CHAPTER 1 The Woman Who Returned
The city had buried Elena Moretti three years ago.
Tonight, Elena Moretti returned to bury the city.
The black car stopped outside the gates of the Moretti estate just after midnight.
For a moment, Elena remained inside.
She stared through the tinted window at the enormous mansion ahead of her. The tall iron gates. The marble fountain. The rows of white roses her mother had always loved.
Everything looked exactly the same.
That was the problem.
Elena slowly lifted her hand and looked at the delicate diamond ring on her finger.
It was not her engagement ring.
That ring had been taken from her three years ago.
Along with her name.
Her family.
Her future.
Her life.
A soft smile touched her lips.
“Are you sure about this?” the driver asked.
Elena turned her gaze toward him.
She was dressed in a simple cream-coloured dress. Her long dark hair fell over one shoulder, and her expression was so gentle that anyone looking at her would have thought she was harmless.
A fragile woman returning home after years of suffering.
A woman who had come back to forgive.
Elena smiled.
“Of course.”
The driver hesitated. “You could still leave.”
“I know.”
“Then why come back?”
Elena looked at the mansion again.
Behind those walls, the people who had destroyed her life were sleeping peacefully.
Her father.
Her mother.
Her sister.
And the man she had once loved.
A man who had watched her life fall apart and had done nothing to stop it.
Elena's smile disappeared.
“Because,” she said softly, “I have been away for long enough.”
The gates opened.
The car slowly drove into the estate.
No one knew that Elena Moretti was alive.
For three years, the world had believed she was dead.
There had been no body.
No funeral.
No grave.
But her family had still held a funeral for her.
They had cried.
They had mourned.
They had told everyone that Elena had been a troubled young woman who had brought shame upon the Moretti name.
They had told the world that she had disappeared after being accused of a terrible crime.
And then, when she was never found, they had decided she must have died.
Elena had watched all of it.
From a distance.
She had watched her mother cry in front of cameras.
She had watched her father give interviews.
She had watched Damian Voss stand beside her family with a solemn expression on his face.
Her fiancé.
The man who had once promised to love her forever.
The man who had given evidence against her.
The man who had looked her in the eyes and said:
“I saw Elena do it.”
The memory returned so suddenly that Elena's fingers tightened around the edge of her dress.
She closed her eyes.
Three years ago.
One night.
One betrayal.
That was all it had taken to destroy everything.
The car stopped in front of the mansion.
Elena stepped out.
The cool night air touched her face.
She looked up at the house.
A light was still burning in one of the upstairs windows.
Someone was awake.
Interesting.
Elena walked towards the front door.
Every step was calm.
Every step was controlled.
But deep inside her chest, something old and angry stirred.
The door opened before she could knock.
An elderly housekeeper stood on the other side.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
The woman's eyes travelled over Elena's face.
Then her lips parted.
The colour drained from her face.
“Miss…”
Elena smiled gently.
“Good evening, Mrs. Bell.”
The old woman stared at her.
Her hands began to tremble.
“No…”
Elena tilted her head slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
“You…”
The woman took a step backwards.
“You can't be…”
Elena's smile became softer.
“I'm sorry. Have we met before?”
Mrs. Bell stared at her as though she had seen a ghost.
And perhaps she had.
Because Elena Moretti had died three years ago.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
Before the housekeeper could say anything else, footsteps echoed from inside the mansion.
A woman's voice followed.
“Who is at the door?”
Elena recognised the voice immediately.
Her mother.
Lucia Moretti.
Three years.
Three years since Elena had heard that voice.
Three years since her mother had looked at her with tears in her eyes and said:
“I don't know what happened to my daughter.”
Three years since that same woman had stood in court and refused to defend her.
Elena's expression remained gentle.
Lucia appeared at the end of the hallway.
She was wearing a silk robe, her dark hair perfectly styled despite the late hour.
Her eyes landed on Elena.
For one second, the entire world stopped.
Lucia stared.
Elena smiled.
“Hello, Mother.”
Lucia's face went completely white.
The glass in her hand slipped.
It hit the marble floor.
And shattered.
The sound echoed through the mansion.
From the staircase, another figure appeared.
A young woman in a white silk dress.
Seraphina Moretti.
Elena's younger sister.
The family's perfect daughter.
The daughter who had taken everything from her.
Seraphina looked at Elena.
Then she screamed.
“No!”
Elena slowly turned towards her.
Seraphina stumbled backwards.
“You're dead.”
Elena's eyes remained fixed on her.
“Yes,” she said softly.
Then she smiled.
“That's what I heard.”
Footsteps suddenly thundered from the upper floor.
A man's voice rang through the mansion.
“What is happening?”
Elena looked towards the staircase.
And then she saw him.
Damian Voss.
Her former fiancé.
The man who had watched her fall.
The man who had allowed the world to believe she was dead.
For three years, Elena had imagined this moment.
She had imagined him falling to his knees.
She had imagined him begging for forgiveness.
She had imagined herself screaming.
But now that he was standing in front of her…
She felt nothing.
Damian stared at her.
His face slowly lost all colour.
“Elena?”
She looked at him.
Then she gave him the same soft smile she had given everyone else.
“Hello, Damian.”
The mansion fell silent.
No one breathed.
No one moved.
Elena stepped inside.
She looked at the people who had destroyed her.
Her family.
Her former fiancé.
The people who believed she was dead.
And then she smiled.
“Did you miss me?”
End of Chapter One. 🖤
