The First Warning

Lina woke up before the alarm.

For a few seconds, she stared at the ceiling, trying to remember where she was.

Then everything came back.

The contract.

Fames.

His cold warning.

And the strange documents she had seen the night before.

She sat up slowly.

Something about those documents had not felt right.

The dates did not match.

The story Fames had told her about her family did not match either.

Lina reached for her phone and checked the time.

6:15 a.m.

She had barely slept.

She got out of bed, washed her face, and changed into a simple dress. When she stepped out of the room, the house was unusually quiet.

She walked downstairs.

A woman was already waiting in the dining room.

It was the housekeeper.

“Good morning, Miss Lina.”

“Good morning.”

“Mr. Fames is waiting for you.”

Lina stopped.

“For me?”

“Yes. He asked me to tell you to join him in his study.”

Lina's heart beat faster.

She did not know why.

“Did he say why?”

The woman shook her head.

“No.”

Lina thanked her and walked toward the study.

She knocked twice.

“Come in.”

Fames stood beside the large window with his back toward her.

He was holding a file.

Lina entered.

“You wanted to see me?”

He turned around.

“Yes.”

He placed the file on the desk.

“I found something.”

Lina looked at the file.

“About my family?”

“Yes.”

She moved closer.

“What is it?”

Fames opened the file and pushed several papers toward her.

Lina picked up the first one.

It was an old newspaper article.

Her eyes moved across the page.

The article was about the accident that had destroyed Fames's family.

She read the date.

Then she looked at Fames.

“This is the same date you told me.”

“I know.”

She picked up another paper.

This one was different.

It was an old business record.

Her eyes widened.

“This says your father's company transferred money three days before the accident.”

Fames nodded.

“That transfer was never mentioned in the original investigation.”

Lina looked at him carefully.

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

For the first time since she had met him, Fames looked unsure.

That frightened her more than his anger ever had.

“What does the money have to do with my family?”

“I don't know that either.”

Lina put the paper down.

“Then why did you blame my family?”

His expression became hard.

“Because that is what I was told.”

“By whom?”

Fames did not answer.

“Fames.”

He looked away.

“My uncle.”

Lina frowned.

“Your uncle?”

“He was the person who handled most of my family's business after my father died.”

“And you trusted him?”

“I had no reason not to.”

Lina looked back at the papers.

“Until now.”

“Yes.”

Silence filled the room.

Then Fames said, “There is more.”

He opened another file.

This time, Lina saw a photograph.

It showed two men standing outside a building.

One of them was Fames's father.

The other man was Lina's father.

Lina stared at the picture.

Her fingers became cold.

“They knew each other.”

Fames nodded.

“They did.”

“But my father never told me.”

“Mine never told me either.”

Lina looked at the photograph again.

Something was wrong.

She had seen that building before.

She searched her memory.

Then she remembered.

“My father had an office there.”

Fames looked at her sharply.

“You're sure?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I was young, but I remember going there once with him.”

Fames walked around the desk.

“What did you see?”

“I don't remember much.”

“Try.”

Lina closed her eyes.

She remembered her father's hand holding hers.

The smell of old paper.

A long hallway.

A black door.

And a man standing near it.

She opened her eyes.

“There was someone else.”

“Who?”

“I don't know.”

“What did he look like?”

“I can't remember his face.”

Fames remained silent.

Then his phone rang.

He checked the screen.

His expression changed.

“Stay here.”

He walked toward the door.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

Lina frowned.

“You can't just order me around.”

He stopped.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Fames lowered his voice.

“Someone entered the house last night.”

Lina's face went pale.

“What?”

“The security system recorded movement near the study.”

Her eyes moved toward the door.

“Did they take anything?”

“I don't know yet.”

“Then why are you leaving me here?”

Fames turned back.

“I am not.”

He locked the study door from inside.

Lina stared at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping you safe.”

She wanted to argue.

But before she could say anything, a loud sound came from downstairs.

Both of them froze.

Fames immediately reached for his phone.

Another sound followed.

A door had been opened.

Then footsteps.

Someone was inside the house.

Fames looked at Lina.

“Stay behind me.”

The footsteps grew louder.

Lina's breathing became unsteady.

Fames moved toward the door and listened.

The footsteps stopped.

Silence.

Then something slid underneath the door.

A white envelope.

Fames looked down.

Lina stared at it.

Neither of them moved for several seconds.

Finally, Fames picked it up.

There was no name on it.

Only one sentence was written across the front.

STOP LOOKING INTO THE PAST.

Lina's stomach dropped.

Fames opened the envelope.

Inside was a single photograph.

He pulled it out.

His face changed immediately.

Lina stepped closer.

“What is it?”

Fames did not answer.

She looked over his shoulder.

The photograph showed the same building from the old picture.

But this time, there were three people standing outside.

Fames's father.

Lina's father.

And the mysterious man Lina remembered from her childhood.

On the back of the photograph, someone had written four words.

HE IS STILL ALIVE.

Lina looked at Fames.

“Who?”

Fames stared at the photograph.

Then he said quietly,

“The man we thought died with them.”

A cold silence filled the room.

And for the first time, Lina wondered if the contract between them had never been about revenge at all.

Maybe someone else had planned it from the beginning.