Chapter Eleven: The Nightmare

I didn't sleep that night.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Adrian's words played on a loop in my head. I was there. I saw you die.

He knew. He'd known since the beginning. Every moment I thought I was hiding something, he was already two steps ahead. Every time I caught him watching me, every flicker I couldn't name—he knew.

I should have been angry. I should have felt betrayed.

Instead, I felt something else. Something I couldn't name.

Relief.

I wasn't alone in this anymore.

I got up at three. I walked to the kitchen. I made tea I didn't drink. I sat at the island and stared at the wall.

At four, I heard footsteps. Adrian appeared in the doorway. He was still dressed. He hadn't slept either.

"You're up," he said.

"So are you."

He walked to the island. He sat across from me. He didn't ask if I was okay. He didn't apologize. He just sat there.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"Since the beginning."

"That's not an answer."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I knew you before. Not well. Not personally. But I knew of you. Your mother. Your family. I'd been investigating the Ashfords for years. You were part of the picture."

I wrapped my hands around the cold teacup. "And the wedding?"

"I wasn't invited. I went anyway. I wanted to see him. I wanted to see what he'd won."

"You watched me marry him."

"I watched you promise yourself to a man who would kill you three years later."

I set down the cup. My hands were steady. I didn't know why.

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"I didn't know he would kill you. Not then. I only knew what he was capable of. I thought—" He stopped. He looked away.

"You thought what?"

"I thought you might be different. I thought you might see through him on your own."

I almost laughed. "I didn't."

"No. You didn't."

"Then you should have warned me."

"I should have done a lot of things."

We sat in silence. The sky outside the window started to lighten. Gray. Then pink. Then gold.

"I dreamed of falling for months after," he said. "I'd wake up and see it. You. The balcony. The fall. I didn't know it was real. I thought it was guilt. Or imagination. Something my mind made up."

"But it was real."

"It was real. And then you walked into my office. Alive. Whole. And I knew."

"Knew what?"

"That I wasn't losing my mind. That you were—that this was—"

He stopped again. He looked at me.

"I don't know what this is," he said. "But I know I'm not going to let it happen again."

I held his gaze. Neither of us spoke.

The kettle clicked. The morning light filled the room.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay?"

"I believe you."

He didn't smile. But something in his shoulders loosened.

"Good," he said.

---

I went to my office at seven. Felix was already there.

"You look terrible," he said.

"Thank you."

"I mean it. Did you sleep?"

"No."

He didn't push. He just handed me a folder.

"The second account was frozen last night. Julian didn't notice."

I opened the folder. More numbers. More transfers. More evidence.

"Good."

"But he's getting suspicious. He's hired an investigator. Someone good. Someone who might find things we don't want found."

"Who?"

"A man named Victor Hale."

I stopped. I looked up.

"Victor Hale?"

"You know him?"

I knew him. I knew the name. Victor Hale was my mother's former attorney. The man who had documents. The man who wanted money. The man we hadn't found yet.

"He's not just an investigator," I said. "He's a witness."

Felix frowned. "What?"

"Victor Hale was my mother's attorney. He has evidence about her death. Julian's father killed her. Victor knows."

Felix's face went pale. "Does Adrian know?"

"He knows the name. He doesn't know Julian hired him."

"This changes things."

"Yes," I said. "It does."

---

I found Adrian in his office. I didn't knock. I just walked in.

"Victor Hale," I said.

He looked up. "What about him?"

"He's the investigator Julian hired."

Adrian set down his pen. He didn't react. He just watched me.

"Does Julian know what Victor has?"

"I don't know. But if Victor is working for Julian, he could turn. He could give Julian the evidence. He could tell him everything we know."

"He could," Adrian said. "Or he could use this as leverage."

"Leverage?"

"He has something Julian wants. And he has something we want. He's in a position to negotiate."

I sat across from him. "We need to get to him first."

"Agreed."

"When?"

"Tonight."

I nodded. I stood.

"Elena."

I stopped.

"Are you okay?"

I turned. He was watching me. His face was unreadable.

"I'm fine," I said.

"You don't have to be."

"I know."

I left.

---

That night, I dreamed of falling again.

But this time, I didn't hit the ground. This time, someone caught me. I couldn't see his face. But I knew who it was.

I woke up with my heart pounding. I sat up. I waited for the fear to pass.

It didn't.

I got up. I walked to the living room. Adrian was already there. He didn't ask if I was okay. He just moved over on the couch.

I sat beside him. We stayed there until morning.