Chapter 3
1093 Words
Chapter Three — The Name in the File
Elena followed Adrian into the elevator.
Neither of them spoke.
The doors closed, separating them from the rest of the office.
Elena kept her eyes fixed on the floor.
Adrian noticed.
“You're hiding something.”
“No, I'm not.”
“You've lied to me twice in less than twenty-four hours.”
She looked up.
“I barely know you.”
“Exactly.”
His answer was so calm that it unsettled her.
“You don't know me,” he continued. “Yet someone has threatened you because of me.”
Elena's fingers tightened around her bag.
“I can handle it.”
Adrian gave a humorless smile.
“That wasn't what I asked.”
The elevator reached the top floor.
He stepped out first.
“Come.”
Elena followed him into his office.
Adrian closed the door behind them.
“Sit.”
She remained standing.
“I'd rather stand.”
He looked at her for a moment.
“Fine.”
He walked toward his desk and picked up his phone.
“Marco.”
A few seconds later, the door opened.
The same man Elena had seen with Adrian the previous day entered.
Adrian's voice became cold.
“Tell me everything you've found about Elena Rossi.”
Marco glanced at Elena.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
Marco opened a file.
“She's twenty-four. She grew up in the western district. She attended a local university and has worked several ordinary jobs.”
Elena swallowed.
Adrian's eyes remained on her.
Marco continued.
“There is, however, a gap in her records.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What kind of gap?”
“Five years ago.”
Elena's heart stopped.
Marco looked down at the file.
“Almost six months of her life aren't documented.”
Adrian slowly turned toward Elena.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Then find out.”
Marco nodded and left.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Elena looked at Adrian.
“You had no right to investigate me.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You're right.”
She wasn't expecting that answer.
“But I did it anyway.”
His eyes met hers.
“Because someone who knows about my past is threatening you.”
Elena looked away.
“You should forget about me.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because I'm not important.”
“I'll decide that.”
She looked at him again.
For a moment, neither moved.
There was something different about the way he looked at her now.
Not just suspicion.
Curiosity.
Something warmer.
Something Elena was afraid to name.
Then Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
His expression changed.
“Where?”
He listened.
“Don't touch anything. I'm coming.”
He ended the call.
Elena frowned.
“What happened?”
Adrian grabbed his jacket.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
She almost laughed.
“That's what people say right before something terrible happens.”
He looked at her.
“You're staying here.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“I have work.”
“You're not leaving this building.”
“Mr. Moretti—”
“Elena.”
The way he said her name made her stop.
“Please.”
It was the first time she had heard him say that word.
Not as an order.
As a request.
She stared at him.
Adrian seemed almost surprised by himself.
Then his expression returned to its usual coldness.
“Stay here.”
He walked out.
Thirty minutes later, Elena was still in his office.
She couldn't explain why.
Perhaps it was curiosity.
Perhaps it was the strange feeling she had whenever she was near him.
Or perhaps she simply wanted answers.
She walked toward his desk.
She shouldn't.
She knew that.
But something caught her attention.
A file.
Black.
Old.
Partially hidden beneath several documents.
Elena reached for it.
The moment she opened it, her blood ran cold.
There was a photograph inside.
A photograph from five years ago.
She knew the street immediately.
She knew the rain.
And she knew the man lying against the wall.
Adrian.
Her fingers began trembling.
Beneath the photograph was a report.
Most of the words were covered by another document.
But one line was visible.
Incident date: October 17.
Elena's heart raced.
That was the night.
The night she had found him.
She turned the page.
There was another name.
Her own.
ELENA ROSSI.
She stopped breathing.
How?
Why was her name in Adrian's file?
She heard footsteps outside.
Elena quickly closed the folder.
The door opened.
Adrian stood there.
His eyes immediately fell on the file in her hands.
Neither spoke.
Then his expression became dangerously calm.
“Where did you get that?”
Elena couldn't answer.
He walked toward her.
Slowly.
“What did you see?”
She looked at him.
“The truth.”
Adrian stopped.
“What truth?”
Elena's eyes filled with uncertainty.
“You really don't remember me.”
His face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
She placed the file on the desk.
“Five years ago…”
She stopped.
A sharp pain suddenly struck her head.
Rain.
A dark alley.
His voice.
Her hands trembling.
And one sentence she had completely forgotten.
“If they find out you helped me, they'll kill you too.”
Elena stumbled backward.
Adrian caught her before she fell.
His arms steadied her.
For a moment, they were close.
Too close.
Elena looked up.
Adrian stared at her.
And something inside his memory finally broke through.
A small room.
Rain against a window.
A young woman sitting beside him.
Her hand holding his.
And his own voice whispering:
“Don't let me forget you.”
Adrian suddenly released Elena.
He stepped backward.
His breathing was uneven.
“What…”
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“No.”
Elena's heart pounded.
Adrian stared at the file.
Then at her.
“Why is your name in my past?”
Before Elena could answer, the office lights went out.
The entire building fell into darkness.
Then a gunshot echoed somewhere below.
Adrian immediately pulled Elena behind him.
His voice became cold.
“Stay behind me.”
Elena stared at his back.
And for the first time, she realized something terrifying.
The man she had saved five years ago hadn't disappeared.
He had simply become something much more dangerous.
And someone had just come for him again.
To be continued…
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