The Lingering love

Chapter three

THE LINGERING LOVE

Chapter Three: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead

Serena read the message for the tenth time.

The woman in the photograph is dead.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her phone resting in her trembling hands. Outside, rain tapped against the window, bringing back memories of the night Alexander had disappeared from her life.

She hated rainy nights.

Five years ago, she had waited for him in the rain for nearly two hours. He had promised to meet her, but he never showed up. When she finally called him, his phone was switched off.

The following morning, she discovered that he had left town.

No goodbye. No explanation.

Just silence.

Now someone was telling her that a dead woman might be connected to the worst night of her life.

Serena opened the photograph again and zoomed in on the mysterious figure near the hotel entrance. The image was blurry, but the silver ring with the black stone was unmistakable.

Where had she seen it?

She closed her eyes, searching her memory.

Then she remembered.

Three weeks ago, she had attended a business dinner with her department. A woman had approached Alexander near the restaurant entrance. Serena hadn't thought much about it at the time, but the woman had worn a ring almost identical to the one in the photograph.

Her name had been Vanessa.

Vanessa Reed.

Serena remembered the way Alexander's expression had changed when he saw her. He had excused himself from the conversation and spoken to the woman privately. When he returned, he had seemed distracted for the rest of the evening.

Serena had assumed Vanessa was a business associate.

Now she wasn't so sure.

She searched the company's website for the name but found very little. Vanessa had no public profile, no photograph on the company directory, and no obvious connection to Sterling Heights.

Serena was about to give up when she noticed a name in an old business article.

Vanessa Reed, former legal adviser to the Sterling family, missing since 2021.

Serena's stomach tightened.

The article was short. It said Vanessa had disappeared after leaving her position at a private investment firm. Her family had reported her missing, but no confirmed sighting had been made since.

Missing.

Not dead.

Someone had deliberately told Serena otherwise—or knew something the article didn't.

She saved the page and reached for her phone.

She wanted to call Alexander. She wanted to demand answers.

But every time she remembered the way he had looked at her in the conference room, she hesitated.

He had known something. She was certain of it.

And she was tired of being the last person to know what was happening in her own life.

---

The next morning, Serena arrived at work earlier than usual.

She had barely slept, and the coffee she'd bought on her way in did little to clear her head.

She was reviewing the campaign schedule when Daniel, Alexander's assistant, stopped beside her desk.

"Miss Hayes?"

She looked up. "Yes?"

"Mr. Sterling would like to see you before the ten o'clock meeting."

Her heart gave an annoying little jump.

"Did he say why?"

"He didn't, ma'am."

"Of course he didn't."

Daniel looked as though he wanted to smile but decided against it.

Serena collected her notebook and headed upstairs.

Alexander's office door was open. He stood behind his desk, reading something on his tablet.

"Good morning," she said.

He looked up.

For a moment, his expression softened.

"Good morning, Serena."

She noticed that he had used her first name. Five years ago, he had called her that with such affection that she could never hear it without remembering his voice against her hair.

She refused to let the memory affect her.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Sit down, please."

"I'd rather stand."

He studied her, then nodded.

"All right."

She appreciated that he didn't argue.

"I wanted to ask whether you've received any unusual messages recently."

Serena's stomach tightened.

"Why?"

"Because I have."

"What kind of messages?"

"Someone is trying to reopen an incident from five years ago."

She folded her arms.

"The hotel incident?"

Alexander went completely still.

The silence that followed told her more than his words could have.

"So you know about the photograph," she said.

His eyes narrowed.

"What photograph?"

"The one showing Chloe outside the hotel with an envelope. The one that apparently contains a letter you never received."

Alexander moved away from his desk.

"Who sent it to you?"

"I don't know. You keep asking me questions, but you never answer mine."

"Serena, I'm trying to protect you."

She let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"That excuse is getting old."

His expression tightened.

"I know you don't trust me."

"Then stop giving me reasons not to."

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Finally, Alexander said, "There are things about that night you don't understand."

"Then explain them."

"I can't. Not yet."

Serena shook her head.

"Do you hear yourself? You want me to trust you while you refuse to tell me anything."

"I know how it sounds."

"Then why are you doing it?"

He looked at her, and for the first time, she saw something that resembled helplessness in his eyes.

"Because the people involved in what happened that night are more dangerous than you realize."

A chill ran through her.

"Who are they?"

Alexander looked away.

"Please, Serena. Give me a little time."

She wanted to believe him. That was the most frustrating part.

Despite everything, some part of her still wanted to take his hand and let him lead her through the darkness.

But she had learned what happened when she trusted someone who kept secrets.

"No more promises," she said quietly. "If you want me to believe you, give me the truth."

She turned and walked out.

This time, Alexander didn't stop her.

---

At lunchtime, Serena searched for Vanessa Reed again.

She found an old photograph in a business article. Vanessa had dark hair, sharp features, and a confident smile. On her right hand was a silver ring with a black stone.

The same ring.

Serena leaned back in her chair.

She needed to know whether Vanessa was alive.

She also needed to know why Alexander seemed so frightened of the past.

A message arrived from an unfamiliar number.

UNKNOWN: Stop looking for Vanessa.

Serena's fingers went cold.

She typed a reply.

SERENA: Why? What happened to her?

The response came seconds later.

UNKNOWN: Because she's closer to you than you think.

Serena stared at the screen.

Before she could reply, another message appeared.

UNKNOWN: Check your desk drawer.

Her heart began to race.

She looked around the office. Her colleagues were busy working, their heads bent over laptops. Nobody appeared to be watching her.

Slowly, she opened the top drawer of her desk.

Inside lay a small white envelope.

Her name was written across the front.

Serena glanced around again before opening it.

There was a photograph inside.

This one showed Vanessa standing beside a younger Alexander outside a university building. They looked serious, and Vanessa was holding a document.

On the back, someone had written:

She was the reason he left.

Serena's throat tightened.

Was Vanessa the woman Alexander had chosen over her?

Had he been seeing someone else all along?

She turned the photograph over again, studying Alexander's younger face.

He looked angry, not happy.

That small detail gave her a reason to hesitate.

Perhaps the photograph didn't tell the whole story.

Her phone vibrated.

UNKNOWN: Ask Alexander what Vanessa knew about your father.

Serena stared at the message.

Her father?

She had never connected Vanessa to her family before.

What could a former legal adviser to the Sterling family possibly know about him?

She slipped the photograph into her handbag.

For the first time, she understood that finding the truth might mean uncovering secrets that had nothing to do with her broken relationship.

And she wasn't sure she was ready for what she might discover.