CHAPTER5
1166 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
THE CALL
“Evelyn?”
The name left my mouth like a question.
Adrian didn’t answer.
He simply stared at my phone.
His face had gone pale again.
“You knew she’d call me.”
“No.”
“You knew she was alive.”
His silence was enough.
I stepped away from him.
“How long?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is to me.”
I held up my phone.
“A woman who supposedly died three years ago just called me and warned me to stay away from my own husband.”
Adrian’s expression tightened.
“She shouldn’t have contacted you.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows what happened.”
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“You.”
My heart stopped.
“What about me?”
He didn’t answer.
“Adrian, I’m tired of you talking in riddles.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“When?”
He swallowed.
“When it’s safe.”
I stared at him.
“For whom?”
“For you.”
I shook my head.
“You keep saying you’re protecting me, but every time you refuse to answer, I feel less safe.”
He reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“Don’t.”
His hand fell to his side.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked quietly, “Did you love her?”
His eyes moved to mine.
“Evelyn?”
“Yes.”
He took a breath.
“Yes.”
The answer hurt more than I expected.
“How much?”
“Enough to marry her.”
I looked away.
That shouldn’t have mattered.
It was the past.
But somehow, hearing him say it made the woman in the photograph feel real.
And dangerous.
“Do you still love her?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
“Then why are you afraid of her?”
“Because Evelyn isn’t the person you think she is.”
“Neither are you.”
His expression broke for a second.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Something changed in his face.
“I need to take this.”
“Who is it?”
“Marcus.”
He walked toward the study.
I watched him disappear behind the door.
Something told me the call had nothing to do with business.
The next morning, Adrian left before I woke up.
At least that’s what I thought.
When I entered the kitchen, I found a note beside my coffee.
Don’t leave the penthouse alone today.
No explanation.
No good morning.
Just an order.
I crumpled the note.
“Absolutely not.”
I had spent my entire life refusing to let people control me.
I wasn’t about to start now.
I grabbed my coat and left.
My first stop was the old address listed on one of Evelyn’s documents.
A small apartment building in Manhattan.
I stood outside for several minutes before going in.
The landlord was an elderly man who looked suspicious when I mentioned Evelyn’s name.
“Who are you?”
“An old friend.”
He studied me.
Then his eyes widened.
“You…”
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Did Evelyn live here?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Did she live alone?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
My heart beat faster.
“Who lived with her?”
“A young woman.”
“What woman?”
He frowned.
“I don’t remember her name.”
“Did she look like me?”
His silence told me everything.
“She did, didn’t she?”
The old man nodded slowly.
“You two looked like sisters.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Was it me?”
He stared at me.
“I thought you knew.”
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“After the accident, the other woman came back once.”
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
“When?”
“About a week later.”
I grabbed the edge of the counter.
“She was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
The landlord’s expression softened.
“Because she asked me not to.”
“Where did she go?”
He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a small envelope.
“She left this for you.”
My hands trembled as I took it.
My name was written across the front.
ELENA.
I stared at it.
“How long have you had this?”
“Three years.”
“Why give it to me now?”
He looked toward the door.
“Because someone came looking for it yesterday.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Four words were written in Evelyn’s handwriting.
You were there too.
I stared at the sentence.
Then something inside my head snapped.
A flash.
A room.
Evelyn standing in front of me.
Her face covered in tears.
“You have to go.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
I reached for her.
She grabbed my hands.
“If he finds out you know, he’ll hurt you.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the door.
Then whispered,
“Your father.”
I gasped.
The memory vanished.
My hands began shaking.
My father.
The man who abandoned me after my mother died.
The man I hadn’t seen in years.
Why would Evelyn be afraid of him?
And what did he have to do with Adrian?
I looked back at the landlord.
“Do you know where Evelyn went?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Did she ever mention my father?”
His eyes widened.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
He hesitated.
Then slowly nodded.
“She said he was dangerous.”
My heart sank.
Before I could ask anything else, my phone rang.
Adrian.
I stared at his name.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
His voice was unusually tense.
“Why?”
“Because I told you not to leave the penthouse.”
“I don’t take orders from you.”
“Elena, listen to me.”
“No. You listen to me.”
I looked at Evelyn’s letter.
“I know about my father.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then Adrian whispered,
“Where did you hear that name?”
“From Evelyn.”
His breathing changed.
“Come home.”
“Why?”
“Because if Evelyn told you about your father…”
He stopped.
“What?”
His voice dropped.
“…then she knows who really caused the accident.”
My heart stopped.
“What accident?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
“Adrian?”
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“The night Evelyn disappeared…”
His voice broke.
“…your father was there.”
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