Disguised as the Bride He Wanted

Chapter 4: The First File

Elena barely slept.

The message from the unknown number kept repeating in her mind long after she got home from the Williams house. Tomorrow will be worse. She had locked her phone, turned it face down, and tried to rest, but every small sound in the apartment pulled her attention back to the screen.

By morning, her eyes felt heavy. She sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea she hadn’t touched, staring at the same message again. Sophie walked in, still tying her hair up, and stopped when she saw Elena’s face.

“You look like you didn’t sleep at all.”

“I didn’t,” Elena admitted.

Sophie sat across from her. “Is it Adrian?”

“It’s more than him.” Elena turned the phone around and showed her the messages. “Someone else knows what I’m doing. They’ve been watching.”

Sophie read the texts carefully, her expression growing tighter. “This isn’t good. Have you told Adrian?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Elena hesitated. “Because I don’t know who sent them. And right now, I don’t know how much I can trust him either.”

Before Sophie could reply, Elena’s phone rang. Adrian’s name appeared on the screen. She answered on the second ring.

“Be downstairs in twenty minutes,” he said. “I’m sending a car. We’re going over the first set of information this morning.”

The call ended before she could ask any questions.

Exactly twenty minutes later, the same black car from the night before stopped in front of her building. Elena got in, and the driver pulled into traffic without a word. The city moved past the windows, but she barely noticed. Her thoughts kept circling between Adrian’s orders and the unknown messages.

They arrived at a quiet office building that didn’t have the Williams company name on the outside. The driver led her to a private elevator that opened directly into a high-floor suite. Adrian was already there, standing near a long glass table with several folders laid out in front of him.

“Sit,” he said.

Elena sat. He pushed the first folder toward her.

“These are your sister’s recent travel records, call logs from the company line she had access to, and a list of people she met with in the last two months,” Adrian said. “Start reading.”

Elena opened the folder. The first few pages showed flights to Milan, then two shorter trips she hadn’t known about — one to Zurich and another to a smaller city she didn’t recognize. Her chest felt tight as she turned the pages. Vivian had never mentioned either of those trips.

“She told us she was only going to Milan for the negotiations,” Elena said quietly.

“That was the official story,” Adrian replied. “The other trips were booked under a different name.”

Elena looked up. “What name?”

“One that doesn’t belong to your family.”

The room felt quieter than before. Elena turned another page and found a list of phone numbers. Most were unfamiliar. One of them appeared several times in the week before Vivian left for Milan.

“Who is this?” she asked, pointing at the number.

Adrian leaned over slightly. “We haven’t identified it yet. The number is registered under a shell company. Whoever owns it doesn’t want to be found easily.”

Elena sat back in the chair. The more she read, the harder it became to hold on to the idea that Vivian was completely innocent. At the same time, she hated how easily the doubt was settling in.

“You still don’t look convinced,” Adrian said.

“I’m careful,” Elena answered. “There’s a difference.”

A faint trace of something — maybe approval — crossed his face before it disappeared. “Careful is useful. Blind loyalty is not.”

They spent the next hour going through the rest of the documents. Elena asked questions when something didn’t make sense. Adrian answered some of them and ignored others. By the time they reached the last folder, her head was starting to ache.

Then her phone vibrated on the table.

Elena glanced at the screen and froze. It was another message from the unknown number.

He’s showing you only part of the truth. Ask him about the night of the 14th.

Adrian noticed the change in her expression. “What is it?”

She hesitated, then turned the phone so he could see the message. Adrian read it once. His face remained calm, but his eyes sharpened.

“How long have you been receiving these?”

“Since last night,” Elena said. “After the dinner.”

Adrian was silent for a moment. Then he picked up his own phone and typed something quickly. “Forward every message to me from now on. Don’t reply to the number.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m not,” he said. “I expected someone would notice eventually. I didn’t expect them to contact you this quickly.”

Elena watched him carefully. “Do you know who it is?”

“Not yet.”

She didn’t fully believe him, but she also knew pushing harder right now wouldn’t get her a real answer. Instead, she looked back at the message.

“What’s special about the night of the 14th?” she asked.

Adrian’s jaw tightened almost unnoticeably. “That’s one of the things I’m still working on.”

Before she could ask more, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and answered. The conversation was short. When he hung up, his expression had changed.

“There’s a problem,” he said. “One of the board members from last night is asking questions about you. Specifically about why Vivian’s behavior seemed off.”

Elena’s stomach dropped. “Daniel Hart?”

“No. Someone else. But Daniel was seen speaking to them after you left.”

The implication was clear. People were already talking.

Adrian closed the folders and stacked them neatly. “We’re done for today. Go home. Don’t speak to anyone about this. And Elena—” He met her eyes. “If you get another message, I want to know immediately.”

She nodded and stood up. As she walked toward the elevator, her phone vibrated again.

This time the message was longer.

The night of the 14th is when your sister met with someone she shouldn’t have. Adrian knows. He’s using you to confirm it. Don’t let him decide what the truth is.

Elena stopped walking. The elevator doors opened in front of her, but she didn’t step inside right away. Behind her, she could still hear Adrian speaking quietly on another call.

Someone was trying to pull her in a different direction.

And for the first time, she wasn’t sure which side was more dangerous.