Chapter 351 Shut Up

Chapter 351 Shut Up
Adrian stood up immediately.

The chair scraped sharply against the polished floor as he pushed it backward, his sudden movement making Rebecca straighten in her seat.

"What is going on?" she asked, looking from Adrian to the man who had just entered the room.

Adrian didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the man, and something in his expression made Rebecca's stomach tighten.

Fear.

It was there, buried beneath his anger.

And Adrian was not a man who frightened easily.

"Sit down, Rebecca," he finally said.

His voice was firm.

"I'm coming back."

Rebecca frowned.

"Adrian—"

"Just stay here."

There was something almost desperate in the way he said it.

Rebecca stared at him, confused.

He had spent the past week keeping her away from everyone, insisting that it was for her safety. He had never explained exactly what he was protecting her from, and now, the moment this person, whoever he was appeared, Adrian looked more unsettled than she had ever seen him.

Rebecca's eyes shifted toward the lanky man and he seemed worried just as much as Adrian.

There was something about their expression that immediately made Rebecca uncomfortable.

She couldn't explain why.

Adrian turned toward him.

"Come with me," he said and the lanky man followed him.

Adrian walked out of the dining room, and the man followed. Rebecca watched them disappear.

For several seconds, she remained seated. Then she picked up her spoon and tried to eat but she couldn't.

Her appetite had disappeared completely. Something was wrong. She thought and just then she started to hear voices coming from the sitting room.

At first, they were muffled, but the longer she listened, the clearer they became.

Adrian was arguing with someone.

She couldn't make out every word, but she could hear the anger in Adrian's voice.

Then she heard something else that made her heart skip. A name.

"Michael..."

Rebecca's hand froze around the spoon as her heart suddenly skipped.

The name immediately brought back memories she had tried desperately to push away.

Michael was there? Wasn't he Benjamin as she and Derek had thought? Or were Adrian and him working together?

For the past week since she'd been here, she'd been thinking about it and wondering if she and Derek had made a mistake because it wasn't making sense anymore.

How could Benjamin be Michael? From everything that happened that day at his house, it was obvious but then the problem was his face.

The police had shown them a completely different photograph and Benjamin looked nothing like the man in that photograph.

Also, who was Benjamin’s wife? How does she know Vanessa and Michael? Both her birth mother Edith and Vanessa's mother, Cora were dead so who could she be?

Rebecca slowly placed the spoon down. Her heartbeat increased as the questions kept flooding in.

If Michael was here, why was Adrian talking about Michael? Were they working together? Since when? How did Adrian know Michael and why were they arguing now?

She pushed her chair backward. Although Adrian had told her to stay but she couldn't sit there pretending she hadn't heard anything.

Rebecca slowly stood and walked toward the sitting room.

She stopped just before the doorway. The voices were clearer now.

"You weren't supposed to come here," Adrian said angrily.

The man gave a quiet laugh. "And you weren't supposed to take her."

Rebecca's heart slammed against her ribs. She leaned slightly closer. Was it really Michael? Were they arguing over her?

"I warned you," Adrian continued. "I told you to stay away from her."

"And yet you thought you could hide her from me?"

The stranger's voice was calm, even almost amused. But the moment Rebecca heard his voice clearly, her blood ran cold.

There was something about that voice. It was very much familiar and she needed to confirm his face. She thought as she took another careful step forward.

Before she could stable herself, Adrian suddenly noticed her and his expression changed instantly.

"Rebecca?"

The alarm in his voice made her freeze.

He hurried toward her and positioned himself between her and the stranger.

"I told you to stay in the dining room."

Rebecca stared at him.

"What is happening?"

Adrian looked at her, but before he could answer, the stranger laughed softly.

"Do you really think you can hide Rebecca from me forever, Adrian?"

Rebecca's eyes moved toward him and then she froze when she saw his face.

Benjamin.

Her breath caught. So he was really Michael? But how come his face was entirely different from the photograph the police gave them? How did he change his face? Was it just a face mask or had he done more than a face mask?

Rebecca's lips parted.

"Benjamin..."

The man's smirk widened and it only made Adrian's expression change.

Rebecca looked between them.

"You..."

Her voice trembled. "Benjamin?"

Michael slowly tilted his head. "Very good."

Rebecca's face went pale. She looked at Adrian.

"Why is Benjamin here and what's going on?"

Adrian said nothing and that silence was enough.

Rebecca turned back toward Michael. Then she whispered the name that had haunted her for months.

"Michael."

Michael’s expression changed and for the first time, the amusement disappeared from his face.

Rebecca's eyes widened. She finally understood. Her heart began racing.

"You are truly Michael," she repeated.

Michael slowly smiled. "Now you're beginning to understand."

Rebecca took a step backward. "No."

Her head shook slowly. "But your face..."

"Was different?" Michael cut in.

Rebecca stared at him and he laughed softly.

"That's what confused you, isn't it?"

She couldn't answer. He looked at her and then stepped forward.

"Benjamin was the name I used when I met you and Derek. Nothing more. It was just a means to get to you, Rebecca."

The man standing before her was Michael, but he was wearing a completely different face, using another identity to conceal who he really was, and the realization made her stomach twist with horror. It was as though he had deliberately changed his appearance so that no one would recognize him.

Rebecca's stomach twisted. "You lied to us."

"I had to."

"Your wife knew, didn't she? She wasn't insane at all or maybe she is but she knew you right from when you were Michael."

For the first time, something flickered across his face.

Rebecca noticed it. "She knew who you were," she whispered again trying to understand how.

Michael's jaw tightened. "She knew too much."

Rebecca felt a chill travel down her spine. The woman hadn't been insane. She had been telling the truth. Had she had tried to warn them through what she said? Who was she?

She looked at Adrian and her heart sank when she saw the expression on his face.

"You knew?"

Adrian remained silent.

"Adrian..."

Her voice trembled. "You knew Benjamin was Michael?"

When Adrian didn't answer, Rebecca's eyes filled with disbelief.

"How long have you known?"

Michael gave a quiet laugh. "Don't bother asking him."

Rebecca looked at him. "Why?"

"Because your beloved Adrian has been keeping secrets from you since the beginning."

Adrian's face hardened.

"Shut up."

Michael smiled. "You see?"

Rebecca stared at Adrian and suddenly, everything felt different.

The man standing before her wasn't Benjamin. He was Michael.

The man she and Derek had been trying to uncover and somehow, he was standing in the same room as Adrian.

Which meant there was only one question that mattered now.

How long had Adrian known the real identity of the man they had once believed was merely Benjamin?