Chapter 15 – The Paper That Changes Everything
774 Words
Elena felt her heart stop.
Hers.
One word.
Written in dark ink.
Pressed sharply into the paper as if carved with anger—or desperation.
“Dominic…” Her voice trembled. “What does that mean? Who wrote it?”
Dominic didn’t answer immediately.
He stared at the paper, jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. His eyes were darker than she had ever seen them—almost black.
“Dominic?” Elena whispered again.
He finally lifted his gaze. “This handwriting isn’t Nathan’s.”
Elena’s stomach dropped.
“Then whose is it?”
Dominic folded the paper once, carefully but with tension in every movement.
“Someone who has been planning,” he said. “Someone patient. Someone confident enough to walk onto my property and stand beneath your window.”
Someone fearless.
Elena swallowed. “So… this person isn’t afraid of you.”
Dominic stepped closer, brushing a thumb over her knuckles, his touch grounding her.
“They should be,” he murmured. “They will be.”
His voice carried a promise—and a threat.
Elena stared at the folded note in his hand. “Why would they leave just one word?”
Dominic hesitated… then spoke slowly.
“Because they weren’t writing to me.”
Her breath hitched. “They were writing to… me?”
He nodded once.
The room suddenly felt colder, tighter, smaller. Elena wrapped her arms around herself.
“What do they want from me?” she whispered.
Dominic shook his head. “Until we catch them, I won’t guess.”
“But—”
“Elena.” His voice deepened. “No assumptions. No panic. We deal with what we know.”
He took her hand.
“What we know is: someone came here tonight. Someone who knows your name. Someone who isn’t afraid of death or guards.” He paused. “And someone who wants you.”
Elena’s knees weakened. “I don’t want to be wanted by anyone except—”
She stopped herself too late.
Dominic’s eyes sharpened instantly.
“Except who?” he asked softly.
Elena’s face flushed hot. “I-I didn’t mean—”
He stepped closer. “Except who, Elena?”
Her breath faltered. His height, his scent, the intensity in his eyes—it all pressed against her defenses.
She looked away. “It doesn’t matter.”
Dominic exhaled slowly, his voice dropping into something warm but dangerous.
“It matters to me.”
Before she could respond, a knock cut through the tension.
“Boss,” a guard called, “we checked the perimeter again. There’s something else you need to see.”
Dominic stiffened.
“What now?” he asked sharply.
The guard opened the door slightly.
“We found… a second piece of paper.”
Elena’s blood went cold.
Dominic took it immediately.
This one was different—smaller, crumpled, as if held tightly in a fist. When he unfolded it, Elena leaned closer without thinking.
It wasn’t a word this time.
It was a drawing.
A child’s drawing.
Crude, simple—but unmistakable.
A small girl.
Dark hair.
A dress.
Standing alone beside a window.
Elena’s breath shattered. “That… that’s…”
Dominic looked at her sharply. “Do you remember this?”
She shook her head, shaking. “No. I’ve never—”
But suddenly—
Something flickered behind her eyes.
A flash.
A shadow.
A window.
A small hand tapping the glass.
Elena staggered back, grabbing the edge of the bed. Dominic caught her immediately.
“Elena? Elena—look at me. Breathe.”
“I—I saw something,” she whispered, voice trembling. “Just for a second. A girl. A window. I think—”
Her chest tightened painfully. “I think it was me.”
Dominic’s grip tightened protectively around her.
“Then this isn’t just someone looking for you,” he said, voice low with deadly certainty.
“This is someone who knew you as a child.”
Elena covered her mouth, trembling. “Dominic… who would leave something like this? Who would know that?”
He met her eyes, and for the first time, she saw something in his expression she had never seen before.
Fear.
“Elena,” he whispered, “there’s only one kind of person who would leave a memory from your childhood.”
Her pulse raced wildly. “Who?”
Dominic swallowed hard.
“A family member.”
Elena froze.
“And the only question now,” Dominic finished, “is whether they’re coming to protect you…”
He looked toward the window.
“…or reclaim you.”
- Writer
