All Chapters of The Boss Who Hated Me Back: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The hospital smelled like antiseptic and fear.Lena sat beside her mother's bed, holding her hand while watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.Her mother was awake now, but weak.“Mom,” Lena whispered. “Who did this?”Her mother's eyes moved toward her.For a few seconds, she said nothing.Then her fingers tightened around Lena's.“Don't trust anyone from Blackwood.”Lena froze.Adrian, who had been standing near the window, turned around.“Why?” he asked.Her mother looked at him.The fear in her eyes was immediate.“You shouldn't be here.”Adrian's jaw tightened. “Someone used my company's car to hurt you. I need to know why.”“No.” Her mother shook her head weakly. “You need to stay away from this.”Lena looked between them. “You know him?”Her mother closed her eyes.“I knew his family.”Adrian stepped closer. “Did you know my mother?”The room went silent.Her mother's breathing changed.“Yes.”Adrian stared at her.“And you knew what happened to her?”“I knew enough to be

“Lena Carter.”Lena's fingers tightened around Adrian's.The footsteps stopped.For a moment, nobody moved.Then the emergency lights flickered on, bathing the hallway in a dim red glow.A man stood at the far end.He was dressed in a dark jacket, his face partly hidden beneath a cap.Adrian immediately stepped in front of Lena.“Who are you?”The man smiled.“You really don't remember me?”Adrian's eyes narrowed.“I don't have time for games.”The man slowly lifted his hands.“I'm not here to hurt her.”“Then leave.”His smile disappeared.“I came because she deserves the truth.”Lena moved around Adrian.“What truth?”Adrian caught her wrist.“Lena, don't.”The stranger looked directly at her.“Your mother lied about why your father disappeared.”Lena froze.“What do you know about him?”“More than you think.”Adrian stepped forward.“Tell us.”The man glanced at him.“Your father wasn't running from the police.”Adrian's expression hardened.“He was running from someone.”“Who?”Th

Lena couldn't move.The man at the top of the stairs held the gun steady, but his eyes weren't on Adrian.They were on her.“Lena.”Her lips parted.“No…”The man looked older than the photograph, his hair streaked with gray and his face marked by years of exhaustion.But she knew him.Somehow, she knew him.“Dad?”The word escaped before she could stop it.Adrian's hand tightened around hers.Michael Carter lowered the gun slightly.“I've waited a long time to hear you call me that.”Lena's eyes filled with tears.“You're alive.”“Yes.”“You knew where I was?”“I always knew.”Her voice broke.“Then why didn't you come back?”Michael looked away.“Because coming back would have gotten you killed.”Adrian stepped forward.“You expect us to believe that?”Michael raised the gun again.“Stay where you are.”Adrian didn't stop.“You disappeared after my mother's death.”“I disappeared before she died.”Adrian froze.“What?”Michael's expression hardened.“Your father found out I had evid

“Adrian!”His knees buckled.Lena caught him before he hit the ground, but his weight nearly pulled her down with him.“I'm okay,” he breathed.“You're bleeding!”“It’s a graze.”She pressed her hand against his side. Her fingers came away warm and red.“That does not look like a graze.”Another gunshot tore through the trees.Adrian grabbed her wrist.“Move.”“I’m not leaving you.”“You won't have to. Just keep moving.”He pushed himself upright, using a tree for support. Lena stayed beside him, one arm around his waist as they stumbled deeper into the woods.Behind them, voices grew louder.“Check the left side!”“They couldn't have gone far!”Lena's heart hammered.“Where are we going?”“There's an old maintenance road ahead.”“You know this place too well.”“I spent half my childhood here.”He suddenly stopped.Lena nearly ran into him.“What?”Adrian pointed toward a small stone structure hidden behind thick bushes.“Inside.”They hurried toward it.The building looked abandoned,

I read the sentence again.Then again.It didn't change.The baby they were searching for wasn't you. You were the child I chose to save.My fingers went numb.“What does that mean?”No one answered.I looked at Daniel first.He couldn't meet my eyes.Then I looked at Adrian.He was staring at the letter as if it had just changed everything he thought he knew about me.“Dad,” I whispered. “What was she talking about?”Daniel finally sighed.“Your mother wanted to tell you herself.”“She can't. She's missing.”“I know.”“So tell me.”He sat down heavily on the old chair.“Your mother wasn't supposed to have you.”I felt my chest tighten.“What?”“She was protecting another child.”Adrian straightened.“Who?”Daniel looked at him.“We don't know.”“You expect us to believe that?”“I've spent twenty-four years trying to understand it myself.”I looked back at the letter.“Then why did she choose me?”Daniel hesitated.“Because the people looking for that child were willing to kill anyone