THE LAWYER WHO LOVED HER ENEMY

Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS

The warning stayed with me all night.

STOP DIGGING OR YOU'LL REGRET IT.

Six words.

Six simple words that shouldn't have been enough to frighten me.

But they were.

Because whoever had written them knew exactly what we were doing.

They knew about my father's case.

They knew about the investigation.

And somehow, they knew that Adrian and I were looking for answers.

I barely slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the shattered classroom window.

The broken glass scattered across the floor.

The white envelope on my desk.

And Adrian standing beside me.

From now on, you don't go anywhere alone.

I hated how protective he had sounded.

I hated even more that part of me had felt safer because of it.

At six in the morning, I finally gave up trying to sleep.

I got dressed and left home.

I needed answers.

And I needed them before fear convinced me to stop searching.

---

The university was unusually quiet when I arrived.

I entered through the side gate.

The security guard nodded at me.

"You're early."

"I couldn't sleep."

He smiled.

"Law students."

I smiled politely and continued walking.

I reached the law building.

The hallway was empty.

I entered Room 304.

The broken window had already been covered with temporary plywood.

The desks had been rearranged.

Everything looked normal.

Almost.

I walked toward my desk.

The envelope was gone.

I looked around.

Someone had cleaned everything.

I pulled out my phone.

Before I could call anyone, I heard footsteps.

I turned.

Adrian stood at the doorway.

He looked exhausted.

"You came early."

"So did you."

"I didn't sleep."

"Neither did I."

He walked inside.

"Did you tell your mother?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't want her to worry."

He nodded.

"Understandable."

I looked at him.

"Did you tell your father?"

His expression immediately hardened.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know who I can trust in that house."

The answer surprised me.

"Not even your family?"

He shook his head.

"Especially not my family."

I studied his face.

He looked serious.

Not like the arrogant student I had first met.

Not like the charming boy who teased me in the library.

He looked like someone carrying a secret too heavy for his age.

"Adrian."

He looked at me.

"How much do you remember about that night?"

His jaw tightened.

"I told you."

"You remember your father arguing with mine."

"Yes."

"What else?"

He looked toward the window.

"I remember being told to stay upstairs."

"By your father?"

"My mother."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"And then?"

He took a breath.

"I heard shouting."

My heart tightened.

"From downstairs?"

"Yes."

"Did you see my father?"

"Yes."

"Alive?"

Adrian's eyes met mine.

"Yes."

I swallowed.

"How long before he died?"

"I don't know."

"You said you were there."

"I was."

"But you don't know what happened?"

"I was thirteen, Serena."

His voice cracked slightly.

"I was scared."

I immediately regretted pushing him.

"I'm sorry."

He looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

Then he said quietly:

"I remember your father."

I waited.

"He was holding a file."

"What file?"

"I don't know."

"Did he say anything?"

Adrian closed his eyes.

"I remember one sentence."

My heart began pounding.

"What?"

He opened his eyes.

"He said, 'If this gets out, people will go to prison.'"

I stared at him.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Did my father mention your father?"

"No."

"Then who was he talking about?"

"I don't know."

I stepped closer.

"Adrian, you have to remember."

He shook his head.

"I've tried."

"Try harder."

He looked at me.

"I've spent fifteen years trying."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"And every time I remember something, I wish I hadn't."

I didn't know what to say.

So I reached for his hand.

It was instinctive.

The moment my fingers touched his, he froze.

I almost pulled away.

But he gently turned his hand and held mine.

Neither of us spoke.

It was the first time we had touched without arguing.

And somehow, it felt more dangerous than any argument we'd ever had.

---

"Serena."

We both looked toward the door.

Professor Reyes stood there.

Her expression was serious.

"Come with me."

She looked at Adrian.

"You too."

We followed her into her office.

She closed the door and locked it.

That immediately made me nervous.

"What's happening?"

She placed a file on her desk.

"The police came this morning."

My heart stopped.

"Why?"

"They've reopened the old investigation."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"Someone submitted new evidence."

Adrian stepped forward.

"Who?"

"We don't know."

"What evidence?"

Professor Reyes opened the file.

Inside was a photocopy of a bank transfer.

My father's name appeared on it.

But beneath his name was another.

MARCUS REYES.

Adrian and I looked at each other.

Marcus.

The man from the library.

The investigator.

Professor Reyes's face was pale.

"That's my brother."

I looked at her.

"Your brother?"

She nodded.

"Marcus Reyes is my younger brother."

Adrian stared at the document.

"Why would his name be connected to the case?"

"I don't know."

I pointed at the paper.

"Professor, this says he received money from Cross Holdings."

She nodded.

"I know."

"Was he involved?"

"I don't know."

"You said he was investigating."

"He was."

"Then why did he receive money?"

Professor Reyes looked away.

"That's what I intend to find out."

Adrian picked up the document.

"This transaction happened two days before your father's arrest."

I looked at him.

"Which means Marcus was paid before the case turned against my father."

"Exactly."

Professor Reyes sat down.

"There's more."

She opened another file.

A photograph.

Marcus standing beside Victor Cross.

I stared at it.

My stomach twisted.

"Why would he be meeting Victor?"

Professor Reyes didn't answer.

Then Adrian noticed something.

"Look."

He pointed at the corner of the photograph.

A third person stood partially hidden behind Victor.

The face was blurred.

But the clothing was recognizable.

A dark suit.

A silver watch.

I remembered the man in the library.

The same watch.

I looked at Adrian.

"That's him."

"Who?"

"The man who was watching me."

Professor Reyes stood.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Adrian's expression darkened.

"Then we're running out of time."

---

We left Professor Reyes's office at noon.

Adrian insisted on walking me home.

"I can go alone."

"No."

"Adrian."

"No."

I sighed.

"You're impossible."

"I've been told."

We walked through the campus.

Neither of us spoke for several minutes.

Then I asked:

"Why do you care so much?"

He looked at me.

"About what?"

"Me."

He stopped walking.

I stopped too.

He looked at me for a long time.

"I don't know."

I waited.

He looked away.

"Maybe because you're the first person who ever made me want to be better than my family."

My heart skipped.

"Adrian..."

"I know what you think."

"What?"

"That I'm protecting you because I feel guilty."

"Are you?"

He shook his head.

"No."

"Then why?"

He looked directly at me.

"Because when I look at you, I don't see your father's case."

I swallowed.

"I see you."

The world seemed to go quiet.

I didn't know what to say.

He stepped closer.

"I know you don't trust me."

"I want to."

His eyes softened.

"But you can't."

"Not yet."

He nodded.

"Then I'll wait."

"For what?"

"For you to believe me."

I smiled faintly.

"You might be waiting a long time."

"I have patience."

"That's new."

He laughed.

And for a moment, everything felt normal again.

Until a black car drove slowly past us.

Adrian's smile disappeared.

He immediately moved in front of me.

"Stay behind me."

"What?"

"Now."

The car stopped.

The windows were tinted.

No one got out.

Adrian reached for his phone.

He called someone.

The car suddenly accelerated.

It disappeared around the corner.

I looked at him.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know."

"You looked scared."

"I'm not scared."

"You are."

He looked at me.

"Yes."

The honesty surprised me.

"Why?"

"Because whoever is watching us knows where you live."

My heart dropped.

"How do you know?"

He pointed toward the ground.

I looked down.

A small piece of paper lay near my feet.

I picked it up.

There was a single sentence.

YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DIE BECAUSE OF THE CROSS FAMILY.

My breath caught.

I looked at Adrian.

He read it.

Then his face went pale.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know."

I turned the paper over.

Nothing.

Then I noticed something written in tiny letters at the bottom.

ASK YOUR MOTHER ABOUT THE NIGHT OF JUNE 14.

My hands began shaking.

Adrian took the paper from me.

"Serena..."

"What?"

"Maybe you shouldn't ask her."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because whoever sent this wants you to."

I stared at the message.

He was right.

Someone wanted me to question my mother.

Someone wanted me to uncover something.

But why?

What was hidden on that night?

And why had my father died?

---

That evening, I went home.

My mother was sitting in the living room.

She looked up.

"You're home early."

I placed my bag down.

"Mom."

She smiled.

"Yes?"

"I need to ask you something."

Her smile faded.

"What?"

I sat across from her.

"What happened on June 14, 2011?"

The room became silent.

My mother stopped breathing for a moment.

Then she whispered:

"Who told you?"

I stared at her.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

She looked away.

"Serena..."

"Mom."

My voice became firmer.

"Tell me."

She stood.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You told me Dad was framed."

"He was."

"Then what happened that night?"

"Nothing you need to know."

"That's not true."

She turned toward me.

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Your father called me that night."

I stood.

"What did he say?"

"He said he was going to meet someone."

"Who?"

She shook her head.

"He didn't tell me."

"Where?"

"At the old Cross Holdings building."

My heart stopped.

"Then what?"

"He told me..."

She wiped her tears.

"He told me that if he didn't come home, I should take you and leave."

"Why?"

"Because he believed someone was going to kill him."

I felt cold.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Mom."

She closed her eyes.

"There was one more thing."

"What?"

"He told me not to trust Victor Cross."

I waited.

"But he also told me..."

She looked at me.

"...not to trust someone named Reyes."

My heart stopped.

"Reyes?"

She nodded.

"Your father said that name before he left."

I immediately thought of Professor Reyes.

Marcus.

The documents.

The photograph.

Everything suddenly connected.

Or at least, I thought it did.

Then my mother whispered:

"Serena..."

"What?"

"Your father wasn't alone that night."

I stared at her.

"Who was with him?"

She looked toward the window.

Her voice trembled.

"Adrian Cross."

My entire world stopped.

The boy I had been slowly learning to trust...

had been there the night my father died.

And suddenly, the distance between us wasn't enough.

Because if Adrian knew what happened that night...

then he had been hiding the truth from me all along.

I closed my eyes.

One question filled my mind.

What was Adrian Cross doing with my father on the night he died?

And more importantly—

why had my father trusted him enough to let him be there?