جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

The rain had been falling for nearly an hour when Elena finally arrived at the penthouse.She stood outside the door, her fingers tightly wrapped around the small envelope she had found earlier that afternoon.She had read the words inside more than ten times.“If you want to know why your marriage was arranged, come alone. Midnight. The old office.”There was no signature.But Elena knew the handwriting.It belonged to someone she had not expected to hear from again.Her heart pounded.She slowly opened the door.“Adrian?”No answer.The penthouse was unusually quiet. The lights in the living room were off, and only the city lights from outside illuminated the room.“Elena?”She froze.Adrian stepped out from the hallway.He was still wearing his black suit, but his tie was loosened, and his expression was unusually serious.“What are you doing here?” he asked.“I should be asking you that.”His eyes narrowed.Elena lifted the envelope.“I received this.”The moment Adrian saw it, th

Elena stood frozen.The woman in front of her smiled as if nothing unusual had happened.It was Isabella.Adrian's former fiancée.The woman Elena had once believed was simply a part of Adrian's complicated past.But the coldness in Isabella's eyes was different now.“Elena,” Isabella said softly. “You finally understand.”Elena tightened her grip on her mother's hand.“You?”Isabella stepped into the room.“Yes. Me.”Adrian heard Elena's voice from the hallway and immediately turned.“Isabella!”She smiled.“Hello, Adrian.”His expression hardened.“What are you doing here?”“Finishing what I started.”Elena's mother pulled her backward.“Don't go near her.”Isabella laughed.“You should have listened to your husband all those years ago.”“My husband?”“Yes. Your husband.”Isabella looked at Elena.“Your father trusted the wrong people. He thought the Blackwood family would protect him.”Elena's eyes narrowed.“You were involved in my father's death?”Isabella's smile faded.“I didn'

Elena stared at the gun pointed directly at them.The man standing at the end of the dark passage was Marcus Hale—the longtime business partner of the Blackwood family.The same man she had seen countless times beside Adrian.The same man everyone trusted.And now, he was aiming a gun at them.“Marcus…” Adrian said quietly.The man smiled.“It’s been a long time, Adrian.”Adrian stepped forward.“Why?”“Why?”Marcus laughed.“After everything that has happened, that’s all you can ask?”“Why did you betray us?”“I didn’t betray you.”Marcus raised the gun.“I betrayed the Blackwood family.”Elena looked at her father.“Dad, you know him?”Her father nodded.“He’s the reason I disappeared.”Elena’s eyes widened.“He is?”“Marcus gave Victor information about your father.”Marcus’s smile disappeared.“You shouldn’t have told her that.”Adrian moved closer to Elena.“Stay behind me.”“Adrian…”“Please.”A gunshot suddenly exploded through the hallway.The bullet struck the wall.Elena scr

Elena stared at the photograph in her trembling hands.It showed her and Adrian sleeping in their bedroom.There was no doubt about it.The curtains, the lamp, even the small vase beside the bed were exactly the same.Someone had been inside their home.Someone had been watching them.And whoever had taken the photograph had wanted them to know.Adrian slowly took the picture from Elena.His expression became dangerously calm.“Who gave you this?”The messenger smiled.“You don't need to know.”Adrian stepped toward him.“I asked you a question.”“And I gave you a message.”The man turned to leave.Daniel immediately blocked the door.“You're not going anywhere.”The messenger laughed.“You're making a mistake.”“Why?”“Because if you stop me, someone else dies.”Everyone froze.Elena's heart raced.“Who?”The man looked directly at her.“You'll find out soon.”Adrian grabbed his collar.“Tell me who.”The messenger's smile disappeared.“Your wife already knows.”Elena frowned.“What

Elena stared at the screen.The man standing beside Theodore Grant looked exactly like the photograph she had seen moments earlier.Older, thinner, with silver beginning to cover his hair—but there was no mistaking him.The eyes were the same.The jawline.The faint scar above his eyebrow.And most terrifying of all, the way he looked at her.Like he had known her all her life.“My daughter,” he repeated.Elena shook her head.“No.”Her voice was barely audible.“No, you're not.”Her father stood behind her, completely silent.Her mother was crying.Adrian noticed.He turned toward Elena's father.“You knew.”Elena looked at him.“You knew?”Her father couldn't meet her eyes.“I knew the truth.”Elena's heart shattered.“Then why did you let me believe you were my father?”“Because I raised you.”“That wasn't my question!”Her voice echoed through the underground room.“Why did you lie to me?”Her father closed his eyes.“Because your real father was dangerous.”The man on the screen