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Chapter 13 — The Truth She Buried
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2026-09-14 17:13:09Lena stared at her mother.
“Your real father?” The words barely came out. Her mother looked away, unable to meet her eyes. Adrian stood silently near the foot of the bed, his face unreadable. Lena turned toward Daniel. He didn't deny it. That hurt more than anything. “You knew?” Daniel lowered his head. “I knew.” Lena felt like the floor had disappeared beneath her. “All these years…” Her voice cracked. “You let me believe you were my father.” Daniel stepped closer. “I was your father in every way that mattered.” “But you lied to me.” “I was protecting you.” “Everyone keeps saying that.” Lena wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Everyone lies, then calls it protection.” Her mother reached for her. “Lena, please.” She pulled her hand away. “Who is he?” Her mother swallowed. “His name is Michael Carter.” Lena frowned. “Carter?” “Yes.” Adrian's eyes narrowed. “Daniel changed her surname.” Lena looked at him. “Why?” Her mother answered quietly. “Because your real father was dangerous.” The room became silent again. “What did he do?” “He worked with Adrian's father.” Adrian's expression hardened. “Doing what?” Her mother hesitated. “Money. Shell companies. Transfers. Things your father couldn't let anyone discover.” Lena stared at her. “So my real father was involved in all of this?” “He was involved before I knew the truth.” “And then?” “He wanted out.” Adrian took a step closer. “Why?” “Because he discovered what your father was planning.” “My father?” Her mother nodded. “He knew about the money laundering. He knew about the people your father had ruined. And he knew what happened to your mother.” Adrian's face went cold. “You're saying Michael knew my mother was going to be killed?” “He tried to stop it.” “Did he fail?” Her mother looked down. “He disappeared.” Lena's heart pounded. “Where?” “We don't know.” Adrian's eyes remained fixed on her mother. “Twenty-four years ago?” She nodded. “Before Lena was born.” Lena suddenly remembered the old photograph. Her mother's face. Daniel standing beside her. And the mysterious man behind them. “Was that him?” Her mother didn't answer. She didn't need to. Lena stepped back. “So he is my father.” “Yes.” “And Daniel raised me because he disappeared?” “Yes.” Lena laughed bitterly. “This is insane.” Adrian approached her slowly. “Lena.” She looked at him. For once, there was no coldness in his eyes. Only concern. “I need some air.” She walked out before anyone could stop her. The hospital corridor was almost empty. She leaned against the wall and covered her face. Her entire life suddenly felt like a story someone else had written. Daniel wasn't her biological father. Her real father had been involved with Adrian's family. And somehow, Damian Cross was connected to all of it. Footsteps approached. Adrian stopped beside her. “You don't have to deal with this alone.” Lena lowered her hands. “You don't understand.” “I understand more than you think.” She looked at him. “Your father killed your mother. My father disappeared. Our families are connected to crimes from twenty years ago.” Adrian didn't respond. “And somehow,” she continued, “I'm in the middle of it.” “You were put in the middle.” “By who?” His silence answered her. Lena looked down the hallway. “Damian.” Adrian nodded. “He wants something from you.” “What?” “I don't know yet.” Her phone suddenly vibrated. Lena pulled it from her pocket. One new message. YOU'RE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS. Her heart raced. Another message appeared. ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO YOUR FATHER WAS RUNNING FROM. Lena showed Adrian. His expression darkened. Then another message came. AND ASK ADRIAN WHAT HIS FATHER DID TO HIM. Adrian stared at the screen. “What does that mean?” Lena asked. Before he could answer, the hospital lights suddenly flickered. Once. Twice. Then the entire hallway went dark. Lena felt Adrian's hand close around hers. “Stay behind me.” A sound came from the end of the corridor. Footsteps. Slow. Approaching. Adrian pulled Lena closer. Then a man's voice echoed through the darkness. “Lena Carter.” She stopped breathing. The voice came closer. “I've been looking for you for a very long time.”
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The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 25 —The Truth She Was Never Meant to Know
Lena stared at the letter in Adrian’s hand. For several seconds, neither of us spoke. The small cabin was quiet except for the rain tapping against the windows. Adrian stood near the fireplace, his face unreadable, but I could see the tension in his jaw. “The baby they were searching for wasn’t you.” The words kept repeating inside my head. You were the child I chose to save. I swallowed hard. “Adrian…” He looked at me. There was something different in his eyes now. Not anger. Not suspicion. Fear. “Your mother knew,” he said quietly. “I don’t understand.” “She knew about the baby.” My heart started pounding. “What baby?” Adrian looked down at the letter again. “Your mother wrote that someone was searching for a child. A child connected to both our families.” I shook my head. “No. That doesn’t make sense. My mother never told me anything about this.” “That’s exactly the problem.” He stepped closer and handed me the letter. I took it with trembling fingers. The ha
The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 24 — The Name They Stole
I stared at the envelope in Margaret’s hand.The name written across it didn’t belong to me. At least, not the name I had lived with for twenty-four years.My fingers felt numb.“What does it say?” Adrian asked.Margaret looked at me before answering.“Evelyn Carter.”My heart stopped.Daniel’s face changed.He knew that name.“Daniel?” I whispered.He looked away.“You’ve heard it before.”He rubbed a hand over his face. “Your mother mentioned it once.”“Once?”“She told me never to ask questions about the night you were born.”I stepped back.“So you knew?”“I knew there were things she was hiding. I didn't know you had another name.”Adrian took the envelope from Margaret.“Why would Lena have been registered as Evelyn Carter?”Margaret shook her head.“She wasn't. Evelyn Carter was the name given to the other baby.”My stomach tightened.“The other girl?”Margaret nodded.“The baby who disappeared.”A cold wind passed through the trees.Adrian opened the envelope.Inside was a pho
The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 23 — The Other Girl
The bedroom door slammed against the wall. I flinched at the explosion of wood and glass, and Adrian immediately pulled me behind him. “Stay behind me.” A man stepped through the doorway, his face covered, a gun pointed straight at us. Everything inside me froze. Adrian grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the hallway. Daniel shoved the small table beside the door into the man’s path. “Run!” he shouted. A gunshot cracked through the house. Margaret screamed. Adrian pushed me down just as another bullet tore through the wall above us. My heart hammered against my ribs. “Adrian!” “I’m fine.” He wasn't even looking at himself. His eyes were fixed on the hallway. “Go with Daniel,” he ordered. “I’m not leaving you.” His jaw tightened. “Lena, please.” It was the first time I had heard fear in his voice. Not for himself. For me. Daniel grabbed my arm. “We have to move.” We ran through the kitchen as another shot echoed behind us. Margaret followed, clutching something
The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 22 — Margaret Vale
The house was supposed to be empty.That was the first thing Adrian noticed.The second was the front door.It was open.Lena stayed close to him as they walked toward the small house at the end of the quiet street. Daniel remained a few steps behind them, watching the road.“Your mother is supposed to be inside?” Adrian asked.Daniel nodded. “That's what I was told.”Lena's heart was pounding.After everything that had happened, hearing that her mother was alive should have made her feel relieved.Instead, she felt afraid.Adrian reached for her hand.She looked at him.“We go in together.”She nodded.They stepped inside.The house was dark and unusually quiet.“Margaret?” Daniel called.No answer.Lena looked around.There were old photographs on the walls. A younger Margaret stood beside Adrian's mother in several of them.Then Lena saw something that made her stop.A photograph of her mother.She walked toward it.Her mother was much younger, standing beside Margaret.And in her
The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 21 — The Child They Wanted
Lena stared at Adrian.“I don't understand.”Adrian kept his eyes on the phone.“If they're looking for you, then the message about the baby was meant to confuse us.”Daniel stepped closer.“Maybe not.”Lena turned toward him.“What do you mean?”Daniel looked at the photograph in Adrian's hand.“Your mother spent years making sure nobody knew where you came from. If someone is still searching for that child, they may have believed Lena was the one.”“But why?”“Because they didn't know the truth.”Adrian looked at Daniel.“Then who was the baby?”Daniel shook his head.“I don't know.”Lena felt frustration rising again.“Everyone keeps saying they don't know.”She grabbed the photograph.“But somebody does.”Her eyes moved over the faded image.Her mother was holding a newborn.Michael stood beside her.And behind them was Adrian's father.Three adults.One baby.A secret that had survived for twenty-four years.“There has to be something else,” Lena said.Adrian nodded.“My father's
The Boss Who Hated Me Back Chapter 20 — The Child I Chose
I read the sentence again.Then again.It didn't change.The baby they were searching for wasn't you. You were the child I chose to save.My fingers went numb.“What does that mean?”No one answered.I looked at Daniel first.He couldn't meet my eyes.Then I looked at Adrian.He was staring at the letter as if it had just changed everything he thought he knew about me.“Dad,” I whispered. “What was she talking about?”Daniel finally sighed.“Your mother wanted to tell you herself.”“She can't. She's missing.”“I know.”“So tell me.”He sat down heavily on the old chair.“Your mother wasn't supposed to have you.”I felt my chest tighten.“What?”“She was protecting another child.”Adrian straightened.“Who?”Daniel looked at him.“We don't know.”“You expect us to believe that?”“I've spent twenty-four years trying to understand it myself.”I looked back at the letter.“Then why did she choose me?”Daniel hesitated.“Because the people looking for that child were willing to kill anyone
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