A Night of Secrets and Betrayals

The lobby was empty.

Mia blinked hard, and the purple bracelets disappeared like morning mist. No strange figure. No old picture. Just a sleepy security guard reading his newspaper.

"Have a good morning, miss," he called as she rushed past.

Outside, the city was waking up. Early morning joggers dodged coffee-clutching office workers while street sellers set up their carts. Everything looked normal, but Mia's heart wouldn't stop beating.

She needed answers.

Instead of going home, she walked to the nearest coffee shop and opened her laptop. Time to find out who Derek really was.

An hour of searching showed plenty - Derek Chen was a rising star in the business world. His company, Phoenix Investments, had made headlines for several big deals. Articles praised his "innovative approach" and "unstoppable success."

Mia froze mid-scroll.

Chen.

The same last name as Olivia.

"No," she whispered. "It can't be..."

Her fingers flew across the keys, searching deeper. There - a club page from three months ago. Her screen filled with a picture that shattered her world.

Derek stood beside Olivia at a charity dinner, his arm around her waist. The title read: "Power Couple Alert: Tech Mogul Olivia Chen Announces Engagement to Finance Whiz Derek Chen (No Relation!)"

The coffee shop spun around Mia. The Derek in the shot wore the same charming smile he'd given her just hours ago. The same smile she'd fallen for.

And Olivia... Olivia looked exactly as Mia remembered, but more polished. More popular. More perfect.

A message popped up on Mia's phone - a text from Derek: "Missing you already. Can't wait for tonight."

Bile rose in her throat. She slammed her laptop shut and ran to the bathroom, barely making it before getting sick.

When she emerged, pale and shaking, another text waited:

Unknown: "Now you know. What are you going to do about it?"

The walk to her flat passed in a blur. Inside, Mia headed straight for the box she kept hidden in her closet. Her hands shook as she lifted the lid.

Old pictures spilled out. Mia and Olivia through the years - kindergarten, middle school, high school. Best friends who promised to stay together forever.

Until that night.

Until Ethan.

Until the fire.

The memory hit her like a physical blow:

Flames rising toward the sky. Olivia screaming. Ethan's voice saying "Trust me." The key turning in a lock. Purple bands burning...

Mia shoved the box away. Her phone buzzed again.

Derek: "Changed our dinner plans. Wearing that blue tie you said you liked. Got a surprise for you."

The blue tie. He'd been wearing it in the engagement picture with Olivia.

Everything clicked into place.

He'd known who she was from the start. The purple thread, the questions about Ethan, the key in his kitchen - none of it was chance.

But why? What game was he playing?

Her doorbell rang.

Through the peephole, she saw a delivery man holding a big white box with a blue ribbon.

"Delivery for Mia Parker," he called.

She opened the door carefully. The box was heavy, wrapped in expensive paper.

Inside her apartment, Mia gently untied the ribbon. Her hands shook as she lifted the lid.

A wedding invitation lay on top, cream-colored with gold lettering:

"Please join us in celebrating the marriage of Olivia Chen and Derek Chen"

Underneath was a bridesmaid's dress in deep purple. The exact shade of those friendship bands from ten years ago.

A note was pinned to the dress:

"Dear Mia,

Surprise! I know we haven't spoken in years, but you were once my best friend. It wouldn't feel right getting married without you by my side. Derek told me he ran into you last night. He said you seemed ready to put the past behind us.

Please say yes.

Love, Olivia"

Mia sank to the floor, the dress pooling around her like spilled wine. Her phone lit up with a final text from Derek:

"See you at 8. Don't worry about dressing up. My fiancée already picked out your outfit."

The word "fiancée" blurred as tears filled Mia's eyes. But they weren't sad tears.

They were angry ones.

Memories rushed back - not just of last night, but of everything. The real reason she and Olivia stopped being friends. What actually happened to Ethan. The truth about the fire.

Mia stood slowly, wiping her eyes. In her bedroom mirror, she saw a different person than the woman who'd melted into Derek's arms last night.

That woman had been falling in love.

This woman wanted payback.

She picked up her phone and typed two messages:

To Derek: "Can't wait. So many things to share."

To Unknown: "You're right. Some secrets don't stay hidden. Time to start digging."

Her computer pinged with a news alert - a fresh story about Phoenix Investments. The photo shows Derek and Olivia at their engagement party.

Mia studied Olivia's beautiful smile, remembering how it looked the night everything went wrong. The night Olivia had smiled just like that and said, "Trust me, Mia. What's the worst that could happen?"

Now, ten years later, Mia had the answer to that question.

And she was going to make them both pay for it.

She opened her closet and reached for the fake back panel where she kept one more box - one she'd sworn never to open again. Inside lay a single purple bracelet, charred at the edges but still complete.

And beneath it, wrapped in old newspaper, was the matched key to the one in Derek's kitchen.

The key to everything.

As Mia got ready for her eight o'clock meeting, she hummed the jazz song from last night. But this time, it wasn't a love song.

It was a war song.

In her living room, the wedding invitation caught the afternoon light, its gold letters gleaming like a dare. Mia walked over and picked it up, running her finger across the date:

"June 15th - The same day Ethan disappeared."

The best date for a reunion.

The right date for revenge.

The right date to finally tell the truth about what happened in that basement.

Mia's phone buzzed one last time. A letter with a photo attached.

Her heart stopped.

The picture showed three teenagers - Mia, Olivia, and Ethan - standing in front of a basement door. All wearing purple bands. All happy.

It was taken an hour before the fire.

The message below read: "Ready to play, Mia? The game started ten years ago. Time for the final round."

The sender's name made her blood run cold:

"Ethan"