CHAPTER TWELVE
1070 Words
Chapter 12
Elena’s POV
The alarms screamed across the entire tower as red lights flashed violently along the walls.
The elevator doors slid open fully and six armed men stepped into the penthouse floor. My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Stay behind me,” Ethan said immediately.
But it was too late as gunfire exploded across the room.
Davis shoved a table over as bullets struck the glass walls behind us.
Marcus moved faster than anyone. One second he was standing beside me.
Next, he had disarmed one of the attackers and slammed him against the floor.
“You brought an army,” Marcus muttered toward Victor Kane.
Victor smiled calmly from across the room.
“You brought trouble into my city, Ethan.”
Ethan’s voice turned icy.
“You walked into my building.”
Vanessa slowly stepped back, still holding the remote device.
“You two can argue later.”
Her eyes shifted toward me.
“Right now, I want Elena.”
The words sent a chill down my spine.
“Why?” I demanded.
Vanessa’s smile was thin.
“Because you’re the key.”
Before I could ask what she meant, one of the armed men rushed forward. But Ethan reacted instantly.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind a marble pillar as another round of bullets shattered the windows. Glass rained across the floor.
My heart was racing so fast it hurt.
“You okay?” Ethan asked urgently.
“I’m fine,” I said.
Then I did something unexpected.
I grabbed the fallen attacker’s gun.
Ethan blinked.
“Elena—”
“I’m done hiding.”
The words surprised even me.
But they felt right.
For the first time since this war started, I wasn’t afraid.
Ethan’s POV
Watching Elena pick up that gun changed something inside me. She wasn’t the same woman who walked into that arranged marriage. She was not only stronger now but dangerously strong.
“You know how to use that?” I asked.
She shook her head slightly.
“Not really.”
“Then stay close.”
She nodded.
Another attacker rushed toward us, I moved first.
One strike to the throat, one twist of his arm, and the man collapsed instantly.
Behind us, Marcus fought like a ghost in the dark, silent, efficient, even Davis noticed it too.
“That guy moves like military,” Davis muttered.
Marcus knocked another attacker unconscious.
“I get that a lot.”
Something about him didn’t add up. I made a mental note to deal with that later.
Right now, we have a bigger problem.
Victor Kane and Vanessa.
Daniel’s POV
I had never seen Vanessa like this so cold, calculating, and completely unrecognizable.
“Elena doesn’t deserve this,” I said quietly.
Vanessa laughed.
“Oh please.”
“You married her cousin.”
“You should know how this family works.”
I stepped closer.
“You’re better than this.”
Her eyes flashed dangerously.
“No.”
“I’m finally honest.”
Victor leaned casually against the bar.
“You should listen to your husband, Vanessa.”
She shot him an annoyed glance.
“Stay out of this.”
Victor chuckled.
“I’m enjoying the show.”
The gunfire around us slowed as Ethan’s men began securing the floor. Vanessa realized the situation was turning against her, which meant she was about to reveal her real move. And I knew her well enough to see it coming.
“Vanessa,” I said quietly.
“Don’t do this.”
But she already had.
Marcus Hale’s POV
The fight ended faster than expected as Ethan’s security team stormed the floor within minutes, and Victor’s men were forced to retreat, which meant the plan had failed.
Vanessa understood that too, She stared at Elena with something almost like fascination.
“You’re stronger than I thought,” she said softly.
Elena stepped forward.
“You destroyed our family.”
Vanessa shrugged.
“They were weak.”
Ethan moved beside Elena protectively.
“You lost.”
Vanessa smiled slowly.
“Did I?”
She pressed another button on the remote, the screen behind her changed and another video feed appeared.
Elena gasped.
It showed a locked medical room, her mother lay in a hospital bed. But she wasn’t alone, a man stood beside the bed. He is tall, grey-haired, and familiar.
I froze, Ethan’s eyes widened slightly, and Elena whispered,
“Who is that?”
I didn’t answer immediately because the man on the screen was someone I hadn’t seen in years and also Someone who was supposed to be dead.
Elena’s POV
I stared at the screen as the grey-haired man turned slightly, and suddenly something strange happened.
My chest tightened and my head began to ache. Fragments of memory flashed through my mind.
A man teaching a young girl how to play chess. A voice telling her,
“Never let anyone control the board.”
My breathing became uneven.
“Why do I recognize him?” I whispered.
Vanessa watched me carefully because this was the moment she had been waiting for.
“You really don’t remember, do you?” she said softly.
Remember what?
My hands trembled slightly.
Marcus stepped forward suddenly.
“Vanessa.”
His voice was dangerous now.
“You shouldn’t have shown that.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Oh, Marcus.”
“You know exactly why I did.”
Ethan looked between us.
“What is she talking about?”
Vanessa’s smile widened slowly.
“Because your wife…”
She pointed toward me.
“…isn’t just Elena Hart.”
The room fell silent.
My heart pounded.
“What?”
Vanessa’s eyes gleamed with victory.
“She’s the daughter of the man who built half of Ethan Carter’s empire.”
Everything stopped.
Ethan stared at me and Marcus looked furious.
Suddenly, my memories began flooding back.
The chessboard, the lessons., and the voice.
The man on the screen. My voice shook.
“That’s impossible.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“No.”
“It’s the truth.”
The grey-haired man on the screen suddenly looked directly at the camera.
And spoke a single sentence.
“Elena… if you’re seeing this…”
“…it means they finally discovered who you are.”
If Elena is secretly connected to the empire Ethan built… why was her identity hidden for so many years—and who has been protecting her from the truth?
- Writer
