Secrets Are Never Buried
The envelope sat unopened on Lara's kitchen counter for hours.
She had stared at it through the steam of her untouched tea, her fingers twitching with the urge to tear it open… and the fear of what she might find inside.
Some truths, once revealed, don't just change lives.
They destroy them.
But she hadn't come back to play safe.
She had come back for answers.
For justice.
And for the truth Ethan Lu had buried six feet beneath silence.
Her hands moved almost on their own. She broke the seal, unfolded the documents inside, and felt her chest tighten.
Wire transfers.
Private contracts.
Shell companies.
One name repeated again and again.
Yu Holdings.
A shadow company tied to offshore assets — and hidden losses — from a failed charity Ethan had once proudly paraded as "Lara's Legacy Fund."
Her fingers trembled as she flipped through the pages.
It hadn't been an accident.
That night, the crash… the bankruptcy… her exile…
It had all been orchestrated.
To make her disappear.
Her blood ran cold.
Ethan hadn't just walked away from their marriage.
He had erased her.
Lara paced the room, the documents clutched tightly in her hand like a weapon.
How many times had she blamed herself for the collapse of her life?
For the charity scandal.
For the investors who turned on her.
For Ethan's sudden coldness… and eventual disappearance.
But now it was clear. He hadn't just left.
He had set the fire — then stood outside and watched her burn.
She laughed, bitter and sharp, the sound echoing off the empty walls of her apartment.
"Of course," she whispered. "It was never about love. It was about power. Control."
Every kind word, every gentle touch from their marriage replayed in her mind, now tainted.
She had loved a mask.
A performance.
And the man behind it?
A liar.
A coward.
A destroyer.
She dropped into the chair beside the window and stared out at the glittering skyline of the city — Ethan's city. His kingdom.
He thought she was gone. Forgotten. That she would never uncover the truth.
But she had.
And now?
She wasn't just going to take her life back.
She was going to take everything.
A sharp knock at the door pulled Lara out of her spiral.
She blinked, heart thudding. No one ever came here unannounced.
She stood slowly, folding the documents back into the envelope and sliding it beneath a stack of old design books. Then she moved to the door.
Peering through the peephole, her breath caught.
Ethan.
Her pulse thundered in her ears. What was he doing here? How did he know where she lived?
She hesitated only a second before opening the door halfway.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice low, tight.
He looked different — less guarded, somehow. But his eyes, those cold obsidian eyes, still held secrets.
"I thought we should talk," he said.
"You had years to talk," she replied. "You chose silence."
"I made mistakes."
She almost laughed in his face. "That's a poetic way of describing betrayal."
He exhaled. "There are things you don't know, Lara."
She leaned against the frame. "And things you've worked hard to make sure I never find out."
His jaw tensed. "Just give me five minutes."
She studied him, her mind already racing.
Was this a trap? A distraction? Or something more dangerous — a flicker of remorse?
Finally, she stepped aside.
"Five minutes," she said. "Not one second more."
As he crossed the threshold, she glanced at the hidden envelope.
And silently promised it:
If he lies again, I'll burn him with it.