Chapter 9
1203 Words
Chapter Nine — The Message
Elena froze.
The man standing several feet away was the same man she had seen in the photograph.
The same dark eyes.
The same cold expression.
The same face that had been standing behind her and Adrian five years ago.
For a moment, Elena couldn't breathe.
“You finally came back.”
His voice was calm, almost strangely familiar.
Elena stared at him.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled faintly.
“Don't you remember me?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Something closer to disappointment.
“That is what they wanted.”
Before Elena could ask what he meant, the sound of tires screeching against the ground came from behind her.
She turned.
A black car had stopped violently a short distance away.
The driver's door opened.
Adrian stepped out.
His face was completely different from the man Elena had seen earlier.
There was no calmness in his eyes now.
Only fury.
“Elena!”
She instinctively took a step toward him.
The stranger immediately moved between them.
Adrian stopped.
His eyes locked onto the man.
“Matteo.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“Matteo?”
So this was the same Matteo who had appeared at Adrian's house.
The man smiled.
“You still remember my name.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Move away from her.”
Matteo didn't move.
“You always give orders, Adrian.”
“And you always make the mistake of ignoring them.”
The tension between them seemed to fill the entire abandoned property.
Elena looked from one man to the other.
“You two know each other.”
Neither answered.
Elena's frustration grew.
“I asked if you know each other.”
Matteo looked at her.
“We've known each other for a very long time.”
Adrian's voice became colder.
“Don't listen to him.”
Elena turned toward Adrian.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Adrian said nothing.
“Tell me why he was in the photograph.”
Still nothing.
“Tell me why he knows me.”
Silence.
Elena felt something inside her crack.
“You keep telling me you're protecting me,” she said quietly. “But every time I ask a question, you give me another secret.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Elena—”
“No.”
She stepped forward.
“I've had enough.”
Matteo watched them silently.
Elena continued.
“I remember the rain. I remember the hospital. I remember seeing Adrian. I remember a woman crying. And now I remember this place.”
She looked around.
“I don't know why, but something about this place feels familiar.”
Matteo's expression became serious.
“Because you were here before.”
Adrian immediately stepped forward.
“That's enough.”
Matteo looked at him.
“You're still hiding it from her?”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“Don't.”
“Why?” Matteo asked. “Afraid she'll remember what you did?”
Elena looked at Adrian.
“What did you do?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Matteo smiled bitterly.
“He didn't tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Adrian finally spoke.
“Matteo, leave.”
“No.”
Adrian took another step.
“I said leave.”
“And I said no.”
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Elena noticed something.
The way Matteo looked at Adrian wasn't simply hatred.
There was history between them.
Something much deeper.
Something dangerous.
Elena suddenly remembered another image.
A room.
A table.
Three people.
Adrian.
Matteo.
And herself.
She pressed a hand against her forehead.
A sharp pain ran through her head.
“Elena?”
Adrian immediately moved toward her.
She stepped back.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
The memory became clearer.
She was laughing.
Adrian was sitting beside her.
Matteo was standing across from them.
Someone was saying something.
Then—
A loud crash.
A gunshot.
A woman screaming.
Elena gasped.
Adrian's face changed.
“You remembered something.”
She looked at him.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“So was Matteo.”
Adrian didn't answer.
Elena turned toward Matteo.
“You were there too.”
Matteo nodded.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Matteo looked at Adrian.
“Ask him.”
Elena turned back.
“Adrian.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
“Not here.”
“Why?”
“Because we're not safe.”
Almost immediately, headlights appeared in the distance.
Adrian looked toward them.
His expression hardened.
“We need to go.”
Matteo glanced toward the road.
“They found us.”
Elena's heart began racing.
“Who?”
Neither man answered.
Then several vehicles appeared through the trees.
Adrian immediately moved toward Elena.
“Stay behind me.”
This time, Elena didn't argue.
The first vehicle stopped.
Men stepped out.
Adrian's men quickly moved from his car and positioned themselves around Elena.
Matteo looked at Adrian.
“This is because of her.”
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on the approaching men.
“I know.”
Elena looked at him.
“Who are they?”
Adrian finally looked at her.
“The people who have been searching for you.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Why?”
Adrian's expression softened for only a second.
“Because five years ago, you discovered something you were never supposed to know.”
Elena stared at him.
“What did I discover?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he reached for her hand.
“Stay with me.”
She looked down at their hands.
Something about the way his fingers held hers felt familiar.
Too familiar.
Another memory flashed through her mind.
Rain.
Adrian's voice.
Her own voice saying his name.
And then—
“I love you.”
Elena's eyes widened.
She pulled her hand away.
Adrian stared at her.
“What?”
She looked at him, shaken.
“I said that.”
Adrian didn't move.
“What did you say?”
Elena swallowed.
“I remember.”
The world seemed to go silent.
Matteo looked between them.
Adrian's face had gone completely still.
Elena stared at him.
“I remember saying it.”
Adrian whispered her name.
“Elena…”
She stepped closer.
“I loved you.”
His expression broke for the first time.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Pain.
“You loved me,” he said quietly.
Elena nodded.
“But why did I forget?”
Adrian looked away.
“Because someone made sure you would.”
A sudden sound came from the trees.
Everyone turned.
A gunshot echoed through the night.
Adrian immediately pulled Elena behind him.
His men raised their weapons.
Matteo moved toward the opposite side.
“Get her out of here!” Adrian shouted.
Elena grabbed his arm.
“No.”
“Go!”
“I’m not leaving you again.”
Adrian looked at her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then another shot rang out.
Adrian tightened his grip on her hand.
“This time, you stay beside me.”
And somewhere beyond the trees, someone watched them from the darkness.
Someone who had been waiting five years for Elena to remember.
Someone who already knew exactly what would happen when she finally did.
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