Chapter 4
1042 Words
Chapter Four — When the Lights Went Out
The gunshot echoed through the building.
Elena froze.
For one terrifying second, everything was silent.
Then the emergency lights flickered on, bathing the office in a dim red glow.
Adrian immediately turned toward the door.
“Stay here.”
Elena grabbed his sleeve.
“Where are you going?”
He looked down at her hand.
Then at her face.
“I need to find out what happened.”
“Don't leave me.”
The words escaped before Elena could stop them.
Adrian's expression changed.
For a moment, the ruthless man everyone feared disappeared.
Something softer crossed his eyes.
“You're not alone.”
He gently removed her hand from his sleeve.
“I'll be back.”
He opened the door.
Before stepping out, he looked over his shoulder.
“And lock it behind me.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Elena stood completely still.
She could hear footsteps somewhere downstairs.
Shouting.
Doors slamming.
Then silence.
She looked toward Adrian's desk.
The file was still there.
Her eyes returned to the photograph.
Five years ago.
The night she had saved him.
The night she had promised herself she would never speak about again.
But now someone knew.
Someone had put her name in his file.
And someone had just fired a gun inside his building.
None of this could be a coincidence.
Adrian moved silently through the hallway.
Two of his men were already approaching from the opposite direction.
“Boss.”
“What happened?”
“One of the security cameras went offline.”
“Where?”
“Parking level.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Anyone injured?”
“No.”
“Find the person responsible.”
“Yes, boss.”
He continued downstairs.
The parking level was almost completely dark.
One of the lights flickered.
Then another.
Adrian stopped.
Something was wrong.
He looked toward the far end of the parking area.
A black car was disappearing through the exit.
“Follow it.”
His men immediately ran toward their vehicles.
Adrian remained still.
He noticed something on the ground.
A small envelope.
He picked it up.
There was no name.
He opened it.
Inside was another photograph.
His expression changed.
It was old.
Five years old.
And it showed him standing outside a small apartment.
Beside him was a young woman.
Elena.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
His pulse quickened.
On the back were five words.
She knows what you forgot.
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Boss?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He was staring at Elena's face.
Suddenly, another fragment of memory struck him.
Rain.
A small apartment.
A young woman standing in front of him.
Her voice trembling.
“You can't stay here.”
His own voice answered:
“Then come with me.”
The memory vanished.
Adrian closed his eyes.
He could almost feel the rain.
Almost hear her voice.
But the rest remained hidden.
“Boss?”
He opened his eyes.
“Find Elena.”
Upstairs, Elena was still waiting.
She had locked the door exactly as Adrian instructed.
But she couldn't sit still.
Something about the photograph had frightened her.
She opened the file again.
There were pages missing.
Several of them.
Someone had deliberately removed them.
Why?
She turned another page.
A single sentence was written at the bottom.
Subject survived because of outside intervention.
Elena's breath caught.
Outside intervention.
That was her.
She knew it.
But why had Adrian never remembered?
She heard footsteps approaching.
“Elena.”
Adrian's voice.
She quickly closed the file.
The door opened.
Adrian walked inside.
There was a small cut near his eyebrow.
Elena immediately noticed.
“You're hurt.”
“It's nothing.”
She stepped closer.
“Let me see.”
Adrian didn't move.
Elena reached up instinctively.
Her fingers barely touched his face.
Both of them froze.
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
Adrian looked down at her.
She looked into his eyes.
For a brief moment, neither remembered the danger outside.
Then Elena pulled her hand away.
“Sorry.”
Adrian's voice was quieter than before.
“Don't be.”
Her heart skipped.
He looked at her for another second before turning away.
“Someone sent this.”
He placed the photograph on the desk.
Elena's face went pale.
She knew it immediately.
Adrian noticed.
“You've seen it before.”
“No.”
“Don't lie.”
She looked at him.
“I've seen the place.”
“Where?”
Elena hesitated.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Elena.”
She swallowed.
“My old neighborhood.”
Adrian stared at her.
“That's where I was found five years ago.”
Silence.
Elena's eyes widened.
He remembered.
Not everything.
But enough.
Adrian picked up the photograph again.
“You were there.”
It wasn't a question.
Elena couldn't answer.
“Were you?”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you didn't remember me.”
“I asked you if we'd met.”
“You weren't ready to hear the answer.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I remember you.”
Adrian went completely still.
Elena's voice became softer.
“I remember that night.”
He stared at her.
“What happened?”
She looked at him.
“You don't want to know.”
His eyes hardened.
“That's not your decision.”
Before she could respond, his phone rang.
He answered.
“Speak.”
Marco's voice came through.
“We found something.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What?”
“The security footage from five years ago.”
Elena's heart stopped.
Adrian slowly looked at her.
Marco continued.
“And there's something else.”
“What?”
A pause.
“The person who helped you that night…”
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on Elena.
“…wasn't supposed to survive.”
The call ended.
Elena's face turned pale.
Adrian stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
But deep inside, Elena knew.
Five years ago, she hadn't simply saved Adrian Moretti.
She had become part of his war.
And now that war had finally found her again.
To be continued…
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