Chapter 8: The Place Where Secrets Were Buried
Mark stared at the photo for so long that I thought he had stopped breathing.
“Mark?””
He didn’t answer.
His eyes stayed fixed on the background.
On the small wooden sign hanging behind Bethany’s car.
A place name.
A place that meant something.
I looked closer.
Then I understood why he looked so shaken.
It was the old office.
The first office his father had ever owned.
The one that had been closed for years.
The one nobody went to anymore.
Except family.
“What is that place?”” I asked, even though I already knew something was wrong.
Mark slowly lowered the phone.
“That building belongs to my father.””
Diane frowned.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She shook her head.
“It was sold.””
Mark looked at her.
“When?””
Diane hesitated.
“Years ago.””
“To who?””
She didn’t answer.
And that silence was enough.
Mark stepped closer.
“Mom.””
Her face changed.
“I don’t know.””
“You do.””
“Mark—”
“Who owns that building?””
Diane looked away.
For years, I had watched Mark avoid conflict with his parents.
But now?
He wasn’t avoiding anything.
He was pulling every hidden piece into the light.
Finally, Diane whispered:
“Bethany.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
Mark’s voice was barely audible.
Diane looked ashamed.
“Your father transferred it to her.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
Diane looked down.
“Because she said she wanted to start her own business.””
Mark laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he couldn’t believe it.
“So she already had access to that place.””
Diane nodded.
“And she used it to meet someone.””
I looked at the photo again.
The person beside Bethany.
The business partner.
“Why would he help her?””
Nobody knew.
But Mark did something I had never seen him do before.
He picked up his jacket.
“We’re going there.””
I grabbed his arm.
“Mark.””
He looked at me.
“You’re injured.””
“I’m fine.””
“You were hit in the head.””
He looked toward Rosie’s room.
Then back at me.
“I need answers.””
I understood.
Because sometimes not knowing hurts more than the truth.
We left Rosie with my sister nearby.
I didn’t want her anywhere near this.
She had already seen enough.
The drive to the old office was quiet.
Too quiet.
Mark kept both hands on the wheel.
His face was unreadable.
Finally, I said:
“Are you angry?””
He looked at me.
“Yes.””
I waited.
“But not at you.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
He took a breath.
“I’m angry because I spent my whole life thinking I was the difficult one.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
He stared through the windshield.
“Bethany always made me feel like I was selfish for wanting my own life.””
He swallowed.
“I believed her.””
I reached over and held his hand.
“You were never selfish.””
He squeezed my fingers.
“I know that now.””
After twenty minutes, we arrived.
The old office sat behind a rusted gate.
The building looked abandoned.
The windows were dusty.
The sign outside was faded.
But the door wasn’t locked.
Mark stopped.
“She’s been here recently.””
“How do you know?””
“The lock is new.””
My stomach tightened.
Someone had been using this place.
We walked inside.
The air smelled like old paper and dust.
The walls were covered with memories.
Photos.
Awards.
Newspaper articles about Robert’s company.
A history of a family business.
A history Bethany believed belonged to her.
We searched the rooms.
Nothing.
Then Mark opened a cabinet.
Inside were folders.
Lots of them.
He pulled one out.
The label made him freeze.
*SUCCESSION PLAN.*
“What is it?””
He opened it.
His expression changed.
I stepped closer.
The folder contained documents about the company.
Ownership plans.
Future transfers.
And one name appeared again and again.
Bethany.
“She was planning this.””
Mark’s voice was quiet.
“She wasn’t just trying to take my parents’ approval.””
He turned the page.
“She was trying to take control.””
I looked through the documents.
Then I saw something.
A handwritten note.
I picked it up.
“What does this say?””
Mark read it.
His face darkened.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
The note was from the business partner.
A simple sentence.
*Once Mark’s reputation is damaged, Robert will have no reason to choose him.*
My heart sank.
“They were planning to destroy your reputation.””
Mark nodded.
“And make Bethany the only option.””
A sound came from the hallway.
We both froze.
Someone was there.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Mark immediately stepped in front of me.
The same way he had protected Rosie.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a voice spoke.
“I knew you would find this eventually.””
Mark’s face changed.
“Uncle Victor?””
The man stepped into the room.
Victor Hale.
Robert’s business partner.
The person in the photo.
He looked older than I expected.
But calm.
Too calm.
“You shouldn’t be here.””
Mark stared at him.
“Neither should you.””
Victor smiled slightly.
“You always were more like your father than you realized.””
Mark held up the folder.
“You helped Bethany.””
Victor didn’t deny it.
“Yes.””
The honesty shocked me.
“Why?””
Victor looked around the old office.
“Because your father made a mistake.””
Mark narrowed his eyes.
“What mistake?””
“Choosing you.””
The words hit hard.
Victor continued.
“Robert built an empire. He wanted someone who understood loyalty.””
Mark laughed.
“Bethany?””
Victor smiled.
“She understood ambition.””
“No.””
Mark shook his head.
“She understood greed.””
Victor’s expression hardened.
“You think you’re better than her?””
Mark stepped forward.
“I know I am.””
For the first time, Victor looked angry.
“You have no idea what she sacrificed.””
I felt confused.
“What are you talking about?””
Victor looked at me.
Then at Mark.
“Your sister was promised that company.””
Mark froze.
“What?””
Victor continued.
“Your father told her for years she would inherit everything.””
“That’s not true.””
“Isn’t it?””
Mark didn’t answer.
Because maybe part of him knew.
Victor smiled.
“She built her whole identity around it.””
He stepped closer.
“Then you came along.””
Mark’s jaw tightened.
“I was born.””
“Exactly.””
The room became colder.
Victor continued.
“Your father changed his mind because you were responsible. Reliable. Easy to trust.””
He looked at Mark.
“And Bethany spent her whole life watching you receive what she believed was hers.””
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t excuse what she did.””
Victor looked at me.
“No.””
His voice became quieter.
“It doesn’t.””
For one second, I thought he was admitting defeat.
Then he smiled.
“But you still don’t understand the most important part.””
Mark stared.
“What?””
Victor reached into his coat.
Pulled out his phone.
And showed us a message.
A message from Bethany.
My blood ran cold.
Because it wasn’t about the company anymore.
It wasn’t about the documents.
It wasn’t about destroying Mark’s reputation.
It was about Rosie.
The message said:
*She is the only thing keeping him from breaking. Take her away, and he will finally have nothing left.*
Mark’s face went completely blank.
Then he whispered:
“What did she do?””
Victor looked at him.
“I think you should ask your sister.””
A new sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Then a woman’s voice.
Bethany.
She had come back.
And this time…
May you like
She wasn’t running.
She was waiting.
