The door handle moved again.
Slowly.
My entire body froze.
The old phone was still in my hand.
The recording continued playing.
—If someone finds this phone after I die, it means Chelsea finally did what she promised…
A shadow appeared under the door.
Someone was outside.
I quickly stopped the audio.
My heart was beating so loudly that I was afraid the person outside could hear it.
Then the door opened.
—What are you doing here?
It was Chelsea.
She stood there wearing a white coat, holding a cup of coffee, with the same gentle smile she had used during dinner.
But this time…
I saw something different.
Coldness.
Calculation.
Fear.
I hid the phone behind my back.
—I’m looking for something Adrian left behind.
Chelsea entered the room and closed the door.
—His things are not yours to touch.
I looked at her.
—Really?
She smiled.
—You are only here because Margaret believes your story.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
—What story?
Chelsea walked closer.
—Don’t pretend.
—You know exactly what I’m talking about.
She looked at my stomach.
—Those children aren’t Adrian’s.
My blood ran cold.
For a moment, I thought she knew everything.
Then she continued:
—But don’t worry.
—I don’t care who the father is.
—As long as Margaret believes they are Gu family heirs, everyone wins.
I stared at her.
She wasn’t trying to expose me.
She was threatening me.
Chelsea sat on the edge of the chair.
—You and I are similar.
I almost laughed.
—No.
She raised an eyebrow.
—No?
—You use people because you want luxury.
—I lied because I was trying to survive.
Her smile disappeared.
For the first time, she looked angry.
—Don’t pretend you’re better than me.
—You walked into this house by lying about a dead man.
The words hit.
Because they were true.
I had no answer.
Chelsea stood up.
—So we understand each other.
—You stay quiet.
—I stay quiet.
—Margaret keeps believing her precious grandchildren are coming.
I looked at her.
—And what happens if I don’t?
Chelsea leaned closer.
—Then I tell everyone you are a fraud.
—And you leave this house with nothing.
After she left, I sat on the floor.
For the first time since entering the Gu mansion, I felt afraid.
Not because Chelsea could expose me.
But because she was right.
I had built everything on a lie.
A lie that started because I had nowhere else to go.
But now…
Two innocent children were involved.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I kept thinking about Adrian.
A man I had never met.
A man whose grave I had used as a desperate gamble.
Yet somehow, the more I discovered about him…
The more I felt guilty.
He wasn’t just a rich name on a tombstone.
He was someone who had been manipulated.
Someone who had suffered.
Someone who had tried to leave evidence behind before he died.
At three in the morning, I turned on the old phone again.
There was another recording.
This time, Adrian’s voice sounded weaker.
—If you’re hearing this, I probably failed.
I held my breath.
—Chelsea has been threatening me for years.
—At first, I helped her because I thought she was my friend.
—Then I realized she wasn’t asking for help anymore.
—She was controlling me.
My eyes fell on the folder.
The messages.
The transfers.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Adrian continued:
—But there is something worse.
—She wasn’t alone.
The recording stopped.
I tapped the screen repeatedly.
Nothing.
The file was damaged.
I looked at the folder again.
There had to be more.
Then something fell from inside the documents.
A small piece of paper.
An address.
And a name.
Daniel Gu.
I recognized the surname.
Adrian’s father.
But according to Margaret, Daniel had died years ago.
Why would Adrian leave his father’s address?
The next morning, Margaret found me sitting alone in the garden.
She immediately noticed something was wrong.
—My dear, are you feeling sick?
I looked at the elderly woman.
For the first time, I wanted to tell the truth.
Everything.
That I wasn’t Adrian’s lover.
That I had never met him.
That my children weren’t his.
But then she placed her hand gently over my stomach.
—My son finally left me something beautiful.
My throat tightened.
This woman had already lost her son.
If I destroyed this illusion…
I would break her again.
So I only said:
—Margaret…
—Did Adrian ever talk about his father?
Her expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
—Why are you asking?
Before I could answer, a voice came from behind.
—Because she knows something she shouldn’t.
We turned.
Chelsea was standing there.
But she wasn’t alone.
A man stood beside her.
Older.
Cold eyes.
A familiar face.
Margaret dropped the cup in her hand.
The sound of porcelain breaking echoed through the garden.
—Daniel…
The man smiled.
—Mother.
I stared.
Impossible.
Adrian’s father was alive.
And the moment he looked at my pregnant stomach…
His expression changed completely.
—Those children…
He stepped forward.
—Are they really Adrian’s?
The entire garden became silent.
I couldn’t breathe.
Because I realized something.
The Gu family wasn’t waiting for Adrian’s heirs.
They were waiting for the truth Adrian died trying to reveal.
And somehow…
My lie had brought me directly to the center of it.
