CHAPTER 10 — The Woman Behind the Mask
CHAPTER 10 — The Woman Behind the Mask
The warehouse fell silent after the call ended.
No one moved.
Emily's hands shook so violently that her phone slipped onto the concrete floor.
The screen went black.
Andrew stared at it.
Then at his sister.
Then at Mariana.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"...My mother knows where we are."
Victor immediately turned to the security team.
"Lock this place down."
"Nobody leaves."
"Search every rooftop within a two-kilometer radius."
The officers moved instantly.
Within seconds, the warehouse became a command center.
Mariana remained unusually calm.
She replayed Margaret's words in her mind.
"Bring Mariana to me."
Not...
"Bring Andrew."
Not...
"Bring the evidence."
Just Mariana.
Alejandro noticed the look on his daughter's face.
"What are you thinking?"
Mariana answered quietly.
"This was never about revenge."
Victor nodded.
"It was about you from the beginning."
Emily suddenly burst into tears.
"I'm sorry."
Everyone looked at her.
"I should've told someone years ago."
"Told us what?" Andrew asked.
Emily wiped away her tears.
"The night Dad died..."
"I saw Mom leave his office."
Andrew froze.
"What?"
"I didn't understand what I'd seen."
"I was sixteen."
"I thought they were arguing."
She lowered her head.
"When I heard Dad was dead the next morning..."
"...I convinced myself it was just a coincidence."
The room became deathly quiet.
Andrew slowly sat down.
His legs could no longer support him.
"My own mother..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Mariana watched him carefully.
This wasn't the arrogant CEO she'd confronted only hours earlier.
This was a son watching his childhood collapse.
Victor's phone buzzed again.
"The forensic lab."
He answered.
Thirty seconds later...
He looked up.
"They identified the fingerprints on Richard's letter."
Andrew frowned.
"Whose?"
Victor answered.
"Richard's."
"And Mariana's."
Andrew blinked.
"That's impossible."
"She opened it tonight."
Victor nodded.
"Exactly."
"There was one additional fingerprint."
Everyone leaned forward.
Victor looked directly at Mariana.
"It belongs to your father."
Alejandro frowned.
"Mine?"
Victor nodded.
"The lab confirmed it."
Silence filled the room.
Mariana slowly turned toward Alejandro.
"You knew about the letter."
Alejandro didn't answer immediately.
Finally...
"Yes."
Andrew stood abruptly.
"You knew my father left that letter?"
Alejandro looked him straight in the eye.
"I knew he intended to."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because Richard believed someone inside your family was watching him."
"And?"
"He trusted only two people."
"Myself."
"And Mariana."
Mariana's voice remained calm.
"When did he give it to you?"
Alejandro sighed.
"Two days before he died."
Everyone stared at him.
"He asked me to keep it hidden."
"He said..."
"'If I survive, burn it.'"
"'If I die, give it to Mariana when she's ready.'"
Mariana closed her eyes.
Richard had known his time was running out.
Marcus entered carrying a plastic evidence bag.
"We found something outside."
Inside the bag...
A tiny electronic device.
Victor frowned.
"A tracker."
Marcus nodded.
"It was attached underneath Andrew's car."
Andrew stared at it.
"So..."
"They knew exactly where I was going."
Victor's expression darkened.
"They didn't lure you."
"They hunted you."
Meanwhile...
Twenty miles away...
Margaret Collins stood inside an old estate hidden deep in the countryside.
The mansion was dark.
Ancient.
Almost forgotten.
She stood before a massive fireplace.
A man in a tailored black suit approached.
"The sniper failed."
Margaret didn't seem surprised.
"He won't fail twice."
The man hesitated.
"What about Mariana?"
Margaret slowly smiled.
"She's becoming exactly what we expected."
The man frowned.
"I don't understand."
Margaret turned toward him.
"As long as she keeps chasing the truth..."
"...she'll eventually find the Chairman."
The man looked confused.
"And that's a problem?"
Margaret's smile widened.
"No."
"That's the plan."
Back at Escalante Headquarters...
The investigation room had become filled with maps.
Financial records.
Family trees.
Photographs connected by red strings.
Victor studied everything carefully.
"Richard's murder."
"The necklace."
"The shell companies."
"The sniper."
"They're connected."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"But we're still missing one piece."
Mariana looked at Richard's letter again.
Her eyes stopped on one sentence.
Follow the music.
"It begins with Beethoven."
She whispered the words aloud.
Emily suddenly looked up.
"Beethoven..."
Everyone turned toward her.
"My father loved Beethoven."
"So?"
"He had a private music room."
Andrew frowned.
"We sold the piano after he died."
Emily shook her head.
"Not the piano."
"The old music box."
Silence.
Andrew searched his memory.
A wooden music box.
Hand-carved.
His father wound it every Sunday morning.
No one else ever touched it.
Emily stood.
"I know where it is."
An hour later...
The group entered the old Collins estate.
The house had been abandoned since Richard's death.
Dust covered every surface.
The air smelled of old wood and forgotten memories.
Emily walked directly toward the music room.
Everything remained untouched.
The grand piano.
The shelves of sheet music.
Family photographs.
Then...
She pointed.
"There."
A small mahogany music box rested on the fireplace.
Mariana carefully picked it up.
She wound the tiny key.
A soft melody filled the room.
Beethoven's Für Elise.
Click.
A hidden compartment quietly opened beneath the box.
Inside...
A single brass key.
And another envelope.
This one was addressed to:
"My Son."
Andrew's hands trembled.
"My father..."
"He left something for me."
He slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was only one handwritten sentence.
If you are reading this, don't trust the family lawyer.
Andrew frowned.
"The family lawyer?"
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"The Collins family lawyer..."
"Edward Grayson."
Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
"I'll have him located."
But before he could dial—
Victor's own phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered cautiously.
A terrified male voice whispered,
"Mr. Hale..."
"It's Edward Grayson."
Victor stood.
"Where are you?"
"They're coming for me."
"I have everything."
"The contracts."
"The recordings."
"The names."
Victor's expression changed.
"Stay where you are."
Edward took a shaky breath.
"It's too late."
A loud crash echoed over the line.
Someone screamed.
Then—
A gunshot.
The call ended.
The room fell into complete silence.
Mariana looked toward Victor.
"Can you trace the call?"
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
"Yes."
He looked up, his face pale.
"It came from..."
He paused.
"...Escalante Global Headquarters."
Someone inside Mariana's own company had just murdered the one witness who knew the truth.
And for the first time...
Mariana realized the enemy hadn't just infiltrated Andrew's family.
May you like
They had infiltrated hers.
End of Chapter 10
