One Night in Valeria - Chapter 40: Chapter 40
You are reading One Night in Valeria, Chapter 40: Chapter 40. Read more chapters of One Night in Valeria.
Jessica stared at the blinking cursor in the address bar.
threadbaretruth@shadowmail
She typed the message with trembling fingers.
> Subject: Are you Tatienne?
You knew my mother. You’re helping me now. I don’t want to expose you—I want to meet you.
Please. Just tell me why now. Why you came back.
— Jessica Hale
She hesitated before clicking Send, then whispered, “For her,” and pressed the key.
The message vanished into the void.
Now… she waited.
Across the city, August Hale’s office was filled with silence and tension thick enough to strangle. The walls were lined with discarded design mockups. His desk was bare except for a glossy photo of the Unwritten Summit venue, with thick red ink scrawled over it.
“She's taking everything we built and turning it against us,” August muttered. “They cheer for her like she’s a revolution, but she’s just a girl with an inheritance and a grudge.”
From the shadows near the door, Thorne Velar watched him with the cold stillness of a wolf before it bites.
“You failed to control her when you had the chance,” Thorne said. “Now we do it the old way.”
August looked up. “Meaning?”
Thorne placed a folder on the desk. Inside: falsified documents, doctored sketches, whispers of sabotage.
“We leak these anonymously,” Thorne continued. “Claim she used stolen designs. F
orge a timeline that says she repurposed Klara’s old work under a new name. Let the world question her authenticity. By the time she clears her name, the summit will be over.”
August smiled darkly.
“And Lineage will be dead.”
That same night, Jessica sat alone in the studio.
She hadn’t told Liam or Celeste about the message yet. Not until she knew for sure.
The reply came at 1:17 a.m.
> From: threadbaretruth@shadowmail
Subject: RE: Are you Tatienne?
Yes.
I was there the night Klara decided to disappear. I helped her hide the originals. I watched her sign a letter she never sent to you, Jessica.
I didn’t speak out then. I was afraid.
But I’m ready now.
Meet me. One hour. Discretion matters.
Bring no one.
Studio 17, East Ward Textile District. Third floor. Code: 8131.
— T.T.
Jessica grabbed her coat, heart pounding.
This could be a trap.
Or it could be the key to everything.
Studio 17 was a forgotten room above an abandoned mill. Dust coated the floors, but the electricity still worked. A single lamp burned in the corner beside shelves of fabric swatches dating back decades.
And there she stood.
Tatienne Tavares.
Older. Sharper. Her hair streaked with silver, eyes clear and weary.
“You look like her,” she said softly.
Jessica didn’t speak. Couldn’t. Her throat was tight.
“I couldn’t protect Klara in the end,” Tatienne went on. “But I can protect you.”
She handed over a small digital drive.
“This contains Klara’s final voice note. The real timeline. Her will. A confession August forged and a list of every transaction Thorne authorized in your name without your consent.”
Jessica’s breath caught.
“This is everything.”
“No,” Tatienne said. “This is your beginning."
threadbaretruth@shadowmail
She typed the message with trembling fingers.
> Subject: Are you Tatienne?
You knew my mother. You’re helping me now. I don’t want to expose you—I want to meet you.
Please. Just tell me why now. Why you came back.
— Jessica Hale
She hesitated before clicking Send, then whispered, “For her,” and pressed the key.
The message vanished into the void.
Now… she waited.
Across the city, August Hale’s office was filled with silence and tension thick enough to strangle. The walls were lined with discarded design mockups. His desk was bare except for a glossy photo of the Unwritten Summit venue, with thick red ink scrawled over it.
“She's taking everything we built and turning it against us,” August muttered. “They cheer for her like she’s a revolution, but she’s just a girl with an inheritance and a grudge.”
From the shadows near the door, Thorne Velar watched him with the cold stillness of a wolf before it bites.
“You failed to control her when you had the chance,” Thorne said. “Now we do it the old way.”
August looked up. “Meaning?”
Thorne placed a folder on the desk. Inside: falsified documents, doctored sketches, whispers of sabotage.
“We leak these anonymously,” Thorne continued. “Claim she used stolen designs. F
orge a timeline that says she repurposed Klara’s old work under a new name. Let the world question her authenticity. By the time she clears her name, the summit will be over.”
August smiled darkly.
“And Lineage will be dead.”
That same night, Jessica sat alone in the studio.
She hadn’t told Liam or Celeste about the message yet. Not until she knew for sure.
The reply came at 1:17 a.m.
> From: threadbaretruth@shadowmail
Subject: RE: Are you Tatienne?
Yes.
I was there the night Klara decided to disappear. I helped her hide the originals. I watched her sign a letter she never sent to you, Jessica.
I didn’t speak out then. I was afraid.
But I’m ready now.
Meet me. One hour. Discretion matters.
Bring no one.
Studio 17, East Ward Textile District. Third floor. Code: 8131.
— T.T.
Jessica grabbed her coat, heart pounding.
This could be a trap.
Or it could be the key to everything.
Studio 17 was a forgotten room above an abandoned mill. Dust coated the floors, but the electricity still worked. A single lamp burned in the corner beside shelves of fabric swatches dating back decades.
And there she stood.
Tatienne Tavares.
Older. Sharper. Her hair streaked with silver, eyes clear and weary.
“You look like her,” she said softly.
Jessica didn’t speak. Couldn’t. Her throat was tight.
“I couldn’t protect Klara in the end,” Tatienne went on. “But I can protect you.”
She handed over a small digital drive.
“This contains Klara’s final voice note. The real timeline. Her will. A confession August forged and a list of every transaction Thorne authorized in your name without your consent.”
Jessica’s breath caught.
“This is everything.”
“No,” Tatienne said. “This is your beginning."
End of One Night in Valeria Chapter 40. Continue reading Chapter 41 or return to One Night in Valeria book page.