Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Name
Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Name
The black envelope remained untouched on the table for almost a minute.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then Vivienne grabbed it.
"What did you show him?"
Adrian looked at his mother.
His face was pale.
"You knew."
Vivienne froze.
"What are you talking about?"
"You knew who she was."
The accusation in his voice was different.
It wasn't anger.
It was betrayal.
Vivienne slowly placed the document down.
"She was supposed to be powerless."
Adrian stared at her.
"Powerless?"
He picked up the papers again.
"Mariana Vale is the founder of Vale International."
Silence.
The same company that had quietly purchased dozens of struggling businesses across the country.
The same company investors fought to work with.
The same company whose mysterious CEO had never appeared publicly.
Adrian swallowed.
"No..."
Vivienne's expression remained cold.
"She hid behind another name."
"Why?"
"Because she wanted to know if you loved her."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
A sound without humor.
"She wanted to know if I loved her?"
He looked around the mansion.
"The woman I humiliated. The woman my mother treated like a servant. The woman you both tried to control..."
His voice lowered.
"She owned the company that saved this family."
Three years earlier, the Valmont empire had been collapsing.
Their luxury hotels were losing money.
Their investments were failing.
Banks were preparing to seize their properties.
Then suddenly, an anonymous investor appeared.
A private company bought their debts.
Saved their businesses.
And kept their name alive.
Everyone believed it was luck.
It wasn't.
It was Mariana.
But she never told them.
Because she wanted the truth.
She wanted to know who they were without money.
Without power.
Without fear.
And now she had her answer.
Vivienne walked toward the window.
"She cannot destroy us."
Adrian looked at her.
"She already started."
"No."
Vivienne turned.
"Because she doesn't understand the Valmont family."
A slow smile appeared.
"We survive."
But neither of them noticed the security camera above the doorway.
Or the small red light blinking.
Recording everything.
Mariana sat in the backseat of a black sedan parked outside the estate.
She watched the mansion through the tinted window.
The driver glanced at her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Mariana looked at the place where she had spent five years of her life.
The place where she had been ignored.
Belittled.
Controlled.
"Yes."
The driver handed her a tablet.
"Phase one is complete."
Mariana looked at the screen.
Financial reports.
Legal documents.
Ownership transfers.
Everything.
"Good."
"Phase two begins tomorrow."
The driver hesitated.
"Mariana..."
She looked up.
"Yes?"
"Are you really going to erase the Valmont name?"
For the first time that night, her expression softened.
"No."
She looked back at the mansion.
"I'm going to save the innocent people carrying it."
A pause.
"And remove the ones who poisoned it."
The car slowly pulled away.
But Mariana didn't know something.
Inside the mansion...
someone had been waiting for her return.
May you like
Someone who knew the truth about her past.
Someone who knew the one secret Mariana had never revealed.
