Free Web NovelChapter 25: Questions and Answers
The room became silent.
Victor Reyes sat frozen with a cup of tea in his hands. Across from him, Lucia Sterling watched him calmly and patiently.
For weeks, Victor had been the one asking questions. Digging and investigating. Now the situation had reversed.
And somehow, that felt far more dangerous.
"What exactly do you think you’ve discovered?"
Lucia’s question lingered in the air. Victor carefully placed his teacup down. Then, took a breath.
There was no point pretending anymore. Not after everything he had uncovered.
"I think the St. Claire and Sterling families have been connected for decades."
Lucia nodded. "That’s true."
Victor continued. "I think Matthew St. Claire remained involved in your family’s life long after Sterling Corporation collapsed."
Another nod. "Also true."
"I think Chris and Liliana have known each other since childhood."
Lucia smiled. "Very true."
Victor’s pulse increased. Every answer confirmed another piece of the puzzle. But the most important question remained.
The one question that had consumed him for weeks and refused to leave his mind.
Victor looked toward Liliana. She sat quietly beside the window. Listening. Watching. Her expression was unreadable.
Then he turned back toward Lucia.
"I think there was a promise."
For the first time, the old woman’s smile faded slightly but not completely.
Victor noticed immediately.
"A promise made between the two families."
The atmosphere shifted. Emily looked confused while Liliana froze almost imperceptibly.
But Grandmother Lucia remained calm.
Yet Victor could tell he had touched something important. Something real.
After a few moment, Lucia sighed softly.
"You’re a persistent young man."
Victor accepted that as a compliment.
Back in Aurelia City, Matthew St. Claire was receiving updates.
Henry stood inside the office, holding a tablet.
"The meeting has started."
Matthew remained seated behind his desk with an unreadable expression.
"What are they discussing?"
Henry checked the report. "The family history."
Matthew nodded. Nothing unexpected. The dangerous questions would come later. He already knew that.
Henry hesitated.
"Should we intervene?"
Matthew looked out the window toward the city skyline and the endless sea of buildings.
Then slowly shook his head. "No."
Henry remained silent.
Matthew continued. "Lucia can handle herself."
That statement carried absolute certainty. Because it was true. Lucia Sterling had survived tragedy, loss and financial collapse.
It was twenty years of hardship and one journalist wasn’t going to defeat her.
Back in Sterling Village, Victor leaned forward. The notebook resting on his lap remained untouched.
He wasn’t writing anymore. He was listening because something told him that what came next mattered a lot.
Lucia folded her hands calmly. Then looked toward the garden visible through the window.
For a moment, she seemed lost in memory.
"Edward and Matthew were best friends."
Victor nodded. That part he already knew.
Lucia continued. "The kind of friends who trusted each other completely."
A faint smile appeared. "They built companies together." She paused for a second.
"Supported each other. Argued constantly."
Emily frowned. "Argued?"
Lucia laughed. "Oh yes."
Even Liliana smiled.
The old woman continued. "They disagreed about everything. Business, sports, politics, even food."
Victor found himself smiling despite the seriousness of the conversation.
For the first time, the people in his investigation felt real and not just names in old newspaper articles.
Lucia’s expression softened.
"Then the children were born."
Victor listened carefully.
"Chris and Liliana."
The names felt strangely significant together.
Lucia smiled faintly. "The two families celebrated for weeks."
Emily immediately interrupted. "That sounds excessive."
"It was." Lucia looked amused. "Very excessive."
Even Victor laughed. The tension eased slightly because the important questions still remained.
Then Victor spoke carefully. "Mrs. Sterling."
Lucia looked at him.
"The photograph."
The old woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"What photograph?"
"The one from thirty years ago."
Understanding appeared immediately.
The photograph of the two couples with Vanessa Sterling’s handwritten note.
Future in-laws.
Victor watched her reaction carefully. Then asked. "What did it mean?"
Even Emily stopped talking.
Lucia looked down at her tea..Then smiled sadly.
"A joke."
Victor blinked.."What?"
"A joke."
The answer surprised him.
Lucia continued.
"Edward used to say that if Matthew had a son and he had a daughter..." The old woman laughed softly. "They should marry one day."
Emily nearly choked. "What?"
Lucia nodded. "They thought it was hilarious."
Victor’s heartbeat accelerated.
Because suddenly, everything made sense.
Yet something still felt incomplete.
Something important remained missing.
Victor glanced toward Liliana. She had become unusually quiet. More quiet than before.
Then another realization struck him.
Slowly, carefully, he asked. "Did that joke ever become serious?"
The room froze.
Emily stared at her grandmother, waiting for her to answer.
Liliana stopped breathing or at least it looked that way.
Victor immediately knew that the question mattered a lot.
Lucia stared at him for several moments. It was long and heavy.
Then she smiled calmly. A grandmother’s smile. A smile that revealed absolutely nothing.
"Mr. Reyes."
Victor straightened. "Yes?"
"You’ve spent so much time looking into the past."
He frowned. The answer wasn’t what he expected.
Lucia continued.."You should be careful."
"Why?"
The old woman looked toward the garden again.
"Because sometimes people become so focused on solving mysteries that they forget something important."
Victor remained silent. Waiting.
Then Lucia finished.."Not every story belongs to the public."
The words settled heavily inside the room.
No one spoke because everyone understood what she meant, especially Victor.
The conversation ended shortly afterward. Not because Victor lacked questions.
Quite the opposite, he had hundreds. But Lucia had answered enough. And revealed enough for one day.
As he stood near the front door preparing to leave, Victor glanced back one final time.
Lucia sat calmly in her chair.
Emily remained suspicious while looking at him.
Liliana stood near the window, quiet as always. Also, watching him.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Victor suddenly remembered the funeral photograph.
The little girl in pigtails. The orphan and the heir to a fallen family.
The woman whose life he was investigating.
And for the first time, a small amount of guilt appeared because this wasn’t just a story anymore. These were real people.
Real lives..Real consequences. Yet despite that realization, his instincts continued screaming the same thing.
Something was still hidden. It was something important. Something huge.
As Victor stepped outside and walked toward his car, he made a decision.
He wasn’t finished. Not even close.
Because Lucia Sterling had answered many questions today. But she had never denied the most important one.
Not once.
And on the biggest arena in the city, Chris St. Claire stood on a concert stage preparing for the grandest performance of his career.
Unaware that a journalist had just come closer than ever to uncovering the truth.
A truth hidden behind more than twenty years of friendship.
Five years of marriage. And a promise neither family had ever intended to break.
