“Let’s go home,” he whispered.
THE REVEAL
Back in the mansion, Elena helped him into the bedroom.
“Should I prepare your tea?” she asked gently.
“No.”
His voice had changed—deep, smooth, magnetic.
“Elena… look at me.”
He stood up from the wheelchair.
Her breath caught.
“You can walk?”
“There’s a lot I’ve never shown you.”
He reached behind his neck and peeled away a thin layer.
Then another.
A silicone mask came off.
A heavy fat suit fell away.
A wig dropped to the floor.
Before her stood a man in his early thirties—tall, muscular, strikingly handsome.
Hector Valdez was gone.
Standing there was Adrian Valdez.
Elena collapsed onto the bed in shock.
“Who… who are you?”
He knelt before her, holding her hands.
“It’s still me,” he said softly. “I was tired of being loved for my looks and money. I wanted someone who could love me when I had nothing.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“You defended me when you thought I was a monster. That’s how I knew.”
He smiled.
“You didn’t fall in love with my face. You fell in love with my soul.”
Elena embraced him—not because of what he revealed—
—but because of what they had already built.
EPILOGUE
The next morning, headlines exploded.