Richard was nowhere to be seen.
I hadn't seen him since the vault.
He had disappeared before dawn.
That worried me.
More than I wanted to admit.
"Where's Camille?" I asked.
Adrian checked his phone.
"Third floor."
"Alone?"
"Apparently."
We took the elevator.
The doors opened.
Camille stood at the end of the hallway.
She looked nothing like the woman I remembered.
No designer dress.
No expensive jewelry.
No perfect makeup.
Her hair was wet.
Her face was pale.
And she was holding a small black notebook against her chest.
When she saw me, she stepped backward.
"I didn't know where else to go."
I walked toward her.
"You came to the wrong person."
"I know."
"You betrayed me."
"I know."
"You slept with my husband."
"I know."
"You helped him humiliate me."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
"Then why should I help you?"
She looked at the floor.
"Because I found out what he was planning to do to you."
I stopped.
"What?"
Camille looked at Adrian.
"Can we speak privately?"
"No."
Her eyes moved toward my father.
"No."
Then Alexander.
"No."
She swallowed.
"Fine."
She opened the notebook.
"I found this in Julian's office."
I stared at it.
"What's inside?"
"Names."
"Whose names?"
"People he's been paying."
"For what?"
Camille looked directly at me.
"To make people disappear."
My stomach tightened.
"How many?"
"Thirty-seven."
I took the notebook.
The first page contained names.
Employees.
Lawyers.
Accountants.
Journalists.
Former executives.
One name was circled.
Samuel Carter.
I looked up.
"Where did you get this?"
"Julian's safe."
"How did you open it?"
She hesitated.
"I know his password."
Of course she did.
I flipped through the pages.
Samuel.
Daniel.
Three judges.
Two investigators.
A former resort architect.
An accountant.
A bank officer.
And one name I didn't recognize.
Rebecca Sterling.
My heart stopped.
"Who is Rebecca?"
Camille shook her head.
"I don't know."
"You wrote this."
"No."
She pointed to the bottom of the page.
"Julian did."
I stared.
Next to Rebecca's name was one word.
REMOVE.
I looked at Adrian.
He went still.
"Rebecca Sterling."
He whispered the name as though he'd seen a ghost.
I turned.
"You know her?"
Adrian nodded.
"She was Jonathan Sterling's wife."
My stomach dropped.
"She's alive?"
"No."
"When did she die?"
"Twenty-three years ago."
Camille whispered:
"Julian's file says she died six months ago."
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Camille.
"What else did you find?"
She hesitated.
"A recording."
"Where?"
"On Julian's phone."
"Give it to me."
"I copied it."
She pulled out another phone.
"Play it."
The screen lit up.
Julian's voice.
Clear.
Cold.
"If she opens the account, we lose everything."
Another man's voice answered.
"Then stop her."
"How?"
"You married her."
Silence.
Then Julian:
"I can't kill her."
The other man laughed.
"You don't have to."
A pause.
"Make her sign."
I felt sick.
"What does she sign?"
The recording continued.
"The transfer."
"Which transfer?"
"The ownership transfer."
My hands tightened around the phone.
Julian's voice came again.
"She won't sign."
"Then use Lily."
I stopped breathing.
Camille covered her mouth.
The recording ended.
Silence.
I stared at her.
"What did he mean?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Who was the other man?"
"I don't know."
"You slept with him."
"I know."
"You lived with him."
"I know."
"You expect me to believe you don't recognize his voice?"
Camille started crying.
"I never heard that man in person."
"Then how?"
"He called Julian."
"From where?"
"I don't know."
I stepped closer.
"You're protecting someone."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then tell me the truth."
Camille wiped her eyes.
"The number belonged to your father's old office."
My blood ran cold.
I turned toward my father.
He looked stunned.
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
Camille showed him the number.
My father stared.
"I closed that office fifteen years ago."
"Someone reopened it."
"Who?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
A sound came from downstairs.
A door slammed.
Adrian immediately reached for his weapon.
"Everyone stay here."
He moved toward the stairs.
Alexander followed.
My father grabbed my arm.
"Stay behind me."
I pulled free.
"I'm not doing that anymore."
We heard footsteps.
Several people.
Running.
Adrian shouted:
"Stop!"
A gunshot.
Then another.
The hallway lights exploded.
Camille screamed.
I pulled her to the floor.
Someone rushed past the end of the corridor.
Black clothing.
Mask.
Gun.
Adrian fired.
The figure disappeared through a service door.
Alexander ran after him.
I stood.
"Where does that go?"
Camille pointed.
"Basement."
My stomach tightened.
"The basement."
The witness.
The door beneath Bellmont.
I ran.
The basement was enormous.
Old storage rooms.
Mechanical equipment.
Abandoned furniture.
A long corridor disappeared into darkness.
Camille followed me.
"Wait."
"No."
"Elena!"
I kept moving.
Then I saw it.
A steel door.
No handle.
No lock.
Only a small symbol engraved in the center.
An orchid.
I touched it.
Nothing.
Camille whispered:
"That's the door."
"The one you found?"
She nodded.
"Julian told me never to open it."
"Why?"
"He said someone was inside."
I looked at the door.
"Who?"
"He called him the witness."
I placed my hand against the orchid.
The door opened.
The room beyond was small.
One chair.
One table.
One lamp.
And a man sitting in the darkness.
His hands were folded.
His face was thin.
His hair completely white.
He looked at me.
I stopped breathing.
I knew him.
Not personally.
From photographs.
From family portraits.
From the old newspaper articles my grandfather had hidden.
The man standing beside Jonathan Sterling.
The man who had disappeared the night my grandfather died.
I whispered:
"Thomas."
He smiled.
"Hello, Elena."
Camille stood behind me.
"Who is he?"
I couldn't answer.
Thomas stood slowly.
"I was your grandfather's attorney."
"You witnessed his death."
"Yes."
"You saw who killed him."
Thomas nodded.
"Who?"
He looked at Camille.
Then at the hallway.
Then at me.
"I can't tell you here."
"Why?"
"Because someone is listening."
My heart tightened.
"Who?"
He pointed toward the ceiling.
A tiny red light blinked.
Camera.
I looked at Adrian.
He immediately entered the room.
He examined the camera.
"It's live."
"Can you disable it?"
"Already trying."
Thomas shook his head.
"It doesn't matter."
"Why?"
"Because they already know I'm here."
The lights went out.
Thomas grabbed my wrist.
"Elena."
"What?"
"If you want to survive tonight, you need to understand one thing."
"What?"
"Julian isn't the man you should be afraid of."
I stared.
"Then who?"
Thomas whispered:
"The woman."
I froze.
"What woman?"
He looked at Camille.
"Her."
Camille stepped backward.
"No."
Thomas nodded.
"She's the reason you're alive."
I looked at Camille.
"What are you talking about?"
Camille's face went white.
"I didn't know."
Thomas laughed softly.
"You knew enough."
"I swear."
"Then tell her."
Camille shook her head.
"Tell me what?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Camille wasn't Julian's mistress."
I frowned.
"Then what was she?"
Thomas answered:
"She was an investigator."
The room went silent.
I stared at Camille.
She couldn't meet my eyes.
"Is that true?"
She whispered:
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"Who sent you?"
"Your mother."
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
"My mother?"
Camille nodded.
"She contacted me three years ago."
"Why?"
"To get close to Julian."
"Why?"
"Because she knew he was planning to take control of the empire."
I looked at her.
"Then why didn't you warn me?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
"You could have told me."
"I tried."
"When?"
"The night of the resort opening."
I remembered.
Camille had approached me.
She had tried to say something.
Julian had interrupted.
I had thought she was trying to humiliate me.
Camille looked devastated.
"He told me if I spoke to you, he would expose my real identity."
"What identity?"
She hesitated.
"My name isn't Camille Harper."
I stared.
"What is it?"
She whispered:
"Rebecca Sterling."
The room went silent.
Adrian's face changed.
"Rebecca."
Camille nodded.
"I am Jonathan Sterling's granddaughter."
My heart stopped.
"The woman Julian marked for removal."
She nodded.
"I was never his mistress."
I stared at her.
"Then why did you let me hate you?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because if Julian believed I was only jealous of you, he would never suspect I was investigating him."
I didn't know what to say.
The woman I had blamed for destroying my marriage had been trying to expose the man who destroyed it.
But then another question hit me.
"Why did you record the party?"
Camille looked away.
"Because I knew Julian was going to hurt you."
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"And you let it happen."
Her face crumpled.
"I thought if I filmed it, I'd have evidence."
I stared at her.
"You could have stopped him."
"I know."
"Instead you watched."
"I know."
"You stood there."
"I know."
"And now you want forgiveness?"
"No."
She looked at me.
"I want you to know I failed you."
That answer hurt more than an excuse.
Thomas stepped forward.
"Rebecca didn't come here alone."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed toward the wall.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Julian.
Daniel Cross.
Richard.
My father.
My mother.
And me.
Then one photograph made my blood freeze.
Lily.
My daughter.
Taken three years earlier.
Before she was born.
No.
Impossible.
I stepped closer.
"That's not Lily."
Thomas shook his head.
"It is."
"But she's my daughter."
"Yes."
"How could this photograph exist?"
Thomas looked at Rebecca.
She whispered:
"Because Lily wasn't supposed to be your daughter."
I turned.
"What?"
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
"Elena..."
"What are you saying?"
She took a breath.
"Julian didn't marry you because of the empire."
My stomach tightened.
"Then why?"
"Because he believed you were carrying something."
"What?"
"The heir."
I couldn't breathe.
"Who?"
Rebecca looked at the photograph.
Then at me.
"Your child."
I stared.
"Lily."
Rebecca nodded.
"Julian believed your daughter carried the final genetic key to the Vale trust."
I felt sick.
"That's impossible."
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
He pointed to another photograph.
A document beneath it.
PROJECT LILY.
My hands began shaking.
"What is this?"
Thomas looked at me.
"The reason your daughter was targeted."
I stared at the file.
My entire body went cold.
Rebecca whispered:
"Julian didn't want Lily's money."
I looked at her.
"He wanted her blood."
The lights came back on.
And the first thing I saw was Julian standing in the doorway.
He was holding a gun.
Everyone froze.
Julian looked at me.
His eyes were filled with something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for what I had just learned.
"Elena."
I stepped backward.
"You knew."
He lowered the gun slightly.
"I didn't know everything."
"You knew about Lily."
"Yes."
"You knew she was being watched."
"Yes."
"You knew Rebecca was investigating you."
"Yes."
"You knew my mother sent her."
"Yes."
My voice broke.
"Did you ever love me?"
Julian closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked like the man I had married.
Then he opened them.
"I did."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's the saddest lie you've ever told."
He looked at me.
"I loved you before I understood what your family had done."
"And then?"
"I couldn't get out."
"Why?"
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Because someone was holding my mother."
The room went silent.
I stared.
"Your mother?"
Julian nodded.
"She isn't dead."
My heart pounded.
"Where is she?"
He looked at Rebecca.
Then Thomas.
Then me.
"The same place as your grandfather's witness."
My blood went cold.
"Where?"
Julian's voice dropped.
"Under the second resort."
I stared.
"Who has them?"
Julian looked directly at me.
"The person who has been controlling all of us."
A gunshot exploded behind him.
Julian jerked.
Blood appeared on his shirt.
He collapsed.
"Julian!"
I ran forward.
Adrian shouted:
"DOWN!"
Another bullet tore through the wall.
Rebecca screamed.
Thomas ducked.
I dropped beside Julian.
He grabbed my wrist.
His eyes were fading.
"Elena..."
"Who shot you?"
He tried to speak.
Nothing.
I leaned closer.
"Tell me."
His lips moved.
One word.
"The board."
Then his eyes closed.
I pressed my hand against the wound.
"Stay awake."
He didn't answer.
Adrian rushed over.
"He's alive."
"Save him."
"We need to move."
"No."
"Elena."
"Save him."
Because despite everything—
despite the lies,
the betrayal,
the mistress,
the stolen empire,
the years of manipulation—
Julian still knew something I didn't.
And if he died now, the person controlling everyone would remain hidden.
I looked toward Rebecca.
She was staring at Julian.
Her face was pale.
"Who shot him?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
Thomas whispered:
"I do."
Everyone turned.
He pointed toward the basement entrance.
A small object lay on the floor.
A silver orchid pin.
My mother's.
I stared at it.
"No."
Thomas nodded.
"She was here."
I felt my heart stop.
"My mother?"
He looked at me.
"Yes."
"But she disappeared fifteen years ago."
Thomas's expression was grim.
"She didn't disappear."
He paused.
"She was taken."
I looked toward the darkness beyond the basement.
"By whom?"
Thomas whispered:
"By the woman who now controls the board."
I froze.
"The board?"
He nodded.
"Your mother isn't the enemy."
"Then who is?"
Thomas looked directly at me.
"The woman who has been pretending to protect your family for thirty years."
Rebecca stepped forward.
Her face had gone completely white.
"Olivia Vale."
I stopped breathing.
Julian's mother.
The woman who had always called herself the guardian of the family.
The woman who had supported Julian.
The woman who had signed every major corporate decision.
The woman who had supposedly protected the Vale name.
Thomas nodded.
"She isn't protecting the Vale empire."
He looked at the blood on Julian's shirt.
"She's taking it."
My phone vibrated.
One message.
From Olivia.
COME TO THE BOARDROOM ALONE.
Then another.
BRING THE ORCHID CARD.
And the final message:
OR JULIAN'S MOTHER DIES BEFORE SUNRISE.
I stared at the screen.
Rebecca whispered:
"Don't go."
I looked at Julian.
Then at my mother.
Then at the Orchid card in my hand.
I knew it was a trap.
But I also knew Olivia had just made one mistake.
She had threatened someone I could still save.
And this time—
May you like
I wasn't walking into her trap as the woman who had been betrayed.
I was walking in as the woman who finally knew the truth.
