Chapter Three

“Lock this floor down.”

Adrian’s voice cut through the corridor like a blade.

The nurse froze.

“What?” she asked.

“Security,” he snapped, already pulling out his phone. “Now.”

Elena’s heart was hammering so violently she could barely hear anything beyond the rush of blood in her ears. The photo on her screen felt like it was burning into her skin.

Taken seconds ago.

Someone was close.

Watching.

Threatening.

Next time, he won’t survive.

Her father was inside that operating room.

“Adrian,” she whispered.

He was already issuing rapid instructions into his phone. “Shut down all external access points. No one leaves this floor without identification. Pull the surveillance feeds for the last fifteen minutes.”

He ended the call and looked at her.

For the first time since she had seen him again five years ago.

He looked furious.

Not cold.

Not strategic.

Furious.

“Give me the phone,” he said.

She handed it to him without hesitation.

His jaw tightened as he studied the image.

“Professional angle,” he muttered. “Stability. No blur.”

“You sound impressed.”

“I’m evaluating.”

Her stomach twisted.

“Is this Victor?” she asked.

“No.”

The certainty in his tone startled her.

“How do you know?”

“Victor doesn’t threaten. He buys.”

A chill crawled up her spine.

“Then who?”

He didn’t answer.

Which meant he didn’t know.

And that frightened her more than anything else.

A hospital staff member rushed toward them. “Miss Brooks, we need that signature immediately.”

Elena tore her gaze from Adrian and forced herself to focus. Her father mattered more than fear.

She grabbed the pen.

But her hand trembled so violently she had to steady it against the wall.

Adrian stepped closer.

“Look at me,” he said quietly.

“I don’t have time for this.”

“Look at me.”

Something in his tone forced her to obey.

His eyes locked onto hers — steady, commanding, grounding.

“He will survive this,” he said. “Sign.”

“How can you promise that?” she demanded.

“I can’t,” he admitted. “But falling apart won’t help him.”

The raw honesty steadied her more than false reassurance would have.

She signed.

The nurse rushed the document away.

Silence fell again — heavy and charged.

Elena folded her arms around herself.

“This is your world,” she said quietly. “Enemies. Surveillance. Power plays.”

“And now it’s yours,” he replied.

Her eyes flashed.

“I didn’t choose this.”

“You signed.”

The reminder stung.

“You manipulated me into signing.”

“I gave you a choice.”

“A loaded one.”

“Yes.”

The lack of apology burned.

“Do you regret it?” he asked suddenly.

She stared at him.

“Regret saving my father?”

“No.”

His voice dropped.

“Regret marrying me.”

The question landed somewhere dangerously soft.

She swallowed.

“I don’t know who I married,” she said honestly.

His expression shifted slightly — something tightening beneath the surface.

“You married a man who keeps his word,” he said.

“Did you keep your word when you destroyed my family?”

He didn’t flinch.

“Yes.”

Her breath caught.

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“I said I would make your father pay.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“You didn’t ask.”

Anger surged hot and fast.

“You think that’s justification?”

“No,” he said evenly. “It’s clarity.”

She shook her head.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“And yet you’re standing beside me.”

The words carried weight.

She hated that they were true.

Her phone vibrated again.

Another message.

Adrian’s hand moved faster this time, intercepting it before she could.

He read it.

His expression changed.

Not anger.

Not control.

Something colder.

“What?” she demanded.

He hesitated.

“Adrian.”

He turned the screen toward her.

A live video feed.

Her father’s operating room door.

The caption:

Tick. Tock.

Her lungs locked.

“How is this possible?” she whispered.

Adrian was already dialing again.

“Trace this feed,” he ordered into the phone. “Now.”

He grabbed Elena’s hand abruptly.

“Stay close to me.”

“I’m not a child.”

“You’re a target.”

The bluntness silenced her.

Security began flooding the hallway — suited men with discreet earpieces.

Hospital staff looked confused, uneasy.

Adrian moved like he owned the building.

Elena struggled to keep up.

“Why would someone threaten my father?” she demanded. “He’s already vulnerable.”

“Because you are,” Adrian replied.

Her chest tightened.

“So this is about you.”

“It’s about leverage,” he corrected. “If they can’t control me, they’ll control you.”

Fear slithered down her spine.

“You said you handle your enemies.”

“I do.”

“Clearly not all of them.”

He stopped abruptly and turned to her.

His hand came up, gripping her shoulders.

Not rough.

Firm.

“Listen to me,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “I will not let anything happen to you.”

The intensity in his eyes stole her breath.

“This isn’t about me,” she whispered.

“It became about you the moment you signed that contract.”

Her pulse stumbled.

For a fraction of a second, the tension between them shifted.

Not revenge.

Not manipulation.

Something fiercely protective.

And that scared her more than hatred ever could.

A security officer rushed toward them.

“Sir,” he said to Adrian. “The signal’s being bounced through multiple servers. We can’t pinpoint the source yet.”

Adrian’s jaw hardened.

“Inside or outside?”

“Inside the building.”

Elena’s stomach dropped.

“They’re here?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

The word felt like a gunshot.

A crash echoed from down the hallway.

Everyone turned.

A metal tray clattered to the floor near the operating room entrance.

A nurse stumbled backward, pale.

“There was someone there,” she stammered. “They ran toward the stairwell.”

Adrian moved instantly.

“Elena, stay”

She grabbed his arm.

“No.”

His eyes flashed.

“You are not chasing someone while my father is in surgery.”

“And you’re not staying alone.”

For a heartbeat, they stared at each other.

The air between them crackled.

He exhaled sharply.

“Fine.”

They moved together.

Down the corridor.

Toward the stairwell.

Adrian pushed the door open hard.

It slammed against the wall.

Empty.

Footsteps echoed faintly below.

Someone was running.

Adrian started down the stairs.

Elena followed.

Three flights.

Four.

Her breathing became uneven, but adrenaline pushed her forward.

At the ground level landing, the exit door swung slightly.

Recently used.

Adrian shoved it open.

Cold night air hit her face.

The hospital parking lot stretched ahead — dimly lit.

A black SUV idled near the curb.

Its windows tinted.

Engine humming.

Adrian’s body went rigid.

The rear window rolled down slowly.

Elena’s heart pounded in her throat.

A figure sat inside.

Shadowed.

Unclear.

The man lifted something.

For a split second, she thought.

A weapon.

Adrian stepped in front of her instinctively.

The object caught the light.

Not a gun.

A phone.

He held it up.

Pointed at them.

Recording.

The man’s face finally tilted forward enough to reveal.

Victor Hayes.

He smiled.

Then the SUV doors behind them slammed shut.

Elena spun around.

Two men stepped out from the shadows.

Blocking their path back to the hospital.

Her pulse roared.

Adrian’s hand slid around her waist, pulling her slightly behind him.

His voice dropped to a lethal calm.

“Get behind me.”

Victor’s voice carried from the SUV.

“You really should have stayed out of this, Adrian.”

Elena’s heart pounded violently.

“This isn’t about business anymore, is it?” she whispered.

Adrian didn’t answer.

The two men began walking toward them slowly.

Measured.

Deliberate.

Victor leaned slightly out of the SUV window.

“You signed the wrong contract tonight,” he called out.

Elena felt Adrian’s grip tighten.

And then.

From inside the hospital.

An alarm began to blare.