MasukFor the first time in years, I woke up without feeling that I was running from something. The morning sunlight entered through the curtains, falling across the bedroom floor, and I stayed in bed for a few minutes just listening to the quietness around me.My father was alive. My mother was finally with us. Victor was facing the consequences of his actions. My grandfather and Jonathan were both under investigation. And Adrian was still beside me. Everything had changed so quickly that sometimes I wondered if I was dreaming.I reached for the ring on my finger, and the sight of it made me smile. Adrian had not only promised to marry me. He had shown me that love did not have to cost me my identity.My phone rang. It was my father.“Good morning, sweetheart.”His voice still felt strange to hear, though the strangeness was starting to soften into something warm. “Good morning, Dad.”“I wanted to ask if you were coming home today.”I smiled. “I am already home.”There was a brief silence
I barely slept that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my grandfather’s face on the screen, his voice remaining in my mind, calm and confident, as though he already knew what I would do before I had even made my decision.He wanted me to come to the old Marlowe estate. He wanted me to face him. More than anything, he wanted me to believe that I belonged to him. But I knew better than that.I was not my grandfather’s creation. I was not my father’s mistake. I was not Victor’s abandoned fiancée. I was Elena. I had survived everything they had thrown at me, and I was not going to let anyone else decide who I would become.By morning, Adrian was waiting for me in the living room.“You did not sleep,” he said.“Neither did you.”He smiled. “I was making sure you did not sneak out without me.”I laughed softly. “I would never do that.”He looked at me knowingly. “You are thinking about going alone.”“I was.”“I knew it.”I sat beside him. “I am afraid.”He took my hand. “You can be a
I could not move after my father whispered the name. My mother looked at him with tears in her eyes, and Adrian remained beside me, his hand firmly holding mine. I finally found my voice.“Say it again.”My father looked at me. “Your grandfather.”I stared at him. “My grandfather?”He nodded. “But he died before I was born.”“That is what everyone believed.”My heart began beating faster. “You are telling me my grandfather is alive?”“Yes.”“Where?”“I do not know.”I stepped back. “How can you not know?”“Because he disappeared after your father’s death.”I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. “This makes no sense.”My father looked at the box of evidence resting between us. “Your grandfather built the foundation of the network long before I understood what he was doing.”“Why?”“Power.”The answer was simple, but the meaning behind it was terrifying. He continued, his voice heavy with the weight of old memories. “He wanted control over businesses, politicians, and people with
The old Marlowe house looked exactly as I remembered it. The broken gate still hung from one side of the fence, and the windows were covered with dust. It was the house where I had spent some of the happiest years of my childhood, before my father’s death changed everything.Now I stood outside it with Adrian beside me, wondering whether the man I had mourned for years was truly alive.“Are you ready?” Adrian asked.I looked at him. “No.”He took my hand. “Then you do not have to pretend that you are.”I squeezed his fingers. “I am scared.”“I know.”“What if he is really there?”“Then you will finally have the answers you deserve.”“And what if he is not?”“Then we keep searching.”His calmness gave me courage, and together we entered the house. The front door opened with a loud creak, and dust covered the furniture, though everything was still exactly where I remembered it. I walked slowly through the living room, and I could almost hear my younger self laughing somewhere in the cor
I could not stop thinking about Jonathan. His face kept appearing in my mind, along with the calm way he had always spoken to me, the way he had handed me my father’s documents, and the way he had told me I was finally ready to know the truth. Had all of it been a lie?I sat beside Michael while Adrian examined his injured shoulder. My mother stood near the window, watching the street with a tension that never seemed to leave her body. Nora had arrived after Adrian called her, and she was sitting quietly beside me now.“Are you sure it was Jonathan?” I asked Michael.He looked at me steadily. “Yes.”“You saw him?”“I saw him many times.”“But you said he was my father’s lawyer.”“He was.”“Then why would he betray him?”Michael lowered his eyes before answering. “Because your father discovered what he was doing.”My chest tightened. “What was he doing?”“He was moving money out of the company.”My hands curled into fists. “How much?”“Enough to build a private network of people who wo
I stared through the window at the man standing across the street. He looked calm, almost too calm for someone just standing there in plain sight. Beside me, my mother was trembling.“You know him,” I said.She nodded slowly. “His name is Michael Stone.”“Who was he to my father?”“He was his closest friend.”I looked at the man again, trying to place him in any memory I had of my father’s life. “But you said he died twenty years ago.”“I believed he did,” my mother whispered.Adrian moved toward the window, his body tensing. “Stay away from it,” he warned.“Why?” I asked.“Because we do not know why he is here.”As if he had heard us, Michael suddenly looked directly toward our window. My heart began beating faster.“He knows we are watching him,” I said.Adrian stepped back from the glass. “Then we need to leave.”My mother shook her head firmly. “No.”Adrian turned to her, confused. “What?”“He came because he wants Elena to know something.”“How do you know that?”“Because Michael







