CHAPTER 3: THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
The library fell silent.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The security guard's words seemed impossible.
"She says her name is… Isabella Hastings."
The silver locket slipped from Adrian's fingers and hit the wooden floor.
Clink.
The sound echoed through the room.
Mr. Collins turned pale.
Rosa looked confused.
But Adrian…
Adrian looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Because Isabella Hastings had been dead for twenty-five years.
At least, that was what everyone had been told.
His father had buried an empty coffin.
The newspapers had printed her obituary.
The family had mourned.
And then…
they had never spoken her name again.
"Bring her in," Adrian said quietly.
The guard hesitated.
"Sir… are you sure?"
"Bring her in."
The guard hurried away.
No one said a word.
A few moments later, footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Slow.
Uneven.
As if the person walking carried the weight of an entire lifetime.
Then the library doors opened.
An old woman stepped inside.
She looked to be in her seventies.
Her silver hair was tied neatly behind her head.
She wore a simple gray coat and carried an old leather bag.
But it wasn't her clothes that made Adrian's blood run cold.
It was her eyes.
Blue.
Exactly like his mother's.
Exactly like the woman in the old family photographs.
Mr. Collins covered his mouth.
"My God…"
The woman smiled sadly.
"Hello, Collins."
The old butler staggered backward.
Only one person had ever called him that.
"Miss Isabella…" he whispered.
Tears filled his eyes.
"It really is you."
Rosa looked from one face to another.
She had no idea what was happening.
Neither did Mia.
The little girl climbed off the couch and stared at the old woman.
Then she smiled.
"Grandma!"
Everyone froze.
The old woman opened her arms.
Mia ran straight into them.
The room erupted in shock.
Rosa stood up so quickly her chair fell over.
"Mia! What are you doing?"
The child looked confused.
"This is Grandma."
The old woman kissed the top of Mia's head.
"I've missed you, my little star."
Adrian felt his heart pounding.
"You know my daughter?" Rosa whispered.
The woman looked at her.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I know both of you."
Rosa took a step back.
"What?"
The woman slowly stood.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"Because I've been watching over you for four years."
Silence.
Rosa's face turned white.
"Who are you?"
The old woman smiled sadly.
"My name is Isabella Hastings."
She looked at Mia.
"And this little girl is my great-niece."
The room exploded.
"What?!" Rosa cried.
Adrian stared at her.
"You mean…"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Then she looked at the sleeping fire.
"And it's time the truth came out."
She sat down.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Finally, she lifted her eyes.
"Twenty-five years ago, I didn't die."
Adrian swallowed.
"What happened?"
"I ran."
"Why?"
She closed her eyes.
"Because your grandfather was going to kill me."
Silence.
The words hung in the air like smoke.
Adrian's face drained of color.
"What did you say?"
She opened her eyes again.
"Your grandfather was not the man everyone believed."
Mr. Collins looked terrified.
"Miss Isabella…"
"No, Collins. Enough lies."
She turned back to Adrian.
"I fell in love with a poor man."
"A mechanic named Miguel Delgado."
Rosa suddenly gasped.
Delgado.
Her last name.
Her hands began shaking.
"No…"
Isabella looked at her gently.
"Yes."
Tears rolled down Rosa's cheeks.
"Miguel was your father."
The world seemed to stop.
Rosa stared at her.
"I… what?"
"You are my daughter."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The fire crackled.
Somewhere in the distance, a clock ticked.
But nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Rosa's knees gave out.
She collapsed into a chair.
"No…"
Tears streamed down her face.
"My mother died when I was seventeen."
"You were told she died."
Isabella's voice broke.
"But I never did."
Rosa looked at her in disbelief.
"You abandoned me?"
"No!"
The old woman's eyes filled with tears.
"They took you from me."
"Who?"
"The Hastings family."
Adrian felt sick.
Isabella continued.
"When I became pregnant, my father was furious. He believed our family name would be ruined if I married a poor mechanic."
She wiped away a tear.
"He arranged an accident."
The room froze.
"Miguel died."
Rosa covered her mouth.
"No…"
"And they told everyone I had gone insane from grief."
"What happened to you?"
"They took my baby."
She looked at Rosa.
"They took you."
Rosa was crying openly now.
"I searched for you for years."
"Then why didn't you come back?"
"Because my father threatened to kill anyone who helped me."
She looked at Adrian.
"Even your mother knew the truth."
Adrian's eyes widened.
"My mother?"
She nodded.
"Eleanor helped me in secret."
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The missing locket.
The familiar eyes.
The strange connection.
"But why now?" Adrian asked.
"Why come back after all these years?"
Isabella looked at Mia.
"Because of her."
Everyone turned toward the little girl.
"I found Rosa four years ago."
Rosa blinked.
"You did?"
"I watched from a distance. I wanted to tell you the truth."
She smiled sadly.
"But then I saw how happy you were."
Her expression darkened.
"Until Daniel appeared."
Adrian froze.
"My brother?"
She nodded.
"He met Rosa by accident."
Rosa's eyes filled with tears.
"He never knew who I was."
"He didn't know you were his cousin."
The room fell silent.
A horrible realization slowly settled over everyone.
Daniel and Rosa…
were related.
Very closely related.
Yet neither of them had known.
"Oh God…" Rosa whispered.
Adrian sat down heavily.
This was impossible.
A nightmare.
Isabella looked heartbroken.
"I wanted to tell you immediately."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because Daniel disappeared before I could."
Silence.
Then—
Mia spoke.
"Where's Daddy?"
The question broke every heart in the room.
Rosa hugged her tightly.
Nobody answered.
Because Daniel Hastings had been declared dead two years ago.
But Isabella suddenly looked up.
"He isn't dead."
Everyone froze.
Adrian stood.
"What?"
She looked directly at him.
"Daniel is alive."
The room exploded.
"That's impossible!"
"No."
She reached into her leather bag.
Then she pulled out an envelope.
Old.
Wrinkled.
Addressed to her.
"My dear Aunt Isabella."
Adrian recognized the handwriting instantly.
Daniel's.
His heart nearly stopped.
She handed him the letter.
"It arrived three days ago."
With trembling hands, Adrian opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
He read it aloud.
"If you're reading this, I no longer have much time.
I made terrible mistakes.
I learned the truth about Rosa and our family too late.
There are people trying to kill me.
Do not trust anyone.
Especially not my brother's fiancée.
Vanessa knows everything."
Silence.
The letter slipped from Adrian's fingers.
Rosa's face turned white.
Mr. Collins looked horrified.
Mia hugged her rabbit.
And Adrian could think only one thing.
Vanessa.
His ex-fiancée.
The woman who had humiliated a child tonight.
The woman who somehow knew secrets buried for twenty-five years.
Then came the final line of the letter.
"I hid the proof where Father could never find it.
If I disappear, protect my daughter.
She is the true heir to the Hastings fortune."
The room went silent.
Every face slowly turned toward Mia.
The little girl blinked.
Then smiled innocently.
And at that exact moment—
The lights in the mansion suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
A scream echoed from somewhere upstairs.
Then came the sound of breaking glass.
May you like
And a man's voice shouted:
"She's here! Somebody took the child!"
