Chapter 11: The Final Truth

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Nobody even seemed capable of thinking.

The chaos inside the vault continued around them.

Gunfire echoed.

Guards shouted.

Documents burned where a fallen lantern had ignited a pile of papers.

Yet Adrian heard none of it.

His entire world narrowed to a single person.

Celeste Monroe.

Alive.

Standing only twenty feet away.

The woman he had mourned for six years.

The woman whose memory had haunted every decision he made.

The woman whose disappearance had destroyed entire lives.

'Celeste...'

Her eyes filled with tears.

'Hello, Adrian.'

The words shattered him.

Not because they were dramatic.

Because they were ordinary.

The kind of greeting two people exchanged after being apart for a few days.

Not six years.

Not an entire lifetime.

Marcus Monroe looked as though he had seen a ghost.

'No.'

'That's impossible.'

'You're dead.'

Celeste turned toward her brother.

Any warmth vanished from her face.

'You certainly tried hard enough.'

Marcus stumbled backward.

For the first time since anyone had met him, genuine fear appeared.

'You were buried.'

'No.'

'Someone else was buried.'

'A woman who died during one of your trafficking operations.'

'A woman whose family never learned the truth.'

The room fell silent.

Even the remaining guards hesitated.

Because suddenly everyone understood.

The body found in the greenhouse wasn't Celeste.

It was another victim.

Another secret.

Another crime.

'How?' Adrian asked.

His voice barely worked.

'How are you alive?'

Celeste looked at him.

For a moment, sadness softened her expression.

'Because someone saved me.'

Her gaze shifted toward the Collector.

The entire room froze.

Including Lena.

'What?'

The Collector sighed heavily.

'This is becoming awkward.'

'You saved her?' Harris demanded.

'Technically.'

'You kidnapped her!' Marcus shouted.

'I rescued her from your men.'

'That's not the same thing.'

'It's very similar.'

Nobody knew how to process the situation anymore.

The villain had saved the victim.

The victim wasn't dead.

The murderer hadn't known.

Everything they believed had been wrong.

Celeste stepped forward.

'The Collector didn't save me because he cared.'

'He saved me because I became useful.'

'Useful?' Lena asked.

'He needed someone who understood the financial network.'

'Someone who could help him monitor Marcus.'

'Someone who knew where the evidence was hidden.'

The Collector smiled faintly.

'She was excellent at it.'

'I hated every second.'

'Still excellent.'

Marcus looked ready to explode.

'You worked with him?'

'No.'

'I survived him.'

The distinction mattered.

Everyone could see it.

The Collector hadn't imprisoned Celeste.

But he hadn't exactly freed her either.

He had kept her hidden.

Protected.

Controlled.

For six years.

'Why not contact me?' Adrian asked quietly.

The question hung in the air.

More painful than all the others.

Celeste's eyes filled with regret.

'Because every time I tried, people died.'

'Marcus had eyes everywhere.'

'The Collector had enemies everywhere.'

'And anyone connected to me became a target.'

Her voice broke.

'Including you.'

Adrian closed his eyes briefly.

Six years.

Six years lost to fear and secrets.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't.'

Celeste shook her head.

'You have nothing to apologize for.'

'Actually,' Lena muttered, 'he probably has a few things.'

Several people looked at her.

'What?'

'Wrong emotional moment?'

'Probably.'

To everyone's surprise, Celeste laughed.

A genuine laugh.

The first real laughter anyone had heard all night.

'You must be Lena.'

'Unfortunately.'

'I've heard wonderful things.'

Lena blinked.

'That's concerning.'

'It's true.'

Adrian looked uncomfortable.

Which Lena enjoyed more than she should have.

The moment ended abruptly when Marcus raised his weapon.

'Enough.'

Every eye turned toward him.

'This conversation is over.'

'Marcus—' Celeste began.

'No.'

His face twisted with rage.

'I spent six years cleaning up this mess.'

'Six years protecting everything I built.'

'I'm not losing now.'

The Collector rolled his eyes.

'You were always dramatic.'

'And you were always arrogant.'

'Yet here we are.'

'Yes.'

'Here we are.'

Marcus aimed directly at Celeste.

Everything happened at once.

Adrian moved.

Lena shouted.

Harris fired.

The Collector swore.

Gunshots exploded through the vault.

Marcus pulled the trigger.

But he never hit Celeste.

Because Adrian reached her first.

The bullet struck his shoulder.

Pain exploded through him.

He collapsed.

'Adrian!'

Lena ran instantly.

The world became chaos again.

Harris tackled Marcus.

Guards scattered.

The Collector disappeared into the confusion.

Celeste knelt beside Adrian.

'You're bleeding.'

'I've noticed.'

'This isn't funny.'

'I wasn't trying to be funny.'

Lena pressed her hands against the wound.

'Don't you dare die.'

'Planning on it.'

'Good.'

Their eyes met.

And for the first time, Adrian truly saw her.

Not as an obligation.

Not as a contract.

Not as the woman who happened to be there.

As Lena.

The woman who stayed.

The woman who challenged him.

The woman who survived gunfights, conspiracies, and teddy bears.

The woman who never stopped believing there was something worth saving.

Even when he didn't.

'Lena.'

'Later.'

'No.'

'Adrian.'

'Later.'

He ignored her.

'I love you.'

The room seemed to stop.

Even Lena froze.

'What?'

'I love you.'

'You choose now?'

'Terrible timing.'

'Awful timing.'

'But true.'

Tears filled her eyes.

'You're an idiot.'

'Frequently.'

'After all this time?'

'I know.'

'After all the secrets?'

'I know.'

'After making me compete with a dead woman?'

Celeste raised an eyebrow.

'Technically not dead.'

'Not helping,' Lena said.

'Sorry.'

Despite everything, laughter escaped.

Small.

Broken.

But real.

Nearby, Harris finally secured Marcus in handcuffs.

'It's over.'

Marcus stared at his sister.

At Adrian.

At the evidence surrounding him.

Then his shoulders collapsed.

For the first time in his life, there was nowhere left to run.

The corruption network would fall.

The files would become public.

The secrets would finally die.

Outside, police helicopters approached the island.

Their lights cut through the darkness.

The end had arrived.

Not with revenge.

Not with another murder.

But with the truth.

And the truth was stronger than all of them.

Stronger than Marcus.

Stronger than the Collector.

Stronger than six years of lies.

As emergency crews rushed toward the vault, Lena looked down at Adrian.

Still bleeding.

Still stubborn.

Still alive.

'You better survive this.'

'I intend to.'

'Good.'

'Because we're having a very long conversation afterward.'

Adrian smiled painfully.

'Looking forward to it.'

And for the first time since this entire nightmare began, Lena believed him.