CHAPTER 4 — THE WOMAN BEHIND THE GLASS
The estate went into lockdown before Raina could even process the words on the photograph.
Every gate closed.
Every exterior light came on.
Security personnel moved through the corridors with earpieces pressed to their ears.
Orson stood in front of the monitor, staring at the stranger outside the north gate.
The man hadn't moved.
He simply stood there.
Holding the photograph.
Waiting.
Raina's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“Who is he?”
Orson didn't answer.
“Dad.”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
Orson turned.
“I swear to you, Raina, I don't know who that man is.”
“Then why does he know my mother?”
“Because a lot of people knew your mother.”
“Not like that.”
She pointed at the screen.
“He knew something about her.”
The stranger slowly turned.
He looked directly into the security camera.
Then he lifted one finger.
He pointed toward the mansion.
Toward Raina.
The security chief whispered,
“He knows we're watching.”
Orson nodded.
“Bring him in.”
Everyone turned.
The security chief stared.
“Sir?”
“Bring him through the east gate.”
“That's risky.”
Orson's expression hardened.
“I didn't ask whether it was risky.”
The guard hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Understood.”
Raina grabbed her father's arm.
“No.”
Orson looked at her.
“You don't know who he is.”
“Neither do you.”
“Exactly.”
“That is why he needs to talk.”
The gates opened.
The stranger entered.
Two guards surrounded him.
He was perhaps sixty years old.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
A scar ran from his left eyebrow to his cheek.
He carried no weapon.
Only the photograph.
When he entered the security room, his eyes immediately went to Raina.
He stopped.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he whispered,
“You look exactly like her.”
Raina's throat tightened.
“My mother?”
The man nodded.
Orson stepped forward.
“Name.”
The man looked at him.
“You don't remember me?”
“No.”
A bitter smile crossed his face.
“You should.”
Orson's eyes narrowed.
The stranger placed the photograph on the table.
“My name is Gabriel Kane.”
Raina stared at him.
The name meant nothing.
But Orson suddenly went completely still.
“You're dead.”
Gabriel laughed softly.
“So that's what you told everyone.”
Raina looked at her father.
“What does he mean?”
Orson said nothing.
Gabriel looked at Raina.
“Your mother saved my life.”
“Why?”
“Because I was supposed to expose the people who killed her.”
Raina's heart pounded.
“You know who killed her?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Gabriel looked at Orson.
“Ask your father.”
Raina turned.
“Dad?”
Orson's face hardened.
“Gabriel was an investigator.”
Gabriel interrupted.
“Private investigator.”
Orson continued.
“He was hired by your mother.”
Raina stared at Gabriel.
“To investigate what?”
“Your grandfather.”
Silence.
Raina blinked.
“My grandfather?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Your mother believed your grandfather had been laundering money through shell corporations.”
Orson shook his head.
“That wasn't true.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“You believed that too.”
“Because it was a lie.”
“No.”
Gabriel reached into his coat.
Every guard raised a weapon.
He stopped.
Slowly, he removed a small envelope.
“I brought this.”
He placed it on the table.
Raina looked at the handwriting.
She knew it instantly.
Her mother's handwriting.
Her knees nearly gave out.
“Where did you get that?”
“Your mother gave it to me.”
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
Raina stared.
“What does it say?”
Gabriel pushed it toward her.
“You should read it.”
Raina picked it up.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a single page.
She read.
Gabriel,
If you are reading this, then I am already dead.
Raina stopped breathing.
Orson closed his eyes.
The letter continued.
Do not trust Orson.
Raina slowly looked at her father.
He didn't move.
She continued reading.
He will tell you that he tried to protect me.
He will tell you the accident was unavoidable.
He will tell you the money belongs to our family.
Raina's hands shook.
All three statements are lies.
She looked up.
“Dad?”
Orson's face had lost all color.
“Let me explain.”
Raina continued reading.
The child you believe is mine is not mine.
Her vision blurred.
She couldn't breathe.
Raina is not my biological daughter.
The page fell from her hands.
Nobody spoke.
The room seemed to disappear.
Raina stared at her father.
“No.”
Orson stepped forward.
“Raina—”
“No.”
“You need to listen.”
“No!”
She backed away.
“You knew?”
Orson's voice broke.
“Yes.”
The word destroyed her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Your entire life.”
Raina stared at him.
“You let me believe she was my mother.”
“She loved you.”
“That's not what I asked!”
“She was your mother.”
“But not biologically.”
Orson swallowed.
“No.”
Raina pressed both hands against her stomach.
“Who am I?”
Orson looked toward Gabriel.
Gabriel shook his head.
“You need to tell her.”
Orson closed his eyes.
“I don't know.”
Raina laughed bitterly.
“You don't know?”
“No.”
“Then who does?”
Gabriel answered.
“Your mother.”
Raina looked at him.
“She left another recording.”
“Where?”
Gabriel pointed toward the envelope.
“There's a key inside.”
Raina opened it.
A tiny brass key fell into her palm.
“What does it open?”
Gabriel looked at Orson.
“Something your father buried.”
Orson immediately said,
“No.”
Raina turned.
“What?”
“That key should never be used.”
“Why?”
“Because it will destroy everything.”
Raina stared at him.
“Good.”
She closed her fingers around the key.
“I'm tired of secrets.”
Two hours later, Raina stood inside Orson's private archive.
It was beneath the estate.
A steel door opened with the brass key.
Inside were dozens of boxes.
Old photographs.
Bank records.
Letters.
Medical files.
Birth certificates.
Raina's breathing became shallow.
“What am I looking for?”
Gabriel answered,
“Blue.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Your mother said the box would be blue.”
They searched.
Finally, Raina saw it.
A small blue box.
She reached for it.
Orson grabbed her wrist.
“Don't.”
Raina stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because once you open it, there is no going back.”
Raina pulled her wrist free.
“There was no going back when Damon locked me in that kennel.”
She opened the box.
Inside was a photograph.
A hospital bracelet.
And a birth certificate.
Raina picked it up.
Her eyes moved over the page.
Then stopped.
The name of the mother was not her mother's name.
It was someone else.
Evelyn Hart.
Raina dropped the paper.
“Dr. Hart.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
Raina stared.
“The doctor from the hospital.”
“The same woman.”
“She was my biological mother?”
“No.”
Gabriel's answer came quietly.
“She was the woman who delivered you.”
Raina's heart pounded.
“Then who is my mother?”
Gabriel looked at Orson.
Orson whispered,
“We don't know.”
Suddenly, the archive lights went out.
A metallic sound echoed from the hallway.
The security chief shouted,
“Someone's inside!”
Raina froze.
Gabriel grabbed her arm.
“Move.”
They ran.
Behind them came footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
A gunshot exploded through the darkness.
Raina screamed.
Orson pulled her behind a steel cabinet.
Another shot struck the wall.
Then the footsteps disappeared.
The security lights came back on.
Gabriel looked at the floor.
A bullet casing lay beside the blue box.
He picked it up.
His face changed.
“This isn't Damon's security team.”
Orson frowned.
“How do you know?”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Because this ammunition was used twenty-seven years ago.”
Raina's blood went cold.
“By whom?”
May you like
Gabriel answered.
“The people who killed your mother.”
