Chapter 6

Elena had spent the entire night wondering whether going to Vale Tower was the stupidest decision she had made since marrying Adrian.

The answer was probably yes.

Still, at eight fifty-eight the next morning, she stood in the lobby of the tallest building in the city, staring up at a ceiling made of black glass and wondering what kind of person voluntarily walked into the territory of a man everyone else seemed terrified to approach. The receptionist had barely glanced at her name before her expression changed and she immediately picked up the phone. There was no questioning her appointment, no request to wait, and certainly no surprise that Lucien Vale was expecting her. That bothered Elena more than it should have. She had never met this man properly until yesterday, yet somehow he had known enough about her situation to summon her here.

A private elevator took her to the top floor.

When the doors opened, Elena stepped into an office that looked nothing like the extravagant spaces she was accustomed to seeing in the Ashford family's businesses. There were no unnecessary decorations, no photographs designed to impress visitors, and no assistants rushing around with files. Everything was dark, clean, and deliberate, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Lucien stood beside one of them with his back toward her, dressed in a charcoal suit, one hand resting casually in his pocket. He didn't turn when she entered.

"You came."

Elena folded her arms. "You told me to."

"I didn't think you would."

"Then why invite me?"

Lucien finally turned around. His gaze moved over her for a moment before settling on her face. "Because I wanted to see whether desperation would make you reckless."

"And?"

"You came alone."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment?"

"No."

"Good. I was worried."

Something resembling amusement flickered across his face before disappearing.

Elena walked farther into the office. "Let's get one thing straight before we start. I'm not here because I need a rich man to rescue me."

"I didn't assume you were."

"Good."

"You need something else."

She looked at him carefully. "What?"

"Information."

Elena's expression hardened. "You already know what happened to me."

"I know what you told me while you were drunk."

"I wasn't lying."

"I didn't say you were."

Lucien moved toward his desk and picked up a thin folder. He opened it but didn't immediately hand it to her.

"Your husband didn't simply decide to divorce you. The financial accusations were being prepared at least six weeks before you discovered the affair."

Elena went still.

"How do you know that?"

"Because someone accessed a private company archive six weeks ago."

"Someone from Ashford Holdings?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly?"

Lucien closed the folder. "I don't give people answers when I don't have evidence."

Elena stared at him for a moment before pulling out a chair. "Then show me what you do have."

Lucien placed the folder in front of her.

Inside were copies of financial records, transaction histories, and several documents she had never seen before. Elena turned the pages slowly, her eyes moving faster as the implications became clearer.

"This account..." She pointed at a transaction. "This isn't mine."

"No."

"It was used to transfer money into the company."

"Correct."

"And this happened two months before Adrian accused me."

Lucien nodded.

Elena looked up. "Then why didn't my father's lawyers find this?"

"Maybe they weren't looking."

Her stomach tightened.

"You think my father knew?"

"I think you should stop assuming that everyone involved in your life has been telling you the truth."

Elena closed the folder.

"Why are you helping me?"

Lucien's expression became unreadable.

"Did you come here for an explanation?"

"I came because you told me to."

"Then don't ask questions you aren't prepared to hear answers to."

She leaned back in her chair. "You're very fond of speaking in riddles."

"And you're very fond of asking questions."

"Maybe because you keep refusing to answer them."

For a moment they simply looked at each other.

There was something unnerving about being around him. Lucien didn't stare at her the way Adrian used to when he wanted something from her. His attention was quieter, more analytical, as if he were trying to understand what she would do next rather than what he could get from her.

Elena broke the silence.

"Did you send the money?"

Lucien didn't answer.

"The five hundred thousand dollars."

His eyes remained on hers.

"I woke up yesterday with no access to my accounts. A few hours later, half a million dollars appeared in an account I didn't know existed. Then I received a message telling me to come here."

"And?"

"And I want to know whether you sent it."

Lucien walked around his desk and sat down.

"No."

Elena watched him carefully.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You don't have to believe me."

"That's convenient."

"It is."

She leaned forward. "Then who did?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly.

Elena immediately realized she had pushed too far, but she refused to back down.

"You don't look like a man who is comfortable not knowing things."

"I'm not."

"Then you know."

"I know that someone wanted you to have access to money. I don't know why."

Elena's fingers tightened around the folder.

"Did you know the money would be there?"

A pause.

"Yes."

Her eyes widened.

"So you knew."

"I knew someone had arranged it."

"But you didn't send it."

"No."

"Who did?"

Lucien leaned back.

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

Elena stared at him.

For the first time, she understood that the money wasn't simply a generous gesture. Someone had deliberately placed it where she could find it. Someone had known exactly how desperate she would be after leaving the Ashford family.

And somehow Lucien knew about it.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Nothing."

She almost laughed.

"Nobody gives five hundred thousand dollars to a stranger and wants nothing."

"I didn't give you the money."

"But you knew about it."

"Yes."

"Then why bring me here?"

"Because whoever gave you that money expects you to do something with it."

Elena frowned. "What?"

"That's the question."

She stood and walked toward the windows, staring down at the city.

Yesterday, she had been Adrian's wife.

Today, she was standing in Lucien Vale's office discussing a mysterious half-million-dollar transfer while the people who had destroyed her life probably believed she was crying somewhere alone.

It was absurd.

"What happens if I refuse to play whatever game this is?"

Lucien's voice came from behind her.

"Then you keep the money, walk away, and hope the people who framed you decide you're no longer a problem."

Elena turned.

"And if I don't?"

"Then we find out who actually wanted you destroyed."

She studied him.

"You said you weren't going to rescue me."

"I'm not."

"Then what are you offering?"

"An opportunity."

"To do what?"

"Find the truth."

Elena crossed her arms. "And what do you get?"

Lucien was silent for a moment.

"Something I'm looking for."

There it was.

Finally, something resembling honesty.

"You have your own reason."

"Everyone does."

"So I'm useful to you."

"Perhaps."

She should have been offended.

Instead, Elena found the answer strangely reassuring. At least he wasn't pretending to be a savior.

She picked up the folder.

"I'll investigate the documents myself."

"Good."

"And I don't want your money."

"You already have it."

"I'll return it."

Lucien's expression changed slightly. "Don't."

"Why?"

"Because if you return it, whoever gave it to you will know you're frightened."

Elena stared at him.

He continued, "Keep it untouched. If you need money, use your own."

"Which I don't have."

"Then find a way to make some."

She almost smiled.

"You really are an arrogant bastard."

"I've been called worse."

Elena headed toward the elevator, but Lucien's voice stopped her.

"Elena."

She turned.

"If you intend to investigate your husband, don't confront him yet."

"Why?"

"Because people become careful when they know they're being watched."

She held his gaze.

"And if I don't listen?"

"Then you'll make your first mistake."

Elena pressed the elevator button.

"Maybe."

The doors opened.

She stepped inside, then looked back at him.

"But at least it'll be my mistake."

The doors closed between them.

Lucien remained where he was, watching the elevator numbers descend.

A moment later, his phone rang.

He answered.

"Sir, we've confirmed the transfer."

Lucien's expression became cold.

"Who made it?"

There was a pause.

Then the voice on the other end gave him a name.

For the first time that morning, Lucien's composure disappeared.

"That's impossible."

"We checked it three times."

Lucien looked toward the elevator Elena had just entered.

The person who had transferred five hundred thousand dollars to Elena wasn't an Ashford.

It wasn't one of his enemies.

It was someone who had supposedly been dead for twelve years.