Chapter Three: The Woman from His Past

Elena stared at the message on her phone until the words began to blur.

Ask Alexander what happened to Daniel Carter ten years ago. Then ask him why he has been looking for your family.

Her brother's name seemed to burn into her mind.

Daniel Carter.

Ten years ago, he had disappeared from their lives after a terrible argument with their father. Elena had been twelve then, too young to understand the details and too frightened to ask the questions that might have made everything worse.

She remembered Daniel standing outside their old house with a small suitcase in his hand. She remembered their father shouting that Daniel had betrayed the family. And she remembered Daniel turning toward her one last time.

"Whatever happens, Ellie, never trust a man who offers you everything without asking for something in return."

Those had been his final words to her.

For years, Elena had believed he was simply angry and wanted to start a new life somewhere else. Their father refused to discuss him, and eventually the family stopped mentioning his name.

But now Alexander Sterling had somehow become connected to that painful memory.

Elena's fingers tightened around her phone.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" she whispered.

She could still cancel the marriage. The contract had been signed, but perhaps there was a way to withdraw before the arrangement officially began.

Then she remembered the hospital payment.

Her father's treatment had already been arranged. She couldn't risk losing that chance because of an anonymous message.

But she also couldn't marry a man who might be hiding something about her family.

She needed answers.

And she knew exactly where to find them.

At ten the following morning, Elena stood outside Alexander Sterling's office for the second time in twenty-four hours.

This time, she wasn't nervous about the height of the building, the expensive furniture, or the people who moved around her as though they belonged to a different world.

She was angry.

James, Alexander's assistant, looked up from his computer.

"Good morning, Miss Carter. Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"I'm afraid Mr. Sterling is in a meeting."

"Then I'll wait."

James hesitated.

"Would you like me to inform him that you're here?"

"Yes. Tell him his future wife has a question about Daniel Carter."

The color drained from James's face.

It was only for a second, but Elena noticed.

He quickly picked up the telephone and spoke in a low voice. When he put it down, his expression had become carefully neutral.

"Mr. Sterling will see you now."

Elena pushed open the office door.

Alexander stood beside his desk, his jacket draped over a chair and his sleeves rolled up. He was speaking to someone through an earpiece.

"I'll call you back," he said before ending the conversation.

His gaze moved to Elena.

"You came early."

"I didn't come here to discuss punctuality."

Something in her tone made him straighten.

"What happened?"

Elena placed her phone on his desk and turned the screen toward him.

"Who is Daniel Carter?"

For a moment, Alexander didn't move.

Then his eyes dropped to the message.

The change in his expression was almost frightening.

His jaw tightened. The easy confidence she had seen yesterday vanished, replaced by something harder and more guarded.

"Where did you get this?"

"Someone sent it to me."

"Who?"

"I don't know. It was an unknown number."

"When?"

"Yesterday, after I left your office."

Alexander picked up the phone and read the message again.

"Did you reply?"

"No."

"Did you receive any other messages?"

"No. Now answer my question."

He placed the phone on the desk.

"Daniel Carter was involved in a business dispute with my family ten years ago."

Elena felt the room tilt slightly.

"What kind of business dispute?"

"One that ended badly."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I can give you right now."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"You expect me to marry you, live in your house, and pretend we're in love, but you can't tell me what happened to my own brother?"

Alexander's expression hardened.

"You should be careful about making accusations when you don't know the facts."

"And you should be careful about asking someone to trust you when you refuse to tell her the truth."

Silence fell between them.

Elena could hear the faint hum of the air conditioner and the distant sound of traffic beyond the windows.

Alexander walked around his desk.

"Listen to me carefully. Whatever you believe you know about Daniel, do not contact anyone claiming to have information about him until we establish who sent that message."

"Why?"

"Because some people will tell you anything to get what they want."

"Like you?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you think I would have paid your father's medical expenses if I intended to harm you?"

"I think you have a reason for choosing me that you're not telling me."

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he asked quietly, "What do you remember about your brother's disappearance?"

Elena wasn't prepared for the question.

"He left home after arguing with our father. I was twelve. Daniel was nineteen."

"What did they argue about?"

"I don't know. My father said Daniel had betrayed him. Daniel said our father was making a terrible mistake."

"Did Daniel ever mention the Sterling family?"

Elena searched her memory.

She remembered her brother working late nights on a laptop, whispering on the telephone, and becoming increasingly withdrawn in the weeks before he left.

But she couldn't remember him mentioning Alexander's family.

"No," she answered. "Not to me."

Alexander looked away.

"Then we have nothing more to discuss."

Elena's anger flared.

"You cannot dismiss me whenever a question becomes uncomfortable."

"I can, actually. This is my office."

"And I'm the woman you're asking to become your wife."

"Which is exactly why I need you to listen to me."

His voice rose slightly, and she fell silent.

Alexander took a slow breath before continuing.

"I made you an offer yesterday because I believed we could reach a mutually beneficial agreement. I didn't promise you that every part of my life would become an open book."

"No. You only promised to give me money."

"I promised to save your father."

"And I promised to marry you. I didn't promise to surrender my right to ask questions about my family."

Something flickered in his eyes.

Perhaps it was frustration.

Perhaps, beneath it, there was something else.

Fear.

"You want the truth?" he asked.

Elena nodded.

"Then understand this. Daniel's disappearance is connected to events that destroyed several lives. I don't know where he is now, and I won't pretend otherwise."

Her anger faltered.

"You don't know where my brother is?"

"No."

"Then why did that message say you've been looking for my family?"

Alexander didn't answer immediately.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.

"Because I have."

The admission struck her harder than any denial could have.

"Why?"

He looked directly at her.

"That is something I need to establish before I tell you."

Elena shook her head.

"You're asking me to accept another half-truth."

"I'm asking you to give me forty-eight hours."

"Forty-eight hours to do what?"

"Find out who contacted you and why they mentioned Daniel."

She studied him, trying to determine whether he was telling the truth.

His expression gave her nothing.

"Fine," she said at last. "Forty-eight hours. But if I discover you've lied to me, the marriage is over."

Alexander's gaze sharpened.

"You cannot simply end a legal agreement because you're unhappy with an answer."

"Watch me."

She turned toward the door.

"Elena."

She stopped without looking back.

"Do not meet that person alone if they contact you again."

"Then you should give me a good reason to trust you."

She walked out before he could respond.

Behind her, Alexander remained motionless beside his desk.

For the first time in years, he had the uncomfortable feeling that the past was no longer buried.

It was coming back for him.

And this time, it had Elena Carter's face.

At noon, Elena returned to the hospital.

Her father was awake when she entered his room, sitting against the pillows with a blanket over his legs. He looked tired, but the improvement in his condition was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"Daddy!"

She hurried to his bedside and embraced him carefully.

"My little girl," he murmured, stroking her hair. "You've been crying."

"I'm fine."

He leaned back to study her face.

"You've never been good at lying to me, Elena."

She managed a small laugh.

"Maybe I've improved."

"Perhaps. But I doubt it."

For a few minutes, they spoke about his treatment, the doctors, and the possibility that he might recover enough to return home in a few weeks.

Elena wanted to enjoy the moment.

She wanted to forget the contract, the mysterious message, and the questions surrounding Daniel.

But one thought refused to leave her mind.

"Papa," she said carefully, "do you remember Daniel?"

Her father's smile disappeared.

The change was immediate.

"Why are you asking about your brother?"

"Someone mentioned him to me."

"Who?"

Elena hesitated.

"A man I know."

Her father gripped the blanket.

"Was it Alexander Sterling?"

Elena felt her heart stop.

She hadn't said Alexander's name.

She hadn't even mentioned the marriage.

"How do you know him?" she whispered.

Her father looked away.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he closed his eyes as if the question had reopened a wound he had spent years trying to forget.

"I told Daniel never to get involved with that family," he said.

Elena pulled a chair closer to the bed.

"Why?"

"Because they destroy everything they touch."

"Papa, what happened ten years ago?"

He opened his eyes.

There was something in them Elena had never seen before.

Not anger.

Not sadness.

Fear.

"Listen to me, sweetheart. Whatever Alexander Sterling offers you, you must stay away from him."

Elena's mouth went dry.

"How did you know he offered me something?"

Her father stared at her.

She watched the realization spread across his face.

"What have you done?" he whispered.

Elena felt a chill run down her spine.

"Papa?"

He reached for her hand and held it tightly.

"Tell me you haven't agreed to anything."

She couldn't answer.

Her silence told him everything.

He released her hand as though it had suddenly become too hot to touch.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no."

"Papa, please. You're frightening me."

He looked toward the closed hospital door, then back at her.

"That family has already taken enough from us."

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

"What did they take?"

Her father opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a nurse entered to check his medication.

The conversation ended.

Yet as Elena left the hospital room a few minutes later, she knew one thing with absolute certainty.

Her father recognized Alexander Sterling's name.

He knew about the past.

And whatever had happened ten years ago, it had frightened him enough to beg his daughter not to marry the man who had just paid for his treatment.

That evening, Elena stood on the balcony of her small apartment, staring at the city lights.

Her phone vibrated.

For one hopeful second, she thought it might be another message from the mysterious woman.

Instead, Alexander's name appeared on the screen.

ALEXANDER: I have arranged a car to collect you tomorrow at ten. You'll be moving into my residence before the end of the week.

Elena frowned and typed a reply.

ELENA: I don't remember agreeing to move into your house tomorrow.

His response came almost immediately.

ALEXANDER: You agreed to marry me. We need to establish the arrangement before the press discovers our engagement.

She stared at the screen.

The press?

She typed again.

ELENA: You said nothing about announcing an engagement.

This time, his answer took longer.

ALEXANDER: There are things I should have explained. We will discuss them tomorrow.

Elena let out a frustrated breath.

ELENA: You have forty-eight hours to tell me the truth about Daniel.

The three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Finally, a message arrived.

ALEXANDER: I remember exactly what happened the night your brother disappeared.

Elena's heart pounded.

Before she could reply, another message appeared.

ALEXANDER: And if you want to understand why your father fears me, you need to know that Daniel wasn't the only person who disappeared that night.

Elena stared at the words, unable to breathe.

Who else had disappeared?

And why had Alexander waited ten years to tell her?

A final message arrived.

ALEXANDER: Tomorrow, Elena, you're going to learn why I chose you.

She slowly lowered the phone.

For the first time since signing the contract, she wondered whether saving her father had come at a price far greater than money.

Because the more she learned about Alexander Sterling, the more she feared that her marriage was not the beginning of a new life.

It was the beginning of a mystery that could destroy the life she already had.