LOVE AFTER REVENGE

BLOOD TIES AND BROKEN TRUST

CHAPTER 4:

The silence between them felt heavier than the storm outside.

Liana Hart stood frozen in the middle of her apartment, staring at the man in her hallway.

Adrian Vale.

And in his hand—her mother’s necklace.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Only the rain tapping against the window filled the space.

Then Liana spoke, voice low and dangerous.

“Put it down.”

Adrian didn’t.

Instead, he stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him.

“You’re going to listen this time,” he said.

“I said put it down.”

His grip tightened slightly on the necklace.

“If I wanted to hurt you,” he replied calmly, “you wouldn’t be standing.”

That silence again.

Different now. Sharper.

Liana’s eyes flicked to the necklace.

Her mother’s necklace.

Her chest tightened.

“Where did you get that?”

Adrian looked at her for a long moment before answering.

“From someone who should never have had it.”

Her breath caught.

“Answer me properly.”

He exhaled slowly.

“I didn’t break into your apartment.”

A pause.

“But I know who did.”

Liana laughed, but there was no humour in it.

“So you just magically appear in my house holding my dead mother’s necklace?”

Adrian’s gaze darkened.

“Your mother isn’t the only one connected to this.”

That stopped her.

For the first time, something shifted in her expression.

“…What did you say?”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

“Sit down.”

“I’m not your employee.”

“No,” he said quietly. “You’re the daughter of a woman who died because someone wanted her silent.”

The words hit differently this time.

Not like a threat.

Like a warning.

Liana didn’t move.

So Adrian placed the necklace gently on the table between them.

Careful. Almost… respectful.

“Your mother didn’t wear this as decoration,” he said. “It was a mark.”

“A mark of what?”

“Protection… or ownership. Depends on who you ask.”

Liana’s hands curled into fists.

“Stop talking in riddles.”

Adrian’s eyes stayed on her.

“You think your father was innocent. You think my family destroyed yours for no reason.”

Liana stepped forward sharply.

“Didn’t you?”

Silence.

He didn’t answer immediately.

And that silence was worse than any confession.

Then—

“I was there,” he said.

Her entire body went still.

“…What?”

“At your family house,” he continued. “The night everything fell apart.”

The room felt colder.

Liana shook her head slightly.

“No. You’re lying.”

“I was sixteen,” he said. “My father brought me.”

Her voice broke slightly, but she refused to show it.

“Why would he bring you to something like that?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“Because your father wasn’t just a businessman, Liana.”

A pause.

“He was part of something bigger. Something dangerous.”

Liana took a step back.

“No…”

“Your mother knew,” he continued. “That’s why she tried to leave.”

The necklace on the table suddenly felt heavier than stone.

Liana stared at it like it might disappear.

“You’re trying to confuse me,” she whispered.

“I’m trying to stop you from walking into the same fire twice.”

Her laugh was sharper this time.

“Fire? You think I’m scared of fire after what I’ve been through?”

Adrian’s voice dropped lower.

“I think you’re already burning and don’t realize it.”

That line hit something.

But she refused it.

Refused him.

So she did the only thing she could still control.

She reached for the necklace.

Adrian caught her wrist instantly.

Fast.

Firm.

Too close.

Their eyes locked.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Then his voice softened slightly.

“Don’t.”

“Let go.”

“If you wear that,” he said quietly, “you’ll be marked again.”

“By who?”

A pause.

And for the first time—

Adrian looked unsure.

Then, reluctantly:

“The same people who killed your mother.”

A loud knock suddenly hit the door.

Both of them turned sharply.

Another knock.

Harder this time.

Liana pulled her wrist free instantly.

“Who is that?”

Adrian didn’t answer.

Instead, he moved toward the door slowly.

Too slowly.

That alone told her everything.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He reached for the handle—

Then stopped.

His voice dropped into something colder.

“Stay behind me.”

Liana frowned.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

The knock came again.

Followed by a voice from outside.

Male.

Calm.

Familiar.

“Adrian Vale… open the door.”

Liana’s breath caught.

Because she recognized that voice.

From the balcony.

From the gala.

From the shadows.

Adrian didn’t move.

Neither did she.

Then he finally spoke, barely above a whisper:

“…He shouldn’t be alive.”