Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW HOW EMILY DIEDRichard stared at Eleanor.

For fifteen years, he had trusted her.

She was the woman who brought food after Emily’s funeral.

The woman who held Sophie when Richard couldn’t stop crying.

The woman who told him:

“Your family will survive this.”

Now she stood in front of him.

In the same house where Emily died.

Holding documents that could take his daughter away.

Richard felt something inside him break.

“You were there.”

Eleanor didn’t answer.

Richard stepped closer.

“The night Emily disappeared.”

Silence.

“You were there.”

Eleanor looked at Sophie.

Then away.

That was enough.

Richard’s voice became colder.

“You knew.”

Jonathan stood nearby, watching.

Even he seemed uncomfortable.

Because he realized something.

Eleanor was not here to help him.

She was here for herself.

Richard picked up the guardianship document.

His hands tightened around the paper.

“This says you become Sophie’s guardian if something happens to Emily.”

Eleanor nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

Richard looked at her.

“Why?”

“Because Emily trusted me.”

Richard laughed bitterly.

“No.”

“Because you wanted control.”

Eleanor’s face hardened.

“You have no idea what Emily was dealing with.”

“Then explain.”

She looked toward the wooden box.

“Your wife discovered things she should never have discovered.”

Richard stepped forward.

“About The Circle?”

Eleanor’s eyes changed.

A tiny reaction.

But Richard saw it.

“Yes.”

She knew.

“How much did you know?”

Eleanor remained silent.

Richard’s anger grew.

“How much?”

Finally, she whispered:

“Everything.”

The word echoed through the basement.

Jonathan looked at her.

“You knew all this time?”

Eleanor looked at him.

“You were not supposed to be here.”

Jonathan laughed.

“Neither were you.”

Richard looked between them.

“You two know each other.”

Neither answered.

That was the answer.

Richard shook his head.

“This entire family is built on lies.”

Eleanor looked at him.

“Your father created this world.”

“My father?”

“Yes.”

“And Emily tried to destroy it.”

Richard’s expression changed.

“She tried to protect people.”

Eleanor shook her head.

“She didn’t understand what she was fighting.”

“No.”

Richard looked at her.

“She understood perfectly.”

Eleanor stepped closer.

“Richard, you think Emily was innocent because you loved her.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Don’t.”

“She was not just a victim.”

“She made dangerous choices.”

Richard’s voice became quiet.

“She was trying to save our daughter.”

Eleanor looked at Sophie.

“And that is exactly why she failed.”

Richard froze.

The sentence hit him.

“What did you say?”

Eleanor realized too late what she had revealed.

Richard moved closer.

“You said she failed.”

A pause.

“How do you know what she was trying to do?”

Eleanor said nothing.

Richard’s heart started racing.

Because that was the question.

The question nobody could answer.

“How do you know what Emily planned?”

Eleanor looked away.

Richard whispered:

“Because she told you.”

Silence.

“Because she trusted you.”

Another pause.

“And you betrayed her.”

Eleanor’s face tightened.

“I did what I had to do.”

Richard stared.

“There it is.”

The sentence he expected.

The excuse everyone used.

“I had to.”

“You all say that.”

“You hurt people.”

“You destroy lives.”

“And then you say you had no choice.”

Eleanor’s expression became cold.

“You think the world is simple.”

“No.”

Richard looked at Sophie.

“I think a child should never be punished for adults’ mistakes.”

For a moment, Eleanor looked almost guilty.

Almost.

Then she walked toward the table.

“The box.”

Richard immediately blocked her.

“No.”

“You don’t understand what is inside.”

“I understand enough.”

Eleanor looked at him.

“If you open that box completely, Sophie becomes a target forever.”

Richard stared.

“She already is.”

A silence followed.

Then Eleanor whispered:

“Not from us.”

Richard frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Eleanor looked toward the basement ceiling.

“They are watching.”

Everyone froze.

Jonathan immediately looked around.

“Who?”

Eleanor didn’t answer.

Then the lights flickered.

Again.

The basement went dark.

Sophie gasped.

Richard immediately grabbed her.

“Stay behind me.”

The emergency lights turned on.

But something was different.

The wooden box was gone.

Richard looked at the table.

Empty.

His face changed.

“No.”

Everyone looked around.

Jonathan cursed quietly.

Eleanor looked shocked.

“You didn’t…”

Richard turned toward her.

“You did this?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

For the first time...

Richard believed her.

Because Eleanor looked genuinely terrified.

Then a sound came from the old basement wall.

A clicking noise.

Like a lock opening.

Everyone turned.

A hidden door slowly moved open.

A small room appeared behind it.

Richard stared.

There was another room.

Another secret.

Jonathan whispered:

“There was another chamber?”

Eleanor looked pale.

“I didn’t know.”

Richard stepped toward the opening.

Inside was a small desk.

A chair.

And a single photograph.

He walked closer.

The picture showed Emily.

But she wasn’t alone.

Standing beside her was someone Richard recognized.

Someone who should never have been there.

Richard picked up the photo.

His hands started shaking.

Because beside Emily was...

Vanessa.

Years before Richard ever met her.

Richard turned slowly.

“Impossible.”

Jonathan looked at the picture.

His face changed.

“She knew Emily.”

Richard stared.

“No.”

His voice became a whisper.

“She lied about everything.”

Then the computer inside the hidden room suddenly turned on.

A video file appeared automatically.

No password.

No lock.

Just one title.

EMILY’S FINAL MESSAGE — PLAY BEFORE TRUSTING ANYONE

Richard pressed play.

The screen showed Emily.

Older.

Tired.

Terrified.

But alive.

For a moment, Richard forgot how to breathe.

“Richard…”

Her voice filled the room.

“If you are watching this…”

A tear rolled down Richard’s face.

“Then Vanessa has already entered your life.”

The room froze.

Richard looked at the photograph again.

Vanessa.

Emily.

Together.

Emily continued:

“I’m sorry.”

“I tried to stop them.”

“But I failed.”

She looked directly into the camera.

“Richard, the woman you love is not who she says she is.”

Richard’s heart stopped.

Emily’s next words were barely a whisper.

“She is the daughter of the man who destroyed our family.”

The screen flickered.

Then the video revealed a name.

A name that changed everything.

VANESSA CROSS.

Jonathan stepped backward.

“No…”

Richard stared at the screen.

Cross.

The same last name as Jonathan’s real identity.

The same family connected to the secrets.

The same family that had been hunting Sophie.

Then Emily said the final sentence before the video cut out.

“Richard, if Vanessa ever gets close to Sophie…”

A pause.

“Run.”

The screen went black.

Nobody spoke.

Because the truth was finally clear.

Vanessa was never an outsider.

She was part of the secret from the beginning.

And Richard suddenly realized something terrifying.

The woman who had hurt his daughter...

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Had entered his home years ago for one reason.

To get closer to Sophie.