The Man Who Came For Me

I stared at the black car outside the house, unable to move. Two men were sitting inside it, and neither of them had stepped out, but I could feel that they were watching the house. My heart began beating so hard that I could hear it in my ears. “Who are they?” I asked.

“I do not know,” Adrian replied, his voice calm even as his eyes stayed fixed on the car.

Nora came into the room carrying her phone. “What is happening?”

Adrian looked at her. “Someone found this house.”

Nora looked through the window and understood immediately. “Are they here for Elena?”

Adrian nodded.

I looked at him. “You said they were looking for me.”

“They are.”

“Why?”

“Because you now have something they do not want you to have.”

I looked down at my father’s letter. “You mean this?”

“And the documents.”

I suddenly remembered the folder Adrian had given me and grabbed it from the table. “What should I do with them?”

“Keep them with you.”

Nora looked at Adrian. “Should we call the police?”

He hesitated, and that hesitation frightened me more than anything else that had happened so far. “Why are you not answering?”

Adrian looked at me. “Because I do not know who we can trust.”

I shook my head. “This is getting worse.”

“I know.”

“I never asked for any of this.”

“I know that too.” His eyes softened for a moment. “You did not choose this situation, but you are involved now.”

I looked at the door. “I want to leave.”

“You will.” He moved toward the back of the house. “There is another exit through the kitchen.”

Nora quickly grabbed her bag, and I put the documents inside mine before following them. We moved quietly through the kitchen, every small sound making me more nervous than the last. When Adrian opened the back door, he looked around carefully before stepping outside. “Stay close to me.”

I wanted to argue, but I was too afraid to waste time. We crossed the small garden and reached a narrow path behind the house, and Adrian led us toward another street while I kept glancing behind me. Nobody followed us, or at least nobody that I could see. We reached his car a few minutes later, and he opened the passenger door for me.

I hesitated. “You expect me to get into your car after everything that has happened?”

“You can stay here and wait for the people outside to find you.”

I stared at him. “You are very good at making choices difficult.”

A small smile appeared on his face and disappeared almost immediately. “Get in.”

I entered the car, and Nora sat in the back. Adrian drove away from the house without saying another word, and for several minutes nobody spoke while I watched the city pass through the window. My entire life had changed within two days. Two days earlier, my biggest problem had been a broken relationship, and now I was running from strangers because of secrets connected to my dead father.

I turned toward Adrian. “Where are we going?”

“To my house.”

I immediately shook my head. “No.”

He glanced at me. “Why?”

“Because I do not know you.”

“You are sitting in my car.”

“That does not mean I trust you.”

“I never asked you to trust me.”

“Then why are you helping me?”

He remained silent for a moment before finally answering, “Because I made your father a promise.”

“What promise?”

“That I would protect you if anything happened to him.”

I looked at him. “And you waited five years?”

“I did not know where you were.”

“You could have found me.”

“I tried.” His answer surprised me. “What do you mean?” I asked.

Adrian looked at the road. “Your father asked me to stay away from you unless I had proof that you were in danger.”

“And now you do?”

“Yes.”

I looked down at my hands. “Why did my father trust you more than he trusted Victor?”

Adrian’s expression became serious. “Because I never asked your father for anything.”

I looked at him again. “What does that mean?”

“Victor did.”

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Adrian’s house was in a quiet part of the city, large but not the kind of home that seemed to want attention. The outside was simple, and there were no crowds of people around the entrance. When we entered, I noticed how quiet it was inside.

Nora looked around. “You live here alone?”

“Yes.” Adrian removed his jacket. “There are guest rooms upstairs. You can stay here tonight.”

I shook my head. “I do not want to become your responsibility.”

He looked directly at me. “You are not my responsibility.”

His words hurt more than I expected, and I did not understand why at first. Maybe it was because I had spent so many years being someone else’s responsibility without realizing how much I hated it. Adrian continued, “You are a person who is in danger. I am helping you because I can.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

He walked toward the kitchen. “Have you eaten?”

I almost laughed. “That is what you are asking me now?”

“You need to eat.”

“I am not hungry.”

“You have been through a lot.”

“I know.”

He stopped and looked at me. “You do not have to pretend that you are fine.”

I looked away. “I am not pretending.”

“You are.” His voice was gentle. “You have been trying to hold yourself together since the night you left Victor.”

I swallowed. “Maybe I do not want anyone to see me fall apart.”

“Why?”

“Because I have already spent too much of my life depending on someone else.”

Adrian came closer. “You are not depending on me.” His eyes held mine. “You are simply allowing someone to help you.”

For some reason, those words stayed with me long after he said them. Nora eventually went upstairs to rest, and I remained in the living room while Adrian sat across from me.

“I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Did you love Victor?”

I looked at him. “Yes.”

“Do you still love him?”

I did not answer right away. “I do not know.”

Adrian nodded. “That is honest.”

“I hate that I still care about him.”

“You do not have to hate yourself for that.”

I looked at him. “You make everything sound simple.”

“It is not simple.” For the first time, I saw something painful in his eyes. “You are not the only person who has lost someone.”

I wanted to ask who he had lost, but before I could, his phone rang. He looked at the screen, and his expression changed instantly as he answered. “Speak.” He listened for several seconds, and then he looked at me.

“What happened?” I asked.

He ended the call. “Victor has been arrested.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

Adrian stood. “The police found him at his office.”

“Why was he arrested?”

Adrian looked at me carefully. “They found evidence linking him to your father’s death.”

I could not breathe. Victor had betrayed me, and he had lied to me too many times to count, but murder was something else entirely. I stood up slowly. “Where is he?”

Adrian looked at me. “At the police station.” Then his voice grew quieter. “And he asked to speak to you.”

I stared at him, unable to process what he had just said. After everything Victor had done, I never expected to see him again, but now he was asking for me, and I knew that whatever he wanted to tell me could change everything I thought I understood about the man I once loved.