THE DOOR TO THE PAST
1018 Words
CHAPTER 5:
The knock came again.
Slow.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
Liana Hart stood frozen behind Adrian Vale, her pulse hammering wildly.
Outside the door, the man spoke again.
“Open up, Adrian. We have unfinished business.”
Liana swallowed hard.
That voice.
She knew it.
From the balcony.
From the gala.
From a memory she had buried under years of pain.
Adrian’s shoulders stiffened.
“You need to leave,” he said quietly to her.
She stared at him. “Who is he?”
“No time.”
“Tell me!”
Another knock. Harder this time.
Adrian cursed under his breath and turned to her.
“Go into the bedroom. Lock the door.”
Liana almost laughed.
“You really think I take orders from you?”
His eyes flashed.
“This isn’t a game anymore.”
“It never was.”
For a second, they glared at each other—two storms refusing to bend.
Then the front door handle moved.
Someone outside was unlocking it.
Liana’s breath caught.
Adrian reacted instantly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind him just as the door swung open.
A man stepped inside.
Tall. Elegant. Dangerous.
Silver strands touched his dark hair, but his face was still sharp, handsome… familiar.
Too familiar.
Liana’s world tilted.
“No…”
The man smiled slowly.
“Hello, little bird.”
Her knees nearly gave out.
Only one person had ever called her that.
Her father’s closest friend.
The man who vanished the night her family was destroyed.
Gabriel Cross.
“You’re dead,” she whispered.
Gabriel chuckled softly.
“Many people hoped so.”
Adrian moved in front of her.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
“And miss the reunion?” Gabriel’s gaze slid past him to Liana. “Never.”
Liana’s hands trembled.
“You knew my parents.”
“I knew them better than anyone.”
Rage exploded inside her.
“Then where were you when they died?”
Gabriel’s smile disappeared.
“Trying to survive.”
Adrian’s voice turned cold. “Stop lying.”
Gabriel ignored him.
Instead, he looked directly at Liana.
“Your mother sent me to protect you.”
The room fell silent.
Liana shook her head immediately.
“No.”
“She knew they were coming,” Gabriel continued. “She knew the Vale family wanted something from your father.”
“That’s enough,” Adrian snapped.
Gabriel’s eyes gleamed.
“Does she know?” he asked Adrian. “Does she know your father was in that house the night it burned?”
Liana slowly turned to Adrian.
He said nothing.
Her voice cracked.
“Answer him.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“My father was there.”
Pain ripped through her chest.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to tell you in pieces.”
“I don’t need pieces!” she shouted. “I need the truth!”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“The truth is simple. The Vales destroyed your family.”
Adrian grabbed Gabriel by the collar instantly.
“You use truth like poison.”
Gabriel smiled in his grip.
“And you use silence.”
Liana backed away, tears burning her eyes.
Everything she believed was breaking apart.
Her phone.
The necklace.
The messages.
The fire.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Then Gabriel spoke again, softer this time.
“Liana… your father did not die in that fire.”
The room went still.
Even Adrian released him.
Liana’s lips parted.
“…What?”
Gabriel nodded once.
“He’s alive.”
The words hit harder than any slap.
“No,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“Stop it!”
“I can take you to him.”
Adrian turned sharply.
“You’re not taking her anywhere.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You still think you can protect her?”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a photograph.
Then tossed it onto the table.
Liana picked it up with shaking hands.
A man stood beside a black car, older, scarred… but unmistakable.
Her father.
Alive.
She stared at the photo, unable to breathe.
“This is impossible…”
Gabriel stepped toward the door.
“You want answers?” he said. “Come with me tomorrow night. Alone.”
Adrian grabbed Liana’s arm.
“You’re not going.”
She looked at him, tears in her eyes.
“You knew my father might be alive?”
“I suspected.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I needed proof.”
She pulled her arm free.
“I’m done trusting you.”
For the first time since meeting him, real pain crossed Adrian’s face.
“Liana—”
Gabriel opened the door.
“Midnight tomorrow. Old Riverside Warehouse.”
Then he left.
Silence filled the apartment.
Heavy. Broken.
Liana clutched the photo to her chest.
Adrian stepped closer carefully.
“Listen to me. Gabriel is manipulating you.”
She laughed bitterly through tears.
“Maybe.”
He reached for her hand.
She stepped back.
“Don’t.”
His hand slowly fell.
“You can hate me later,” he said quietly. “But right now, you need me.”
She looked at the man she was meant to destroy.
The man who kept saving her.
The man who kept lying.
And the man her heart was beginning to betray her for.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
“Come with me tomorrow night.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You just said you don’t trust me.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why ask?”
Liana looked down at the photo of her father.
“Because if this is a trap…”
She raised her eyes to his.
“I want the devil beside me.”
Adrian’s expression darkened with something fierce and unreadable.
Then he stepped closer.
Too close.
“Careful, Liana.”
His voice dropped low.
“You might start liking the devil.”
Their faces were inches apart.
The tension was unbearable.
And just before she could step back—
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then a gunshot rang through the apartment.
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