“Your mother loved you.”
Elena looked at the photograph again.
She wanted to remember.
Not the coffin.
Not the darkness.
Her mother.
Her smile.
Her voice.
Anything.
At noon, the DNA samples were collected.
The result would take forty-eight hours.
But Richard Laurent wasn't waiting.
That afternoon, Elena's employer received a phone call.
She was fired.
The agency was told she had assaulted a client.
Then her bank account was frozen.
Her apartment lease was suddenly terminated.
Someone reported her for using false identification.
Within six hours, Elena had lost her job, her home, and access to her money.
Daniel stared at the messages.
“They're trying to erase you.”
Elena looked at him.
“Again.”
“Yes.”
She took a deep breath.
“Then we stop running.”
That evening, she contacted a lawyer.
His name was Adrian Cross.
He had represented corporate whistleblowers and inheritance cases for years.
He listened to Elena's story without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked one question.
“Do you have evidence?”
Elena placed the photograph on the table.
Then Daniel placed the old records beside it.
Then came the video of Vanessa hitting her.
Adrian watched it.
Then watched Elena's response.
He smiled faintly.
“You know the slap will become the most important video in this case.”
Elena frowned.
“Why?”
“Because everyone saw the first assault.”
“And the second?”
“Everyone saw that too.”
He leaned back.
“Your enemies are going to call you violent.”
“They will.”
“But the video begins with Vanessa attacking you.”
Adrian paused.
“That makes you the person everyone wants to defend.”
Elena looked at him.
“What should I do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Let them talk.”
He pushed the photograph toward her.
“Because when the DNA result arrives, we won't need to shout.”
He tapped the table.
“We'll let the evidence speak.”
Richard Laurent called a private meeting.
His lawyers.
His accountants.
The board members.
Vanessa.
And three people who had known about the accident twenty years earlier.
He placed a document on the table.
“We need to settle this before the DNA test comes back.”
One board member asked:
“What exactly are you proposing?”
Richard answered:
“A settlement.”
“For her?”
“For everyone.”
Vanessa looked confused.
“What settlement?”
Richard looked at her.
“If she is Aurelia, we make her disappear quietly.”
Vanessa stared.
“What do you mean?”
“Financial compensation.”
“She gets money?”
“She gets enough to leave.”