Chapter 7: The Truth Owen Hid
I stared at the message until the screen dimmed.
Then I tapped it again.
The words remained.
*DON'T TRUST THE MAN YOU MARRIED. HE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO LET YOU SEE THIS.*
My first instinct was anger.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Anger.
Because I was tired of being the last person to know.
Everyone had a version of the truth.
Everyone had a secret.
Everyone had a reason.
And I was always the person standing in the middle, trying to understand a story that had been written without me.
I grabbed my phone and walked out of the room.
I didn't think.
I just moved.
Because if I stayed there, surrounded by unanswered questions and memories of a father who wasn't supposed to exist, I would break.
The hallway lights were too bright.
The wedding decorations were still everywhere.
A flower arrangement sat outside another suite.
A couple laughed as they walked past me.
A normal night.
A normal wedding.
A normal world.
Except mine had fallen apart in a hotel room.
I found Owen downstairs near the empty ballroom.
He was standing beside the windows, looking out at the city.
For a moment, I saw the man I married.
The man who held my hand when I was nervous.
The man who danced with me under white lights.
Then I remembered the messages.
The secrets.
The lies.
I stopped several feet away.
"Owen.""
He turned.
The second he saw my face, he knew something was wrong.
"What happened?""
I held up my phone.
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
"You got a message.""
"Yes.""
"From who?""
"I don't know.""
He looked at the screen.
Then back at me.
"Mara...""
"Tell me.""
He stayed quiet.
I stepped closer.
"Tell me why someone thinks you weren't supposed to let me see that video.""
His jaw tightened.
And there it was.
The hesitation.
The thing I had learned to fear.
"You know something.""
"I know some things.""
"That isn't an answer.""
He looked away.
I laughed softly.
"Of course.""
"Mara.""
"No, it's fine.""
I shook my head.
"Everyone has a favorite phrase tonight.""
I counted on my fingers.
"Listen to me.""
I lowered one.
"Trust me.""
Another.
"I was protecting you.""
I dropped my hand.
"But nobody ever says, 'Here's the truth.''"
Owen closed his eyes.
Then he whispered:
"I was going to tell you.""
"When?""
He didn't answer.
"After we got married?""
Silence.
"After I signed something?""
"No.""
"After you got what Lorraine wanted?""
His face changed.
And that was enough.
I stepped back.
"You don't even know what you were doing anymore, do you?""
"I knew.""
"Then explain.""
He looked exhausted.
"I was supposed to find the evidence.""
I stared at him.
"For Lorraine?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"Because she believed your father had hidden something that could destroy her.""
"And you agreed?""
"At first.""
The words hurt.
Even though I knew they were coming.
Even though I had prepared myself.
They still hurt.
Owen sat down.
I remained standing.
"I met your father once before I met you.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"He came to my family's office.""
"When?""
"Six months before we met.""
I felt cold.
"You were already connected to my family.""
"Yes.""
"How did you not tell me?""
He looked at me.
"Because when I met you, everything changed.""
I shook my head.
"Stop saying that.""
"Why?""
"Because it makes it sound like you had no choice.""
His face fell.
"You think I don't know I hurt you?""
"I think you want forgiveness before you've earned it.""
He looked down.
And for once, he didn't argue.
"I was supposed to get close to you," he said quietly.
The words were almost impossible to hear.
"But then I found out who you really were.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
He looked at me.
"Your father wasn't hiding money.""
"Then what was he hiding?""
"The truth.""
"About what?""
Owen hesitated.
Then:
"About my father.""
I stared at him.
"Your father?""
He nodded.
"Thomas Bennett discovered that my father and Victor Hale weren't just moving money.""
"What were they doing?""
"They were covering up a crime.""
The ballroom suddenly felt colder.
"What crime?""
Owen looked toward the empty dance floor.
"Seven years ago, there was an accident.""
My heart tightened.
"My mother.""
He nodded.
"Your mother.""
I stopped breathing.
"You knew?""
"I knew there was a connection.""
"Between my mother's death and your family?""
"Yes.""
I took a step back.
"How?""
Owen's voice dropped.
"Because my father was there that night.""
The silence was unbearable.
"My father was driving.""
I felt dizzy.
"What?""
"He was driving the car that hit your mother's.""
"No.""
"Mara—"
"No.""
I shook my head.
"You are lying.""
"I wish I was.""
I looked around.
At the empty ballroom.
At the chairs where people had celebrated my marriage hours ago.
My mother.
My father.
Owen.
Lorraine.
Every person I trusted had been connected to a story I never knew existed.
"What happened?""
Owen looked like he hated himself for answering.
"My father was drunk.""
I closed my eyes.
"The accident wasn't reported correctly.""
"Why?""
"Because Lorraine covered it up.""
My eyes opened.
"And my father?""
"He found out.""
"That's why he disappeared?""
Owen nodded.
"Yes.""
My voice became a whisper.
"He was running from them.""
"Yes.""
I walked away.
Just a few steps.
But Owen didn't follow.
Maybe he finally understood that some things couldn't be fixed by touching my hand.
"My whole life...""
I swallowed.
"My whole life, I thought I lost my parents.""
Owen looked at me.
"You did.""
"No.""
I shook my head.
"I lost my mother.""
My voice cracked.
"But my father was alive.""
I turned toward him.
"And everyone let me believe he was dead.""
He didn't have an answer.
Because there wasn't one.
A sound interrupted us.
A phone ringing.
Not mine.
Owen's.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"What?""
I watched him.
"Who is it?""
He didn't answer.
He answered the call.
"Hello?""
Silence.
Then his expression shifted.
"Mara is here.""
My stomach dropped.
He looked at me.
Then away.
"I understand.""
He ended the call.
"Who was it?""
He didn't respond.
"Owen.""
"It was your father.""
Everything stopped.
"My father?""
He nodded.
"He wants to meet you.""
I laughed once.
A broken sound.
"After seven years?""
"He said there isn't much time.""
"Much time for what?""
Owen looked at his phone.
Then at me.
"He said Lorraine knows the evidence has been found.""
My heart started racing.
"What evidence?""
"The evidence your father hid.""
I stepped closer.
"What evidence?""
Owen looked terrified.
"The evidence that proves what really happened the night your mother died.""
I didn't sleep.
I couldn't.
An hour later, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Owen's car.
Not because I trusted him.
Because I needed answers.
The city lights passed outside the window.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, Owen said:
"I know you may never forgive me.""
I stared ahead.
"You're right.""
He swallowed.
"But I need you to know something.""
"What?""
"I never lied about loving you.""
I looked at him.
And for a second, I hated that part of me still wanted to believe him.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From my father's number.
I opened it.
Three words.
*DON'T BRING OWEN.*
My blood ran cold.
I looked at the road ahead.
Then at the man beside me.
The man I married.
The man who had betrayed me.
The man who might still be the only person trying to protect me.
I turned the phone screen toward him.
He read the message.
And his hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Because he wasn't surprised.
He was scared.
"Why does my father not want you there?""
Owen didn't answer.
"Owen.""
His voice was barely audible.
"Because he knows something I never told you.""
"What?""
He looked at me.
And whispered:
"He knows why Lorraine chose me instead of Savannah.""
The car went silent.
"Why?""
Owen stared at the road.
Then he said:
"Because I wasn't just sent to find your father's evidence.""
May you like
A pause.
"I was sent because I was the reason your father disappeared.""
