Fourty-Eight Hours

“Stay away from my son.”

Elena Bennett stopped walking.

The words were quiet, but they felt more threatening than a scream.

Victoria Blackwood sat behind a marble table in the Blackwood mansion, perfectly composed.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me.”

Victoria pushed a thick brown envelope toward her.

“Open it.”

Elena hesitated before taking it. The photographs inside made her stomach twist.

Her father.

Her mother.

Her younger brother.

Their house.

Pictures of Elena herself with Adrian.

She looked up sharply.

“Why do you have these?”

“Because I wanted you to understand that this isn't simply about whether I approve of you.”

“What is it about?”

“Consequences.”

Elena placed the photographs on the table.

“My family has done nothing to you.”

“Your family is not the problem. Your relationship with my son is.”

“I love Adrian.”

“And he loves you.”

The answer surprised Elena.

Victoria leaned back.

“That is precisely why this needs to end.”

“You can't decide who he loves.”

“No. But I can decide what happens when he refuses to listen.”

Victoria opened a folder and slid several documents across the table.

Elena recognized her father's company name.

Her heart sank.

“What are those?”

“Information about your father's business.”

“You investigated my family?”

“I investigated the people standing between my son and his future.”

Elena's hands curled into fists.

“You're threatening my father.”

“I am warning you.”

“What happens if I don't listen?”

Victoria glanced at the photographs.

“Your father loses his company. Your family loses its home. Your brother's future becomes uncertain.”

Elena stared at her in disbelief.

“You would destroy innocent people because your son loves me?”

“I would protect my son from a decision he is too emotional to make.”

“You don't know him better than I do.”

“I am his mother.”

“And I'm the woman he chose.”

Victoria's expression hardened.

“Then prove that you love him.”

“How?”

“Leave him.”

Silence filled the room.

Victoria continued, “If you truly love Adrian, you will understand that sometimes love requires sacrifice.”

Elena's eyes burned.

“And if I refuse?”

Victoria's gaze moved to the photographs.

“Then your family pays the price.”

Elena wanted to fight back. She wanted to call Adrian and tell him everything.

But she imagined her father's face if his business collapsed. Her mother's fear. Her brother losing everything.

“How long do I have?” she asked.

“Forty-eight hours.”

“To do what?”

“Disappear from Adrian's life.”

Victoria stood.

“Don't leave him a reason to look for you.”

Elena picked up the photographs.

“You may be able to control his family, but you can't control his heart.”

Victoria's eyes narrowed.

“Perhaps not. But I can make sure he never gets the chance to choose you.”

Elena turned toward the door.

“Once you leave,” Victoria said, “don't come back.”

Elena walked out.

The moment she reached the gate, she pulled out her phone.

Twenty-three missed calls.

All from Adrian.

The phone rang again.

She stared at his name before answering.

“Where are you?”

His voice immediately made her chest ache.

“Adrian…”

“I've been calling you for hours. What happened?”

“I can't see you anymore.”

Silence.

“What?”

“I said I can't see you.”

“Why?”

“I just can't.”

“That isn't an answer.”

She closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don't apologize. Tell me what happened.”

She couldn't.

If she told him about Victoria, he would confront his mother. And then her family's situation could become even worse.

“You need to forget me,” Elena whispered.

The line went silent.

Then Adrian said, “Look across the street.”

Elena's eyes widened.

She turned.

Adrian stood outside the gate.

He crossed the street quickly and stopped in front of her.

“What did my mother do?”

“Nothing.”

“Don't lie to me.”

“She didn't do anything.”

“Then why are you crying?”

Elena looked away.

He stepped closer.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I can't.”

“Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together.”

“You can't fix this.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do.”

Adrian stared at her.

“Do you love me?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Yes.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

Elena's heart broke.

Because she couldn't tell him the truth.

Because she couldn't risk her family.

Because she had just learned that love could become a weapon.

“I have to go.”

“Elena—”

“Goodbye.”

She turned before he could stop her.

Every step away from him hurt.

She wanted him to follow.

She wanted him to stop her.

But she didn't look back.

If she did, she knew she would run straight into his arms.

Three weeks later, Elena stood in her bedroom staring at a pregnancy test.

Positive.

Her hand trembled.

A baby.

Adrian's baby.

She slowly sat on the edge of the bed, one hand moving to her stomach.

Tears filled her eyes.

She had left Adrian to protect her family.

Now she was carrying a secret that could bring him back into her life.

Her phone lit up.

Please. Just tell me why you disappeared.

Elena stared at the message.

Her fingers hovered over Adrian's name.

She could call him.

She could tell him about the baby.

She could tell him about Victoria.

But then she remembered the photographs.

Her family.

The threat.

She deleted Adrian's number.

A knock sounded downstairs.

“Elena!”

Her father's voice was urgent.

“Pack your things!”

She stood quickly.

“What happened?”

“We're leaving tonight.”

“Tonight?”

Her father appeared at the doorway, his face pale.

“The Blackwoods came.”

Elena's hand moved protectively to her stomach.

“What did they say?”

“They gave us forty-eight hours.”

Her breath caught.

“Forty-eight hours to do what?”

“To leave the city.”

Elena looked toward the window.

Somewhere out there, Adrian was still waiting for an explanation she could never give him.

She looked down at her stomach.

The secret inside her had already changed everything.

Forty-eight hours.

That was all the time she had to disappear from Adrian Blackwood's life.

And this time, she wouldn't be leaving alone.