Chapter 11: The Secret She Tried to Hide

I listened to Kostas's voicemail three times.

Each time, the same question remained in my mind.

What was Eleni hiding?

I called Kostas back.

He answered almost immediately.

“Romy.”

“Tell me.”

There was a pause.

“Eleni knew about your mother's property.”

I frowned.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“More than you think.”

He took a breath.

“A few months ago, she asked me about the house.”

“She wanted to know how much it was worth.”

My stomach tightened.

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

“Kostas, don't give me another answer like that.”

“I'm telling you the truth.”

He continued.

“She knew your mother was planning to transfer the property to you.”

I sat down slowly.

“How did she know?”

“I told her.”

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

“You told her about my mother's property?”

“I didn't think it mattered.”

“You didn't think it mattered?”

My voice rose.

“That property is my mother's entire life's savings.”

“I know.”

“Then why would you tell her?”

He was silent.

I already knew the answer.

He had trusted Eleni with things he should have kept between us.

“What did she do with the information?” I asked.

“She asked whether the transfer had been completed.”

“I told her I was handling the paperwork.”

My blood ran cold.

“You were handling it.”

“Yes.”

“And my document was destroyed in your apartment.”

He went silent.

I felt something inside me shift.

“Kostas.”

“Did Eleni know the document was there?”

He didn't answer immediately.

That was answer enough.

“She knew,” I whispered.

“I don't know if she destroyed it.”

“But you suspect her.”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, the ruined papers on his desk didn't feel like an accident anymore.

“Why didn't you tell me this before?”

“Because I wasn't certain.”

“Or because you were protecting her?”

He didn't respond.

I ended the call.

I immediately called my mother.

She answered on the second ring.

“Romy?”

“Mom, did you ever tell anyone about the property transfer?”

She sounded confused.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Only you and Kostas knew.”

My heart sank.

“Mom, I need you to listen carefully.”

“Don't send any more original documents to Kostas.”

There was silence.

“What happened?”

I told her everything.

Not every detail.

But enough.

When I finished, she was quiet for several seconds.

Then she said, “Come home this weekend.”

“We'll handle the property ourselves.”

I smiled despite the heaviness in my chest.

“Okay.”

After we hung up, I opened my email.

There was another message waiting.

This one was from the notary office.

They had reviewed the scanned copy I had provided.

They could prepare the replacement documents without my mother repeating the entire process.

I exhaled in relief.

At least Eleni hadn't managed to take that from us.

Then my phone buzzed again.

A message from an unknown number appeared.

“You should ask Kostas who paid for the hotel.”

I stared at the screen.

I already knew the answer was probably Kostas.

But I wanted proof.

I replied with one question.

“Who are you?”

The message was read almost immediately.

No answer came.

Instead, another photograph arrived.

It showed a credit card receipt from the resort.

The cardholder name was Kostas Costa.

The transaction date matched the weekend he had claimed to be away for work.

But there was something else on the receipt.

A second charge.

A jewelry store.

The same town.

The same date.

The description simply read, “Gold bracelet.”

I zoomed in on the receipt.

The purchase had been made at 4:18 p.m.

Hours before the hotel dinner.

I remembered that weekend clearly.

Kostas had told me he was working late.

He hadn't mentioned a resort.

He hadn't mentioned Eleni.

And he certainly hadn't mentioned buying jewelry.

I saved the photograph.

Then I received one final message from the unknown number.

“Ask Eleni where the bracelet is.”

I looked at the screen.

For the first time, I understood that the affair wasn't the whole story.

There were pieces of their life together that I had never even known existed.

And someone out there knew exactly where to find them.