Chapter 4 — The Threat

“OR ADRIAN DIES TONIGHT.”

Elena read the message twice.

Her fingers went cold.

Then she looked at Adrian.

“They threatened you.”

“I saw.”

“They want me to go to the warehouse.”

“Yes.”

“Alone.”

“No.”

Elena's eyes narrowed.

“You just said no?”

“I said you're not going.”

“My father may have left evidence there.”

“And someone is waiting to kill you.”

“You don't know that.”

Adrian held up his phone.

“They broke into my house, stole your father's file, watched you sleep, and threatened my life. What exactly do you think they're planning?”

Elena opened her mouth.

No answer came.

Adrian stepped closer.

“You're staying here.”

“No.”

His expression hardened.

“Elena.”

“I've spent three years being told what happened to my father was my fault. I've watched people destroy my family while everyone kept secrets from me.”

Her voice shook.

“I am done standing behind other people's decisions.”

Adrian stared at her.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then he said, “Fine.”

Elena blinked.

“Fine?”

“You're going.”

She stared at him.

“But I'm coming with you.”

“You can't.”

“I can.”

“The message specifically said alone.”

“I don't care.”

“They could be watching.”

“Then let them watch.”

Adrian's eyes darkened.

“You're not understanding.”

“No. You're not understanding.”

She stepped closer.

“If you want this marriage to look real, start acting like my husband.”

Something changed in his face.

“Don't use that word unless you mean it.”

Elena's heart skipped.

“Why?”

“Because I might start believing you.”

For one strange second, the anger between them disappeared.

Then Adrian's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

“Speak.”

The security officer's voice came through.

“Sir, we found the missing file.”

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

“Where?”

“In the west wing.”

Elena's heart jumped.

“Is it damaged?”

“No, sir.”

“Bring it to me.”

There was silence.

Then the officer said, “There's a problem.”

“What?”

“The file isn't empty.”

Adrian's expression changed.

“What do you mean?”

“There are photographs inside.”

“Of what?”

The officer hesitated.

“Of Mrs. Blackwood.”

Elena's blood ran cold.

“Bring it.”

---

Five minutes later, the security officer entered the room carrying a black folder.

He placed it on the table.

Elena stood beside Adrian.

“Open it,” she whispered.

Adrian opened the folder.

The first photograph showed Elena leaving university.

The second showed her entering a café.

The third showed her outside her apartment.

The fourth showed her at her father's grave.

Elena's stomach turned.

“How long have they been watching me?”

Adrian flipped through the photographs.

“Some of these were taken recently.”

He stopped.

Elena noticed his expression.

“What?”

He handed her a photograph.

She stared at it.

It showed her standing outside her apartment three weeks earlier.

Behind her, barely visible across the street, was a black car.

She remembered that car.

She had seen it several times.

“That's the car,” she whispered.

Adrian looked at the security officer.

“Run the plate.”

“Already did.”

“And?”

“It doesn't exist.”

Adrian's jaw tightened.

Elena turned another page.

A photograph fell onto the table.

She picked it up.

It showed her father.

But he wasn't alone.

Standing beside him was a younger Richard Blackwood.

And beside Richard was another man.

Elena frowned.

“Who is that?”

Adrian took the photograph.

His face became completely still.

“Elena…”

“What?”

He didn't answer.

“Who is he?”

Adrian stared at the photograph as though he'd seen a ghost.

“My uncle.”

“Your uncle?”

“Victor Blackwood.”

Elena waited.

Adrian's voice dropped.

“He died twenty years ago.”

---

Elena couldn't sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photographs.

Her father.

Richard Blackwood.

Victor Blackwood.

Adrian.

And herself as a child.

At two in the morning, she left her bedroom.

The mansion was silent.

She walked toward the library.

Light escaped from beneath the door.

She opened it.

Adrian stood behind his desk.

He was holding a glass of water, staring at an old photograph.

He looked up.

“You should be sleeping.”

“So should you.”

“I don't sleep much.”

“I've noticed.”

Elena walked toward the desk.

“What happened to Victor?”

Adrian's expression hardened.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because he's in the photograph.”

“He was my father's younger brother.”

“And he died twenty years ago?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Car accident.”

“Was it investigated?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“The case was closed.”

Elena looked at the photograph.

“My father knew him.”

“They were business partners.”

“Then why have I never heard of him?”

“Because after Victor died, both families stopped talking about him.”

“Why?”

Adrian looked away.

“Because there were rumors.”

“What rumors?”

“That Victor was involved in illegal financial deals.”

Elena's stomach tightened.

“Was he?”

“We never proved it.”

“My father knew?”

“Yes.”

“Then maybe the evidence in that Swiss account is about Victor.”

Adrian looked at her.

“That's what I'm afraid of.”

Elena stepped closer.

“Why?”

“Because if Victor wasn't dead…”

She stopped.

“What?”

Adrian didn't finish.

Elena's eyes widened.

“You think he's alive?”

“I think someone wants us to believe he is.”

The room became silent.

Then Elena noticed something on Adrian's desk.

A small envelope.

Her name was written across it.

“What's that?”

Adrian immediately reached for it.

Elena grabbed it first.

“Give it to me.”

“No.”

“It's addressed to me.”

“It isn't safe.”

She pulled it away.

“Neither is anything else in my life.”

Adrian stared at her.

She opened the envelope.

Inside was a single photograph.

Elena's breath caught.

It showed her father standing in front of the old Hartwell warehouse.

Beside him was Victor Blackwood.

But there was something else.

A date.

August 17, 2006.

Elena stared.

“That was the year I was born.”

Adrian's face changed.

“Turn it over.”

She did.

Three words were written on the back.

Ask your mother.

Elena's fingers went numb.

“My mother?”

Adrian took a step toward her.

“Elena…”

“My mother died three years ago.”

“I know.”

“She never told me anything.”

“Maybe she couldn't.”

Elena looked at him.

“Why would someone send this now?”

Adrian's eyes hardened.

“Because they want you to open a door.”

“What door?”

“The past.”

---

At dawn, Elena made a decision.

She was going to the warehouse.

Adrian found her standing beside the front door.

“No.”

She didn't turn.

“You knew I'd go.”

“I knew you were stubborn.”

“I need answers.”

“So do I.”

“Then come with me.”

“You know I can't.”

“Why?”

“Because if they see me, they'll know we've figured out their plan.”

Elena turned.

“So what do you suggest?”

“I'll follow you.”

She frowned.

“You said the message demanded that I go alone.”

“You'll go alone.”

“But you'll follow me.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“From a distance.”

She considered it.

“Fine.”

Adrian walked toward her.

“But there is one rule.”

“What?”

“If anything feels wrong, you leave.”

“What if I find evidence?”

“You leave.”

“What if I find someone?”

“You leave.”

“What if they have answers about my father?”

“You leave.”

Elena folded her arms.

“You're very controlling.”

“I've been told.”

She almost smiled.

Then Adrian reached into his pocket.

He handed her a small device.

“Emergency tracker.”

She looked at it.

“Put it inside your coat.”

“You really think of everything.”

“No.”

He looked at her.

“Just you.”

Her breath caught.

Neither spoke.

Then Adrian stepped back.

“Go.”

---

The old Hartwell warehouse had been abandoned for years.

Elena parked several streets away.

The morning was quiet.

Too quiet.

She walked toward the building.

The large metal doors stood slightly open.

Her pulse quickened.

She entered.

“Hello?”

No answer.

Dust covered the floor.

Broken furniture sat against the walls.

The air smelled old and damp.

Then she heard footsteps.

Elena turned.

Nothing.

She took another step.

A voice came from the darkness.

“You came.”

Elena froze.

“Who are you?”

A man stepped into the light.

Elena's breath caught.

“Daniel?”

He looked nothing like the man who had stood beside Sophia at the wedding.

His suit was gone.

His face was bruised.

His eyes were exhausted.

“Don't come any closer.”

Elena stared at him.

“What happened to you?”

“I tried to warn you.”

“You broke into Adrian's house.”

“I had no choice.”

“You stole the file.”

Daniel shook his head.

“No.”

“Then why were you holding it?”

“Because someone wanted me to take it.”

“Who?”

He looked toward the door.

“They're here.”

Elena's heart pounded.

“Who?”

Daniel stepped closer.

“The people who destroyed your father.”

Elena swallowed.

“Tell me everything.”

Daniel looked at her.

“Your father wasn't guilty.”

She stopped breathing.

“What?”

“He didn't commit fraud.”

“I know.”

“No, Elena.”

Daniel shook his head.

“You don't know.”

He pulled a small memory card from his pocket.

“This proves it.”

Elena stared at it.

“What is it?”

“Your father's final recording.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“My father's?”

Daniel nodded.

“He recorded everything the night before he disappeared.”

“Where is he?”

Daniel's face changed.

“That's the problem.”

“What?”

“He wasn't alone that night.”

Elena's voice trembled.

“Who was with him?”

Daniel opened his mouth.

A gunshot exploded through the warehouse.

Daniel staggered.

“Daniel!”

Elena caught him before he fell.

Blood spread across his shirt.

“Get down!” Daniel shouted.

Another shot struck the metal wall.

Elena dropped behind a wooden crate.

“Daniel!”

“Run!”

“I can't leave you.”

“You have to!”

A shadow moved across the warehouse.

Elena's heart raced.

She reached for her emergency tracker.

It was gone.

Someone had taken it.

Her blood ran cold.

Daniel grabbed her wrist.

“Listen to me.”

“What?”

“The recording isn't the evidence.”

Elena stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

“The recording tells you where the evidence is.”

“Where?”

Daniel struggled to breathe.

“In your mother's house.”

Elena froze.

“My mother doesn't have a house.”

“She did.”

“No.”

Daniel's eyes filled with pain.

“She gave it to you.”

“I never received anything.”

“You did.”

“Where?”

Daniel looked toward the old office upstairs.

“Your mother's piano.”

Elena's heart stopped.

“My mother never owned a piano.”

Daniel stared at her.

“She did.”

Another gunshot rang out.

Daniel pushed the memory card into Elena's hand.

“Go!”

Elena ran.

She reached the exit—

Then stopped.

A figure stood in front of her.

Tall.

Motionless.

Wearing a black coat.

Elena stepped backward.

“Who are you?”

The figure lifted his head.

Her blood turned to ice.

She knew that face.

She had seen it in the photograph.

Victor Blackwood.

The man who had supposedly died twenty years ago.

He smiled.

“You look exactly like your mother.”

Elena couldn't move.

“You're dead.”

Victor laughed softly.

“That is what they wanted everyone to believe.”

He took one step toward her.

“Now give me the recording.”

Elena tightened her grip around the memory card.

“No.”

Victor's smile disappeared.

“Then I'll take it from you.”

Before he could reach her, headlights suddenly flooded the warehouse.

A car crashed through the entrance.

Victor turned.

Adrian stepped out.

His expression was pure fury.

“Get away from my wife.”

Victor looked at him.

Then smiled.

“Hello, Adrian.”

Adrian froze.

For the first time, Elena saw something she had never seen on his face.

Fear.

Victor slowly raised his gun.

“You've grown into your father's son.”

Adrian stepped in front of Elena.

“Why are you alive?”

Victor laughed.

“Because your father helped me disappear.”

Adrian's eyes widened.

“What?”

Victor's gaze shifted to Elena.

“And because her father knew the truth.”

Elena's voice trembled.

“What truth?”

Victor smiled.

“The truth about why your mother disappeared before she died.”

Elena's heart stopped.

“My mother didn't disappear.”

Victor's smile grew.

“Yes, she did.”

He looked directly at her.

“Because your mother wasn't Elena Hart's mother.”

Elena went completely still.

Adrian turned toward her.

Victor's voice echoed through the warehouse.

“Your real mother is still alive.”

Then the lights went out.

A gunshot exploded in the darkness.

And Elena heard Adrian scream her name.