Chapter 6: The Life Someone Forged For Me
The document on Adrian’s phone didn’t make sense.
That was the only thought my brain could hold.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Not even betrayal.
Just confusion.
Because there are certain things you believe cannot happen.
Someone can cheat on you.
Someone can lie to you.
Someone can break your heart.
But someone cannot secretly buy property in your name.
Not without you knowing.
Not without your signature.
Not without leaving a trail.
Except somehow, there was a trail.
And it led straight to me.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered.
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at the screen again.
Then at the apartment around us.
Like he was seeing it differently now.
“What?””
His eyes moved toward the bedroom.
“Cole wasn’t hiding this apartment from you.””
I frowned.
“Then what was he doing?””
“He was hiding it for you.””
I stared at him.
“That doesn’t make any sense.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“It doesn’t.””
Tessa sat down on the edge of my bed.
She looked exhausted.
“I told you,” she whispered.
I turned toward her.
“Told me what?””
“That Cole wasn’t normal.””
The words made me angry.
“Don’t.””
She looked up.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t get to suddenly become the person who warns me about him.””
She looked down.
“I know I don’t.””
That answer stopped me.
Because I expected an excuse.
A defense.
Something.
Instead, she just accepted it.
“I made a mistake,” she said.
I laughed bitterly.
“A mistake?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I know what I did.””
“No, Tessa.””
I shook my head.
“You know what you did to me.””
The room went quiet.
“You don’t know what it feels like to stand in that hotel room and realize the two people you trusted most were laughing behind your back.””
She flinched.
“We weren’t laughing.””
“That’s not the point.””
I walked toward the window.
The city lights blurred.
“I spent five months planning a wedding while you two were having an affair.””
“I know.””
“You wore the dress I helped you choose to meet him.””
Her face changed.
Because she knew exactly what I meant.
“You remember that?””
“How could I forget?””
The room became silent.
Then Adrian interrupted.
“We need to focus.””
I looked at him.
“Focus?””
“Yes.””
He held up his phone.
“This property issue is bigger than the affair.””
I stared at him.
“Explain.””
He walked toward the table and placed several documents down.
“I checked the records.””
“And?””
“The apartment was purchased under your identity.””
“How?””
“Someone created a digital signature.””
My stomach tightened.
“That’s illegal.””
“Yes.””
“Then why isn’t anyone doing anything?””
Adrian looked at me.
“Because nobody knows yet.””
I stared.
“What?””
“Whoever did this hasn’t been exposed.””
I felt a chill.
“Why?””
“Because they’re waiting.””
“For what?””
Adrian didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
I already knew.
The wedding.
Three days away.
Everything was scheduled.
Everything was prepared.
Everything was almost finished.
My name.
My reputation.
My money.
My future.
All tied to a marriage I no longer wanted.
“What was Cole planning?””
Adrian looked at the documents.
“I think he wanted to make you responsible for something.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“I don’t know.””
Again.
That phrase.
But this time, I believed him.
Because he looked as confused as I felt.
My phone buzzed.
Another message.
From Cole.
I didn’t want to open it.
But I did.
*You need to talk to me before Adrian ruins everything.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
*He’s not helping you. He’s trying to use you.*
I looked at Adrian.
“He says you’re using me.””
Adrian nodded.
“I expected that.””
“Why?””
“Because it’s what he does.””
I studied him.
“You really hate your brother.””
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
“I don’t hate him.””
“Then what?””
He looked away.
“I’m disappointed.””
The answer surprised me.
Because hate was easier.
Hate meant you were free.
Disappointment meant you still cared.
“You’re his brother.””
“Yes.””
“And you’re helping me destroy him.””
“No.””
Adrian looked directly at me.
“I’m helping you see him clearly.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Tessa quietly said:
“I know where the apartment is.””
I turned.
“What?””
“The hidden apartment.””
Adrian looked at her.
“How?””
“Because Cole took me there once.””
My chest tightened.
“You went there?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
She swallowed.
“The first month.””
The first month.
When I was probably still telling everyone how lucky I was.
When I was probably still choosing invitations.
When I was probably still defending Cole when people said wedding planning seemed stressful.
“What was there?””
Tessa looked uncomfortable.
“Nothing.””
“Nothing?””
“No furniture. No decorations.””
She paused.
“Just boxes.””
“What kind of boxes?””
She looked at Adrian.
“I didn’t know then.””
“And now?””
Her voice dropped.
“Documents.””
My heart sank.
“What documents?””
“I don’t know.””
“You saw them.””
“I saw his name.””
Adrian stepped forward.
“Take us there.””
Tessa shook her head.
“No.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because if Cole finds out I told you…”
She stopped.
“Finds out what?””
She looked at me.
“He threatened me.””
The words hung in the air.
I blinked.
“What?””
Tessa started crying.
“After you found us, I thought he would choose me.””
I said nothing.
“Because that’s what he told me.””
Her voice cracked.
“He said you were just a chapter he needed to close.””
My hands curled into fists.
“But when you walked in…”
She looked down.
“He didn’t look at me.””
I swallowed.
“He looked scared.””
“Yes.””
She wiped her face.
“And later, when I asked him what we were going to do, he changed.””
“How?””
“He told me I should be grateful.””
My stomach turned.
“For what?””
“For the time he gave me.””
The room went silent.
“He said I was useful.””
The word echoed.
Useful.
Not loved.
Not chosen.
Useful.
I looked at my sister.
For the first time since the hotel, I saw something different.
Not the person who took my fiancé.
A person who had been manipulated too.
Still responsible.
Still guilty.
But not the mastermind.
“Where is the apartment?”” Adrian asked again.
This time, Tessa nodded.
“Downtown.””
“Address.””
She gave it.
Adrian immediately grabbed his coat.
“We go now.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because if Cole knows we found the records, he’ll move everything.””
“Everything?””
“Yes.””
I looked around my apartment.
At my life.
At the place that suddenly felt like a stranger’s home.
“What if we’re too late?””
Adrian stopped at the door.
Then he looked back.
“Emma.””
“What?””
“Cole has spent months building a version of reality where nobody believes you.””
I stayed silent.
“He made you doubt yourself.””
My throat tightened.
“But now he knows something.””
“What?””
“That you’re finally looking back.””
The three of us left the apartment.
No one spoke during the drive.
When we reached the building, Tessa pointed toward the entrance.
“Third floor.””
The hallway was dark.
The kind of dark that made every sound feel louder.
Adrian unlocked the door with the key Tessa had kept.
I wondered why she still had it.
I wondered how many secrets existed between people who were supposed to love me.
The apartment was empty.
Exactly as she described.
No furniture.
No pictures.
No personal items.
Just boxes.
Hundreds of them.
My heart started beating faster.
Adrian walked toward the nearest box.
He opened it.
Inside were folders.
He pulled one out.
Then another.
Then another.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He didn’t answer.
“Adrian.””
He handed me the folder.
I opened it.
The first page was a bank record.
The second was a legal document.
The third was a photograph.
My photograph.
But not from the hotel.
Not from my apartment.
From years ago.
Before I met Cole.
I looked up.
“Why does he have these?””
Adrian’s face was pale.
Then he reached into the box and pulled out one final folder.
The label on it made my blood freeze.
Because it wasn’t my name.
It wasn’t Cole’s.
It wasn’t Tessa’s.
It was a name I hadn’t heard in years.
A name from my past.
A name I thought was buried forever.
Adrian whispered:
“Emma…”
I looked at the folder.
And for the first time that night, I felt something worse than betrayal.
Fear.
May you like
Because written across the front were the words:
*The Bennett Family Secret.*
