My Husband Is An International Idol

Chapter 22: The Concert Approaches

Victor Reyes was getting closer. He could feel it.

The evidence scattered across his hotel room no longer looked like random pieces of information.

They looked like a complete story.

Photographs covered the desk. Newspaper clippings filled entire folders.

The names, dates, locations and connections. Everything pointed toward the same conclusion.

Chris St. Claire and Liliana Sterling had known each other for most of their lives.

The question was no longer whether they were connected. The question was how deep.

Victor leaned back in his chair.

His eyes drifted toward the timeline hanging on the wall.

Twenty years ago.

Ten years ago.

Five years ago.

Present day.

The pattern was obvious.

Repeated encounters, connections and appearances. Too many to dismiss as coincidence.

Yet something was still missing. One final piece and undeniable fact.

Victor tapped his pen against the desk, thinking.

Then suddenly, his phone rang. It was an unknown number.

Victor answered immediately. "Hello?"

Silence.

Then a familiar voice. The anonymous source again.

Victor sat upright. "What do you have for me?"

The source hesitated. Then spoke quietly.

"You’re running out of time."

Victor frowned. "What does that mean?"

"The concert."

Victor frowned. "What about it?"

"The entire country’s attention will be there."

Silence.

The source continued. "If a secret exists, that’s where it’ll matter most."

Then the line disconnected.

Victor stared at the phone. Confused and concerned.

And more determined than ever.

Meanwhile, inside the largest concert venue in the capital, absolute chaos ruled.

The workers ran across the stage. The technicians adjusted lighting systems. Dancers rehearsed routines. Managers shouted instructions.

The atmosphere resembled a very expensive battlefield.

Chris stood at center stage holding a microphone, sweating. Exhausted.

The rehearsal had already lasted nine hours. And showed no signs of ending.

The concert was three days away. After months of preparation, rehearsals and planning.

Everything was finally coming together. Their homecoming concert.

Unfortunately, Chris felt approximately ninety percent dead.

His manager approached carrying a tablet.

Chris narrowed his eyes. "No."

The manager straightened. "I haven’t said anything."

"No."

"You don’t know what I was going to say."

"I know enough."

The manager sighed. Then he held up the tablet.

"Your mother called."

Chris immediately looked concerned. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Then why is she calling?"

The manager smiled. "She wants to know whether you’ve been eating properly."

Chris closed his eyes.

But he knew something happened. His mom wouldn’t call him just to ask about his eating behavior.

Several hours later, Chris finally escaped.

The moment he arrived at his apartment, he collapsed onto the sofa completely exhausted.

His phone buzzed. One message. Then another. And another.

He checked the sender.

Liliana.

Immediately, he sat up. Somehow, miraculously, his energy returned.

The first message contained a photograph.

Chris opened it then laughed.

The image showed Grandmother Sterling, holding a smartphone looking deeply confused.

The caption read:

Grandma accidentally joined a fan group dedicated to herself.

Chris nearly dropped the phone.

A second photograph followed. This one showed Emily laughing so hard she appeared unable to breathe.

Chris shook his head. Some things never changed.

Then he called immediately.

Back in Sterling Village, Liliana answered on the second ring.

"You saw it?"

Chris laughed. "I can’t believe this happened."

"Oh, it happened."

In the background, Emily could still be heard laughing very loudly.

"What exactly happened?" Chris asked.

Liliana smiled.

"Emily was showing Grandma fan comments."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It was."

Chris immediately agreed.

Liliana continued. "Then Grandma accidentally pressed something."

Chris already knew this would end badly.

"And?"

"She joined the fan club."

Silence.

Then Chris started laughing again.

The sound warmed her heart. More than it should. Far more than she cared to admit.

For several moments, they simply talked.

About nothing important. And somehow for them everything was important.

The concert, the garden, Emily’s latest disaster and Grandma’s accidental internet fame.

The distance between them felt smaller.

Then Chris asked quietly. "You’re still coming, right?"

Liliana smiled. "The concert?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

A brief silence followed.

Then Chris admitted something. "I was worried."

She frowned. "Worried?"

"What if something came up?"

Liliana laughed softly. "Chris."

"Hm?"

"You gave my cousins front-row tickets."

"Oh."

The realization struck immediately.

"Right."

Neither needed further explanation.

Nothing on earth would prevent her cousins from attending. Absolutely nothing.

The following day, Sterling Village received an unexpected visitor.

Victor Reyes again.

The journalist stepped out of his vehicle and looked toward the familiar countryside.

The same quiet roads, same peaceful atmosphere. The same village where every clue seemed to begin.

This time, however, he wasn’t searching for Chris.

He was searching for history. And his investigation led him toward one of the oldest buildings in town.

A small historical archive run by an elderly caretaker. The kind of place most people ignored. But Victor loved places like this because forgotten places often contained forgotten truths.

The caretaker smiled politely. "Can I help you?"

Victor nodded. "I’m looking for information about the Sterling Family."

The old man froze. Only briefly but Victor noticed immediately.

The caretaker adjusted his glasses. "That’s an old name."

Victor smiled. "Exactly."

The old man remained silent.

Then slowly walked toward a storage room. "Wait here."

Victor’s pulse accelerated.

Minutes later, the caretaker returned carrying a very dusty box. And very old.

The kind of box journalists dream about.

Victor carefully opened it. Inside rested photographs, letters, records, and documents.

Pieces of history.

And one photograph immediately caught his attention.

His breath caught.

It was a family photograph taken decades ago.

The Sterlings and the St. Claires. Together.

Not at a funeral. Not at a public event. And not at a business function.

It was a private gathering. A family gathering to be exact.

The kind attended only by people who were genuinely close.

Victor stared. Then turned the photograph over. Something was written on the back.

A handwritten note. Old and faded. Yet still readable.

Victor slowly read the words. And froze completely.

Because the message contained six words capable of changing everything.

"To our future in-laws, with love."

Silence filled the room.

Victor stared then read it again. And again.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

Future in-laws.

The words echoed endlessly inside his mind.

Suddenly every clue. Every photograph, timeline and connection began aligning perfectly.

Victor looked up from the photograph. His hands trembled slightly.

For the first time since beginning this investigation, he believed he knew the truth. And if he was right, the secret marriage of Chris St. Claire and Liliana Sterling was no longer safe.

Because the final thread protecting it was beginning to snap.