chapter 7

Chapter Seven: The Man in Her Past

Elena remained standing in the middle of the room long after Damian had left to deal with the security breach. She could still feel the weight of his words, particularly the way he had said my wife, as though the title carried a meaning neither of them had expected when she signed the contract.

She looked down at her phone again.

The photograph was still displayed on the screen.

Someone had been watching the mansion.

Someone had known exactly when she arrived, exactly where she stood, and exactly who she was with.

Her first instinct was to call Adrian.

She immediately stopped herself.

The photograph of him beside her father returned to her mind, followed by Damian's warning that the people surrounding her were not necessarily who they claimed to be.

For the first time in years, Elena wondered whether Adrian had ever truly loved her.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

This time, his name appeared on the screen.

Adrian.

She stared at it until the call nearly ended.

Then she answered.

"Elena?"

His voice was familiar, warm, and worried in exactly the way she remembered.

She closed her eyes.

"Where are you?"

There was a brief silence.

"Are you safe?"

"Answer me first."

"I'm outside the city."

"Why?"

"I heard what happened at your house."

Elena's grip tightened around the phone.

"How did you hear about it?"

Another pause.

"Everyone is talking about it."

"That's not what I asked."

Adrian sighed.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want the truth."

His voice became quieter.

"Elena, I'm trying to protect you."

She almost laughed.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm tired of being treated like a child while everyone around me knows things I don't."

Adrian was silent.

Elena took a breath.

"Did you know my father?"

The silence that followed was different.

Longer.

More revealing.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Because I saw a photograph."

His breathing changed.

"What photograph?"

"One of you and my father."

He didn't answer.

Elena's heart sank.

"You knew him."

"Elena, listen to me—"

"You lied to me."

"It's not what you think."

"Then tell me what it is."

"I can't."

She laughed bitterly.

"Of course you can't."

"Please, just stay away from Damian."

Her expression hardened.

"Why?"

"Because he isn't the man you think he is."

Elena looked toward the closed door.

"Neither are you, apparently."

"Elena, I'm serious."

"So am I."

She ended the call.

For several seconds, she simply stared at the screen.

Then the door opened.

Damian entered.

His gaze immediately went to the phone in her hand.

"Who was it?"

"Adrian."

His expression became unreadable.

"What did he want?"

"He told me to stay away from you."

Damian's jaw tightened.

"Did he?"

"He also knew about my father's disappearance."

Damian walked toward her.

"What else?"

Elena hesitated.

"He said you aren't who I think you are."

A faint smile appeared on Damian's face, but there was nothing warm about it.

"He's right."

She frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you shouldn't believe everything you hear about me."

"Then tell me something I can believe."

Damian stopped in front of her.

"My enemies are getting closer."

"And Adrian?"

"He is one of the reasons."

Elena's heart skipped.

"You know something about him."

"I know enough to tell you that you shouldn't meet him."

"You don't control me."

"No."

Damian's eyes held hers.

"But I'm asking you to trust me."

She looked away.

"That's difficult."

"I know."

He reached for her phone, but Elena pulled it back.

"What?"

"There was another message."

Damian's expression immediately changed.

She showed him the screen.

The message contained only an address.

Beneath it were four words:

Come alone. Midnight.

Elena stared at Damian.

"I think it's from Adrian."

Damian took the phone from her.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because Adrian wouldn't ask you to come alone."

He looked at the address again, his face becoming darker by the second.

"This is a trap."

Elena swallowed.

"Then why do I feel like whoever sent it knows exactly what happened to my father?"

Damian met her eyes.

"Because they want you to believe that."

He handed the phone back.

"You're not going anywhere tonight."

Elena nodded slowly.

But neither of them noticed the small black car parked beyond the estate walls.

Inside it, a man watched the mansion through binoculars before making a call.

"She's with Moretti."

A voice answered on the other end.

"And?"

The man smiled.

"She's beginning to ask questions."

The voice became colder.

"Then it's time she learned the truth."

He lowered the phone.

"Before Moretti tells her himself."