Chapter 4- The Dead Man
525 Words
Elena pov
“Who?”
Adrian didn't say a word.
He listened. Every part of him wound tight, like he could snap. The man I knew—he was gone now. What stood in front of me was someone else. Someone who felt dangerous.
“Adrian?”
“Stay here.”
“No.”
His eyes whipped to mine. Hard, sharp.
“For once, Elena, just do what I say.”
I looked right back at him. “You shut me out yesterday, remember? You don't get to order me around now.”
Something flickered in his expression—frustration, or maybe regret.
Then, footsteps echoed up the stairs. Slow. Heavy.
Adrian moved closer.
“Whatever happens, don’t leave my side.”
“Why?” My voice barely made it out.
“Because whoever’s here isn’t after me.”
That landed hard. My stomach dropped.
“They’re after me?”
He nodded.
The footsteps stopped just outside the apartment. Silence. Then—three knocks.
Adrian stared at the door.
A voice called from the hallway, calm and chilling. “Adrian Vale.”
Adrian kept quiet.
The voice spoke again. “She doesn’t belong to you anymore.”
Adrian’s face changed. Harder now.
“Stay behind me.”
Suddenly, the door exploded inward. A man stood there, dressed head to toe in black, eyes weirdly pale. He looked right at me. Smiled.
“It’s finally begun.”
Adrian sprang forward, but the stranger bolted down the stairs in a blink. Adrian chased after him.
I ran too. “Adrian!”
He stopped at the bottom. The man had vanished. But on the floor—a silver pendant.
Adrian picked it up, and his face went white.
“You know it,” I said.
He closed a fist around it. “It’s his.”
“Whose?”
He looked at me. “The man in the photograph.”
My heart slammed in my chest. “What happened to him?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
I pushed. “Tell me!”
“He’s dead.”
That shut me up. The hallway seemed to freeze around us.
“How?”
“Murdered.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
I stared at him. Last night. The night Adrian pushed me away. The night someone sent me those messages.
A chill crept over me.
“Was he the one who sent them?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“I don’t know.” His eyes stayed on the pendant. “But I know why they want you.”
I stepped in, feeling the panic bubble up. “Why?”
He met my gaze. “Because of what’s inside you.”
Everything stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Before he answered, my phone rang. Unknown number. Adrian reached, but I pulled it back.
“No.” I answered.
A man’s whisper: “Ask Adrian what happened the night you lost your memory.”
The line went dead.
I looked up at Adrian. He just stared at me, and for the first time, I saw it. He was scared. He was truly afraid of telling me what really happened.
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