Chapter four; The Truth He Buried
1231 Words
Silence filled the office after the voice outside spoke again.
My heartbeat pounded painfully while Adrian stood frozen beside the window. I looked at him in confusion because I had never seen fear on his face before tonight.
“You know him?” I whispered.
Adrian ignored the question and tightened his grip on the gun instead.
Outside the door, the man laughed softly. “Come on, Adrian. You know this won’t end well if you keep hiding her.”
The voice sounded calm, almost amused, and somehow that scared me more. Another loud hit landed on the door. I flinched immediately.
“Who is that?” I asked again.
Adrian finally looked at me. “Your brother.”
The world around me stopped completely.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
I stared at him like he had completely lost his mind. “I don’t have a brother.”
“Yes, you do.”
Before I could respond, the man outside spoke again.
“Elena,” he called calmly. “Open the door. I’m not here to hurt you.”
My breathing became uneven instantly.
How did he know my name?
No.
Not Elena Carter.
Elena Vale.
The name still sounded unfamiliar inside my own head.
I looked back at Adrian desperately. “Tell me what’s happening.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “Not now.”
“When exactly were you planning to tell me all this?” My voice rose despite trying to stay calm. “After another three years?”
“Elena”
“No.” Anger exploded inside me again. “You lied to me our entire marriage.”
Before Adrian could answer, the office door suddenly cracked loudly under another hit.
“We’re running out of time,” Adrian muttered.
Panic spread through my chest immediately.
The man outside sighed softly. “You always make things difficult, Adrian.”
Then another voice shouted downstairs.
“Police are coming!”
Everything went silent for one second.
Adrian reacted immediately. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the window again.
“Move.”
I looked down nervously at the dark garden below us. “I can’t climb that.”
“You can.”
“No, Adrian”
Another loud c***k interrupted me as the office door started splitting near the lock.
Fear swallowed every argument left inside me.
Adrian climbed out first before turning back toward me and holding out his hand. “Trust me.”
The word almost made me laugh.
Trust.
After tonight, trust sounded ridiculous.
Still, I grabbed his hand because I didn’t have another choice.
Cold air hit my face immediately as I climbed out carefully onto the narrow ledge outside the window. My entire body trembled while Adrian helped me move toward the emergency staircase connected to the side of the mansion.
Behind us, the office door finally burst open.
“There they are!”
Adrian cursed under his breath and pulled me down the stairs quickly.
My legs nearly gave out halfway because panic made it hard to breathe properly, but Adrian didn’t slow down. Gunshots suddenly echoed behind us again, forcing me to duck instinctively.
“Oh my God.”
“Hurry.”
We finally reached the ground before Adrian dragged me through the dark garden toward the back gate.
Sirens echoed faintly somewhere in the distance now. The police.
For one second, relief flooded me. Until Adrian suddenly stopped moving. I nearly crashed into his back. “Why did we stop?” Instead of answering, he slowly raised the gun again. That was when i saw him.
A tall man stood near the back gate wearing dark clothes, his expression calm despite the chaos around us. He looked slightly older than me, with sharp features and familiar gray eyes that instantly made my stomach twist strangely. He looked like me.
No.
He looked like my father from the old photographs hidden inside my aunt’s drawer.
The realization made my chest tighten immediately. The man's eyes moved towards me softly. “Elena”.
I stepped backward automatically.
Adrian moved in front of me protectively. “Stay away from her.”
The stranger laughed quietly. “You really think you can protect her after what your family did?”
Confusion spread through me again.
“What are you talking about?” I asked shakily.
The man ignored Adrian completely and kept his eyes on me. “My name is Marcus Vale.”
My breathing stopped.
Vale.
The same name Adrian mentioned earlier.
“I’m your brother.”
Everything inside my head became messy instantly.
“No,” I whispered.
Marcus took a slow step closer. “You were four years old when our parents died. You probably don’t remember much.”
Adrian’s voice turned dangerously cold. “That’s enough.”
Marcus looked at him with open hatred. “She deserves the truth.”
“What truth?” I snapped desperately.
Neither of them answered immediately. That silence terrified me more than anything else tonight. Marcus finally looked back at me. “Your parents were murdered because of the Knight family”
I froze completely.
“What?”
Adrian’s expression hardened instantly. “Don’t start this.”
“You know I’m right.”
I looked between both men while my chest tightened painfully again. “Adrian?”
He stayed silent.
That silence answered enough.
Rage exploded through me immediately. “Tell me he’s lying.”
“Elena”
“Tell me!”
Adrian exhaled heavily before lowering the gun slowly. “Your father and mine were business partners years ago.”
Marcus laughed bitterly. “That’s a nice way to describe betrayal.”
Adrian ignored him completely. “Things happened.”
“What things?” I demanded.
Again, silence.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Everybody keeps speaking in half truths!” I shouted. “Stop lying to me for one second and tell me what actually happened.”
Marcus’ expression softened slightly after seeing my panic. “Our parents discovered something illegal involving Knight Corporation years ago. Before they could expose it, their car exploded.”
The words hit me so hard that my knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
“You survived because our mother pushed you out before the explosion.”
Tears filled my eyes immediately.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s true.”
I looked toward Adrian desperately, hoping he would deny everything. Instead, guilt flashed across his face.
My heart shattered all over again.
“You knew?” I whispered painfully.
“Elena, listen to me carefully”
“You knew my parents were murdered?”
“It’s complicated.”
I laughed bitterly through my tears. “Complicated?”
Marcus’ expression darkened immediately. “You see why I came for her now?”
Adrian stepped forward instantly. “She’s not leaving with you.”
“She doesn’t belong with your family.”
The hatred between them suddenly became obvious. Then something else finally clicked inside my head. I looked directly at Marcus. “How did you even find me?”
His expression changed slightly. That hesitation scared me immediately. Before he could answer, Adrian sudd
enly spoke coldly.
“Tell her the truth.”
Marcus slowly looked back at me. Then he completely destroyed whatever remained of my world.
“Because your husband was the one who told me where to find you.”
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