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Chapter 3 — The Woman in the Photograph
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2026-09-09 17:22:17Lena barely slept.
By three in the morning, she was still staring at the ceiling, replaying Adrian's words in her head.
The woman in the photograph is your mother.
It didn't make sense.
Her mother had always told her that her father was the only man she had ever loved. She had never mentioned another man. Never mentioned Adrian Blackwood. Never mentioned a photograph.
And yet, Adrian had looked at her mother as if he'd known her better than anyone.
Lena reached for her phone.
She opened the photograph she had secretly taken before leaving Adrian's office.
The image was slightly blurred, but the three faces were still recognizable.
Her father.
Adrian.
And her mother.
She zoomed in on her mother's face.
There was something about the way she was looking at Adrian.
Not fear.
Not hatred.
Something softer.
Something Lena couldn't name.
Her phone rang.
She almost dropped it.
“Mom?”
“Why are you calling me at this hour?”
“I need the truth.”
Silence.
“About Dad.”
Her mother's breathing changed.
“Lena, please.”
“And Adrian Blackwood.”
Another silence.
That was enough.
“You knew him.”
Her mother didn't answer.
“You knew him, Mom.”
“I was young.”
Lena sat up.
“How young?”
“Twenty-two.”
“And Adrian?”
“Twenty-four.”
Lena's heart pounded.
“What happened between you?”
“I loved him.”
The words were barely audible.
Lena closed her eyes.
“Then why did you marry Dad?”
Her mother's voice trembled.
“Because I had no choice.”
“Why?”
“I can't tell you.”
“You have to.”
“No, Lena.”
Her mother suddenly sounded terrified.
“Some things are dangerous to remember.”
Before Lena could ask anything else, the call ended.
Lena stared at her phone.
Then she noticed a message.
Unknown Number: Stop digging into the past.
Her blood ran cold.
She immediately locked the screen.
Someone was watching her.
The next morning, Lena arrived at Blackwood Enterprises earlier than usual.
She hadn't changed her mind.
If anything, she was more determined.
But when she reached the executive floor, she noticed something strange.
Daniel was waiting outside Adrian's office.
“You're early,” he said.
“So are you.”
He smiled faintly.
“Mr. Blackwood has been here since five.”
Lena frowned.
“Why?”
Daniel glanced toward the closed office door.
“Your arrival yesterday caused some problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
Before he could answer, Adrian's voice came from inside.
“Send her in.”
Lena took a breath and entered.
Adrian stood behind his desk.
He looked exhausted.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and several documents were scattered across the desk.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes.”
He pushed a folder toward her.
“Your employment contract.”
Lena looked at it.
“What about it?”
“I want you to resign.”
Her eyes widened.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Why?”
“Because you're not safe here.”
“From whom?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I can't tell you.”
“Then I'm not resigning.”
“Lena.”
“No.”
She pushed the folder back.
“You don't get to hire me and fire me because you suddenly decided I'm dangerous.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You don't know what you're asking.”
“Yes, I do.”
She stepped closer.
“My mother knew you.”
His expression changed.
Lena saw it.
“You loved her.”
Adrian looked away.
“Don't.”
“She was the woman in the photograph.”
“Stop.”
“What happened between you?”
“Enough.”
His voice echoed through the office.
Lena went silent.
Adrian took a slow breath.
“When I met your mother, I believed she was the only person I could trust.”
His eyes lowered.
“She proved me wrong.”
Lena's chest tightened.
“What did she do?”
“She disappeared.”
“Why?”
“I never found out.”
“My father knew.”
Adrian's eyes snapped toward her.
“How do you know?”
“Because my mother said he told her what happened.”
Adrian walked around the desk.
“What exactly did she say?”
“That you would never forgive him.”
For the first time, Adrian looked genuinely shaken.
He reached for the edge of the desk.
“Your mother told you that?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“She said she had no choice but to marry my father.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered—
“She was pregnant.”
Lena froze.
“What?”
Adrian looked at her.
“She was pregnant when she left me.”
Lena's heart slammed against her ribs.
She suddenly understood why he had looked at her differently from the moment they met.
“Are you saying…”
Adrian didn't answer.
Lena's voice trembled.
“Are you saying you thought I was your daughter?”
He stared at her.
“I don't know.”
The silence between them became unbearable.
Then Adrian walked toward a locked cabinet.
He entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a small box.
He took it out and placed it on the desk.
“This is everything I had left from your mother.”
Lena stared at the box.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because last night, someone broke into my private records.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What?”
“They weren't looking for company information.”
Adrian opened the box.
Inside was a stack of old letters.
And on top of them—
Was a hospital bracelet.
Lena picked it up.
Her fingers began to shake.
There was a name written on it.
Baby Girl Blackwood.
She looked at Adrian.
He was staring at her with an expression she'd never seen before.
Fear.
“We need to find out,” he said quietly.
“Find out what?”
“Whether you're my daughter.”
Before Lena could respond, the office lights suddenly went out.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Adrian immediately pulled her behind him.
Then they heard footsteps running toward the office.
Someone stopped outside the door.
And slowly—
The handle began to turn.
Bab terbaru
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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