Chapter 5: The Woman Behind the Lie
"Sadie was never supposed to know who she really is.""
The sentence echoed through the room.
Sadie couldn't breathe.
She stared at Damian.
Then at the phone in his hand.
Then back at Damian.
Because somewhere deep inside, a part of her was still waiting for someone to laugh.
To say it was a misunderstanding.
A cruel joke.
A mistake.
But nobody laughed.
Nobody corrected it.
"Give me the phone.""
Her own voice sounded distant.
Damian hesitated.
That hesitation broke something inside her.
"Give me the phone, Damian.""
Slowly, he handed it to her.
Sadie pressed it against her ear.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then she heard it.
A breath.
A small, broken sound.
A sound only a mother could make.
"Sadie?""
Her knees nearly gave out.
Because no matter how much time passed...
No matter how many years she spent convincing herself she had moved on...
She knew that voice.
"Mom?""
The word came out like a child.
Not like a grown woman.
Not like someone who had survived betrayal and heartbreak.
Just a daughter.
A daughter who had spent fifteen years wondering why she wasn't enough for someone to stay.
"Mom, is that really you?""
Silence.
Then a quiet sob.
"Yes.""
Sadie's eyes filled instantly.
Anger came first.
Then pain.
Then something worse.
Hope.
She hated that.
She hated that one word could bring back everything.
The bedtime stories.
The smell of her mother's perfume.
The way Isabella used to hum while washing dishes.
The way she would whisper, Everything will be okay, even when nothing was.
"Where are you?""
Sadie's voice shook.
"I can't tell you.""
The answer hit harder than expected.
After everything.
After fifteen years.
Her mother still wouldn't tell her the truth.
"Why?""
"Because if you know where I am, they will know too.""
"Who?""
A pause.
Then:
"The Morettis.""
Sadie closed her eyes.
Of course.
Always the Morettis.
Always secrets.
Always danger.
"Mom, I need answers.""
"I know.""
"No, you don't.""
Her voice rose.
"You don't know what it's like to spend years thinking your own mother abandoned you.""
A painful silence followed.
Then Isabella whispered:
"I know exactly what it's like.""
Sadie froze.
"What does that mean?""
"It means I never abandoned you.""
The words broke through her anger.
"Then why did you leave?""
A long pause.
Long enough that Sadie thought the call had disconnected.
Then:
"Because staying would have gotten you killed.""
The room became silent.
Damian looked away.
Sadie noticed.
He believed her.
That somehow hurt.
"You could have told me.""
"You were twelve.""
"I was your daughter.""
"And that's why.""
Sadie's hand trembled.
"I don't understand.""
Isabella's voice became softer.
"Your entire life, I tried to give you something my family never gave me.""
"What?""
"A normal life.""
Sadie looked around the luxurious room.
At Damian.
At the security outside.
At the secrets surrounding her.
"It doesn't feel normal.""
"No.""
Her mother's voice cracked.
"Because I failed.""
The confession surprised Sadie.
Her mother had always seemed strong.
Unbreakable.
Hearing weakness in her voice felt wrong.
"You didn't fail.""
The words left Sadie's mouth before she could stop them.
A painful silence followed.
Then Isabella whispered:
"You sound like your father.""
Sadie stiffened.
"My father?""
"Not Adrian.""
Her heart stopped.
"Then who?""
Damian stepped closer.
His face was tense.
He was listening.
Everyone was.
Isabella continued.
"Sadie, you need to understand something.""
"What?""
"The man who raised you was not your biological father.""
Sadie felt numb.
She looked at Damian.
He looked just as shocked.
"Then who was?""
Another pause.
And then Isabella said a name.
A name that changed everything.
"Alexander Blackwood.""
Sadie's eyes moved slowly toward Damian.
No.
Impossible.
Damian's face had gone completely pale.
For the first time since she met him, he looked powerless.
Like someone had taken the ground beneath him.
"Alexander...""
He whispered.
Isabella heard him.
"You know that name.""
Damian didn't answer.
Sadie looked between them.
"What does that mean?""
Neither spoke.
Her frustration exploded.
"What does that mean?""
Damian finally looked at her.
"Alexander Blackwood was my father.""
The room stopped.
Sadie stared.
"No.""
Damian nodded slightly.
"Yes.""
Her mind couldn't process it.
Her mother.
His father.
Their families.
Connected.
Before they met.
Before any of this.
"You knew?""
Damian's eyes immediately changed.
"Sadie.""
"Did you know?""
"No.""
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
But she believed him.
Because Damian had always been terrible at lying to her.
"You didn't know my father was yours?""
"No.""
He looked genuinely shaken.
"My father died when I was young.""
Isabella spoke through the phone.
"Alexander was different from the others.""
Damian closed his eyes.
"Don't.""
Sadie looked at him.
"What?""
"My father made mistakes.""
Isabella's voice was quiet.
"But he was the only person in that world who tried to stop the violence.""
Damian looked at the floor.
Sadie noticed something.
Pain.
Real pain.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Pain.
"Your father loved you," Isabella said.
Sadie looked at Damian.
The words felt impossible.
"My father?""
"Alexander knew about you.""
Damian looked up sharply.
"What?""
Isabella continued.
"He knew Sadie existed.""
The room went still.
"Then why didn't he find her?""
Sadie asked.
The silence that followed was terrible.
Finally, Isabella said:
"Because he was murdered before he could.""
Damian's expression changed.
"My father wasn't killed in an accident?""
"No.""
Sadie looked at him.
"You thought he died in an accident?""
Damian nodded slowly.
"That's what I was told.""
Isabella's voice became urgent.
"Listen to me carefully.""
Something about her tone made everyone stop.
"The person who killed Alexander is the same person who destroyed my family.""
Sadie felt cold.
"Who?""
A pause.
Then:
"Adrian Moretti.""
The name filled the room.
But Sadie couldn't understand.
"My father killed your father?""
"No.""
Isabella's voice shook.
"Adrian killed the man who was protecting you.""
Sadie looked at Damian.
And suddenly she understood something.
The reason Trevor was afraid.
The reason Damian was angry.
The reason someone broke into their house.
This wasn't about money.
Or power.
Or business.
It was about a war that started before Sadie was even born.
"Why now?"" Damian asked.
His voice was different.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"Why did Adrian come back now?""
Isabella went silent.
Too long.
"Isabella.""
Finally, she answered.
"Because he found out the truth.""
Sadie's heart sank.
"What truth?""
Her mother's voice became barely a whisper.
"The truth about your birth.""
Nobody moved.
"What about my birth?""
Another pause.
Then Isabella said:
"Sadie, you were not hidden because you were a threat.""
The words made no sense.
"Then why?""
"Because you were the only person who could end the war.""
A chill moved through her.
"How?""
Her mother didn't answer.
Instead, she said:
"You need to leave Damian.""
Sadie froze.
"What?""
"Right now.""
"No.""
"Sadie, listen to me.""
"No.""
Her voice hardened.
"I just found you.""
"I know.""
"Fifteen years.""
"I know.""
"And now you're telling me to leave my husband?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
The silence that followed was terrifying.
Then Isabella said:
"Because Adrian isn't the only one who knows who you are.""
Sadie looked at Damian.
"What does that mean?""
Isabella's voice dropped.
"It means the people coming for you already know.""
Damian immediately moved toward the door.
"Security.""
His team appeared instantly.
Sadie watched him.
"What is happening?""
Damian didn't answer.
Because one of the guards had just received a message.
His face turned pale.
"Mr. Blackwood.""
"What?""
The guard looked at Sadie.
Then Damian.
"We found the person who entered the house.""
Damian stepped forward.
"Who was it?""
The guard hesitated.
Then:
"It was someone from inside.""
Sadie's stomach dropped.
"Someone inside?""
The guard nodded.
"They left a message.""
Damian's expression turned cold.
"What message?""
The guard swallowed.
Then handed him a small piece of paper.
Damian read it.
And for the first time...
Sadie saw fear in his eyes.
"What does it say?""
He didn't answer.
She took the paper from his hand.
Three words were written across it.
May you like
Three words that made her blood run cold.
*ASK YOUR HUSBAND WHY.*
