Chapter 6

Elena’s POV

The door clicked shut behind them, and silence pressed against me like a heavy weight. My cheek still burned where Claudia’s hand had struck, but what hurt more was the echo of her words. Worthless.

No matter how many times I heard it, the word cut deep, carving into the part of me that still believed maybe, just maybe, I was more than the pawn she had made me.

I pressed my palm against my stinging skin, biting back tears. The last thing I wanted was to let her cruelty follow me even here. But when I turned toward the window, I froze.

Headlights flared against the cracked glass. The sleek silhouette of Adrian’s Maybach rolled to a stop, its black exterior gleaming like a predator under the gray morning light. My heart jumped into my throat.

He was back.

The engine shut off, and a second later the car door opened. His tall frame unfolded into the chill of the morning air, every line of his posture rigid, purposeful. Even from behind the curtain, I could feel the storm radiating off him.

And then I remembered the timing. He must have seen them leaving.

My blood ran cold.

The porch groaned beneath his steps, steady and deliberate, like the countdown to something inevitable. I barely had time to wipe the tears from my face before the door swung open.

Adrian stood there, sharp in a charcoal suit that clung to him like it was made for his body alone. The disguise of poverty was gone. He filled the doorway with an authority that didn’t belong in this shabby little house, his gray eyes sweeping over me like steel blades.

But then his gaze caught on my cheek.

The faint redness. The swelling.

Something inside him snapped. I saw it in the sudden darkness of his expression, in the way his jaw clenched so tightly the vein in his temple pulsed. His voice, when it came, was low and deadly.

“Who,” he asked, each syllable dripping like poison, “touched you?”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “It’s… nothing.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. He took one step closer, then another, until the air between us was charged with something that made my skin prickle. His hand lifted slowly not to strike, but to cup my chin, tilting my face toward the light. His thumb brushed across the tender skin, feather-light, but it was enough to make me wince.

His eyes darkened further.

“Tell me,” he demanded, voice like thunder restrained behind clouds.

I tried to look away, but his grip gentle yet unyielding held me. “It was Claudia,” I whispered finally. “And Vanessa. They came. ” My voice cracked, shame swelling inside me. “They mocked me, humiliated me. Again.”

For a long moment, he said nothing. Just stared at me with those storm-gray eyes that seemed to peel back layers I didn’t want anyone to see. And then, without a word, he released me and turned sharply toward the door.

“Adrian!” I gasped, reaching after him. “Where are you going?”

He paused in the doorway, his broad shoulders tense, his fists clenched at his sides. When he spoke, his voice was so low it sent a shiver down my spine.

“To remind your stepmother and sister what happens when they cross me.”

Panic flared in my chest. I darted forward, catching his arm. “No please. Don’t. If you go after them, it’ll only get worse. They’ll use it against me. They always do.”

For the first time, his eyes softened just slightly as he looked down at my hand clutching his sleeve. “They already crossed a line,” he said. “And I don’t forgive lines being crossed.”

His words should have terrified me. And maybe they did. But there was something else beneath them too. Something protective. Something that made my chest tighten in ways I didn’t want to name.

Slowly, he unclenched his fists and pulled out his phone instead. His voice dropped to a lethal calm as he spoke into it.

“Victor. I want surveillance footage from this street. Ten minutes ago. Find out exactly what car they arrived in, who drove it, and where they went. Send men to tail them. Don’t engage yet I’ll decide how to deal with them myself.”

He ended the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket, and turned back to me. “This is the last time they lay a hand on you. I’ll make sure of it.”

I swallowed hard, my heart twisting. “Why?” I whispered before I could stop myself. “Why do you care so much? You’ve been cold, distant, unreadable since the moment we met. And now…” My voice shook. “Now you’re ready to go to war for me?”

For the briefest second, something flickered in his eyes. Something raw. Vulnerable. But just as quickly, it vanished, buried beneath his usual steel.

“Because you’re my wife,” he said simply. “And they made the mistake of forgetting that.”

*****

The rest of the day passed in a haze. Adrian left for his so-called business meetings, though I knew now that “business” meant something far darker and more dangerous than contracts and boardrooms. He had power the kind that could crush Claudia and Vanessa with a single phone call.

And yet, when I sat alone in that shabby little house, all I could feel was fear. Not just of them. Of him.

Because if Adrian could destroy them so easily, what would stop him from destroying me?

When he returned late that night, I was still awake, sitting on the edge of the thin mattress with my knees drawn to my chest. His sharp eyes softened for a fraction of a second when they landed on me. Without a word, he shrugged off his jacket and crossed the room.

“You didn’t sleep,” he murmured.

“How could I?” I whispered.

He sat beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight. His hand lifted again, this time brushing a stray strand of hair from my face. His touch lingered longer than necessary, sending a confusing rush of warmth through me.

“They think you’re my weakness,” he said softly, almost to himself. His eyes locked with mine, intense and unyielding. “But they’re wrong. You’re my strength. And I’ll show them why.”

My breath caught in my throat. His face was inches from mine, his hand still warm against my cheek. The air between us was thick, electric, pulling me toward him against my will.

And then.

The shrill ring of the phone shattered the moment.

I jumped, my heart leaping into my throat. Adrian’s eyes narrowed, and he rose instantly, striding to the small table where the old landline sat. He answered with a clipped, “Blackwood.”

But instead of a reply, there was only static. Then a voice low, distorted, mechanical slid through the receiver.

“Tell your little bride she has no idea what she’s walked into.”

My blood ran cold.

Adrian’s eyes snapped to mine, sharp and dangerous. “Who is this?”

The voice chuckled darkly. “Leave him, Elena. Leave Adrian before it’s too late. Or you’ll both burn.”

The line went dead.

I sat frozen, staring at Adrian as he lowered the phone, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with fury. And in that moment, one truth hit me harder than Claudia’s slap, harder than Vanessa’s laughter.

This wasn’t just about Claudia. Or Vanessa.

There were enemies out there far bigger, far darker.

And I was trapped in the middle of it.