Chapter 8 - The Last Shadow
Three months later, the Hale family had begun to settle into a life that felt almost impossibly peaceful.
Sophie was thriving.
Her laughter echoed through the halls of the French villa every morning, and she had developed an obsession with butterflies, strawberries, and making Marcus chase her around the garden.
Evelyn had slowly learned how to sleep without waking at every unfamiliar sound.
For the first time in years, she no longer felt like she was waiting for something terrible to happen.
But peace, Victor had learned, was something you protected.
One evening, he returned from a business meeting in Monaco with a troubled expression.
Evelyn immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Victor loosened his tie and placed a thin brown envelope on the table.
“We received a letter from Arthur.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
“Arthur?”
Victor nodded.
“He's appealing the charges.”
She stared at the envelope.
“What could he possibly appeal? The evidence was overwhelming.”
“It was.”
Victor opened the envelope.
“There was something else inside.”
He slid a photograph toward her.
Evelyn looked at it.
Her face went pale.
It showed Arthur standing beside a young woman outside a Chicago hospital.
A woman Evelyn recognized immediately.
“That's…”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“My mother.”
Evelyn stared at the photograph in disbelief.
“But she died.”
“That is what we were told.”
Silence filled the room.
Victor picked up the accompanying letter.
“Apparently, my mother survived the fire.”
Evelyn's hands trembled.
“Where is she now?”
Victor looked toward the dark window.
“We don't know.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
“What?”
A pause.
“Send me the location.”
He ended the call.
Evelyn stood.
“Victor?”
He looked at her.
“They found her.”
“Where?”
Victor's voice dropped.
“Chicago.”
For the first time since they had arrived in France, Evelyn felt the darkness returning.
But Victor reached for her hand.
This time, neither of them was alone.
“We face it together,” he said.
Evelyn squeezed his fingers.
“Together.”
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Across the ocean, an old secret was waiting.
And it was not finished with them yet.
