Elena paced back and forth in her apartment, the final traces of last night's thunderstorm still echoing in her mind. Her plan to expose Lucas was in motion, but Adrien's cryptic messages had started making less sense. He was hiding something—something deeper than Lucas' lies.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Adrien: Meet me at 41 Rue de l'Éclipse. Come alone. Tell no one—not even Lila.
Elena's fingers tightened around her phone. Rue de l'Éclipse. That street had been abandoned for years. Why there? And why secrecy now, when they were on the verge of destroying the Moreau legacy together?
But curiosity, and an underlying worry, won.
---
The building at 41 Rue de l'Éclipse was nothing more than a forgotten ruin on the edge of the city. Its rusted gates moaned as she pushed them open. Inside, a spiral staircase led down to a basement shrouded in dust and memories.
She found Adrien there—his back to her, staring at a mirror nailed to a crumbling brick wall.
"Why here?" Elena asked, her voice steady.
Adrien didn't turn. "Because this is where it started."
She walked closer. The mirror was cracked, the silver beneath warped. "What started?"
Adrien finally looked at her. His eyes—usually calm, guarded—were burning.
"Elena… Lucas didn't kill our uncle."
Elena's heart skipped. "What are you talking about? I saw the documents. The autopsy cover-up. Lucas admitted his role in the contract. He—"
Adrien raised his hand. "He was part of something. But not the murderer."
Elena's confusion deepened. "Then who?"
Adrien stepped aside, revealing a small safe embedded in the wall. He keyed in a code. The safe clicked open. Inside was a series of photographs, and at the center—a worn passport.
She took it, flipping it open.
Her breath caught.
Name: Lucien Moreau.
Photo: Adrien.
She looked up, stunned. "This… this is you. But the name…"
"I'm not Adrien," he said quietly. "Adrien died ten years ago."
Her world tilted.
"W-What?"
"I'm Lucien. His twin. The one nobody knew about. Our mother had me in secret. I was raised in the shadows, hidden from the Moreau name, hidden from the world. Adrien was the heir. The perfect one."
Elena stumbled back. "But… why pretend to be him? Why fake his identity?"
"Because someone had to take control after Adrien died. Our uncle—he was grooming Adrien to take over. But Adrien found out something… dark. About the Moreau empire. He threatened to go public. Days later, he was dead. They called it an accident. But I know it wasn't. And Lucas…"
"He helped you fake your identity?" Elena whispered.
"No. He never knew. He assumed I was Adrien. Everyone did. We looked identical. And I used that."
Elena's pulse thundered. "Why are you telling me this now?"
Lucien looked her straight in the eye. "Because you need to stop your plan. Lucas isn't the enemy. He's the only one who's been trying to protect you."
She shook her head. "Protect me? He tricked me into signing that contract. He kept me in the dark. He used me."
"Because he didn't know who to trust," Lucien said. "He was trying to keep you safe from the real monster."
Elena's voice cracked. "Then who is?"
Lucien stepped aside again and pulled out a second photo.
It was of her father.
"No… that's not possible."
"He was the one who orchestrated Adrien's death. Your father. He was our uncle's business partner. They buried their secrets together."
Elena's knees buckled. The world suddenly felt unreal.
"My father died before Adrien," she choked.
"He faked his death," Lucien said softly. "To escape the fallout. He's alive. And he's watching everything."
Elena felt her vision blur. The man she had mourned all her life, the man she thought had died a hero—was not only alive but a murderer?
The room closed in on her.
---
Later that night, Elena sat in her room, the old passport and photographs laid out in front of her. She had told no one—not even Lila. How could she?
Her father alive?
Adrien wasn't Adrien?
Everything she knew was unraveling.
Suddenly, her email pinged. A new message. No sender. No subject.
Inside was a video file.
She clicked it.
The screen flickered to life, showing a shadowed room.
A man sat at a desk—his face blurred.
A familiar voice echoed.
"If she finds out, everything falls apart. Elena must never know what her mother did."
The camera turned, briefly showing a woman's silhouette in the background.
Her mother.
Elena's heart stopped.
Was she part of this, too?
The video cut out.
Elena sat in silence.
The two people she had loved the most—both gone, both secrets.
---
The next morning, Elena stood in front of Lucas Moreau's estate.
She had come to destroy him.
Now, she came to ask him the truth.
When he opened the door, surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Elena?"
"Tell me everything," she said. "And don't you dare lie."
Lucas stepped aside.
---
Inside his study, Lucas poured her tea with shaking hands.
"I suppose Lucien told you," he said quietly.
"That you've been protecting me? That my father is alive? That Adrien was murdered?"
Lucas nodded. "I knew bits and pieces. But Lucien—Adrien—he knew more. He always did. He's been playing this game longer than either of us."
Elena leaned in. "Then help me finish it."
Lucas met her gaze. "Even if it means destroying your own blood?"
Elena didn't flinch.
"I need the truth. All of it. No matter the cost."
Lucas handed her a file.
"This is the address. Your father. If you want the truth… go to him."
Elena took the file with trembling hands.
The game had changed.
And now, it was her move.