The Man Who Knew My Father

I remained seated at the table long after Adrian left, his last words still echoing in my mind. You are in more danger than you realize. I looked at the papers in front of me again, hoping that if I read them one more time they would somehow make sense, but they did not. My name was clearly written on the agreement, and so was Victor’s, while my father’s signature sat at the bottom of the final page. I knew that signature well, having seen it countless times while growing up, and there was no mistake about it. My father had signed the document.

I pushed the papers away and looked at Nora, who had not said a word since Adrian left. “Say something,” I whispered.

Nora took a deep breath. “I do not know what to say.”

“I do not know what to think,” I admitted.

She reached across the table and held my hand. “Then do not think about everything at once.”

“How can I not think about it? Adrian just told me that my father gave Victor money and expected me to marry him.”

“I know.”

“And he said Victor was supposed to protect me.”

“I heard him.”

I looked toward the door. “Who is Adrian Cross?”

Nora shook her head. “I have never heard that name before tonight.”

“He knew my father.”

“That is what he said.”

I picked up my phone. “I am calling Victor.”

Nora immediately stopped me. “Why?”

“Because I want answers.”

“You think he will tell you the truth?”

I looked at the screen. “No.”

“Then do not give him the chance to confuse you.”

Her words made sense, but my heart refused to accept them. Victor had lied to me, that much was clear, yet there were still too many questions left unanswered. I wanted to know why my father had trusted him, why Victor had never told me about the agreement, and most of all, what Adrian meant when he said that I was in danger.

My phone suddenly rang, and Victor’s name appeared on the screen. I stared at it while Nora looked at me and said, “Do not answer.” I hesitated, and then I accepted the call anyway.

“Hello?”

For several seconds, Victor said nothing, and then I heard him breathe. “Where are you?”

“That is none of your business.”

“Please, I need to see you.”

“No.”

“Elena, there are things you do not understand.”

I closed my eyes. “Then explain them.”

“I cannot do that over the phone.”

“Why?”

“Because someone is watching.”

My heart began beating faster. “Who?”

Victor did not answer.

“Victor, who is watching me?”

“I will come to you.”

“No.”

“You have to listen to me.”

“I listened to you for six years,” I said, my voice shaking. “I believed everything you told me, and you lied to me.”

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

“You did.”

He became silent, and then he said something that frightened me. “Stay away from Adrian Cross.”

I froze. “How do you know Adrian?”

Victor did not answer.

“Victor, how do you know him?”

The call ended, and I stared at my phone in disbelief. Nora’s expression changed. “He knows Adrian.”

I nodded. “And he is afraid of him.”

I looked at the papers again, and everything felt more confusing than before. I wanted to go home, and the thought surprised me, because it was not Victor’s apartment I was thinking of. I wanted to go to my own home, the place I had lived in before Victor became the center of my life. My grandmother had left me a small house on the edge of the city after she died, and I had rented it out because Victor believed we would eventually sell it and use the money for our future together. I had not visited the house in almost four years, but that night, I decided to go there, and Nora insisted on coming with me.

The house looked exactly as I remembered it, although the garden had grown wild and the paint had faded with time. I unlocked the front door, and the smell of the old house brought back memories I had not expected. My grandmother used to sit near the window every afternoon and tell me stories about my father, always insisting that he was a good man. I had never questioned that before, but now I wondered what else he had kept from me.

Nora walked into the living room. “I think you should stay here for a while.”

“I will.”

I placed my bag on the couch, and then I noticed something. There was an envelope lying on the floor near the fireplace with my name written across it, and my heart stopped when I picked it up. The handwriting was familiar. It was my father’s handwriting.

“Nora.”

She came closer. “What is it?”

“My father wrote this.”

I opened the envelope with trembling fingers, and inside was a letter. My dear Elena, if you are reading this, something has gone wrong. I stopped reading for a moment, my eyes filling with tears, before forcing myself to continue. There are things I wanted to tell you, but I believed keeping them from you would keep you safe. I was wrong.

I looked at Nora. “Keep reading,” she whispered, and I continued. Victor is not the man you believe him to be. I trusted him because I believed he could protect you, but I eventually discovered that I had made a terrible mistake. My hands began to shake as I reached the final paragraph. If Adrian Cross ever comes looking for you, listen to him before you trust anyone else.

I lowered the letter. Nora stared at me. “Your father mentioned Adrian.”

I nodded, and the room suddenly felt too quiet around us. My father had written Adrian’s name before I had even met him, which meant that Adrian had not appeared in my life by accident. Someone had planned this, and someone had been waiting.

Before I could say anything else, I heard a sound outside. Nora turned toward the window. “Did you hear that?”

I nodded, and we both fell silent. A shadow moved across the glass, and my heart began racing as Nora reached for my arm. “Someone is outside.”

I stepped toward the window, but the shadow disappeared. I moved closer and looked through the curtains, and that was when I saw a black car parked across the street, the same kind of car Victor drove, though something about this one felt different. The driver was not Victor.

The door opened, and a man stepped out, looking toward my house before raising his phone. A second later, my own phone vibrated, and I looked at the screen to find a message from an unknown number. You should have listened to Adrian. I stared at the words as a cold feeling spread through my body, and then another message arrived. Because Victor is not the person you should be afraid of.