CHAPTER 4
1146 Words
“Your father?”
I stared at Roman.
He didn't answer.
“Did you just say my father is the person I need protection from?”
Roman looked away.
“Answer me.”
“You heard me.”
My heart started beating faster.
“My father is alive, and somehow three men he raised are protecting me from him?”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“It isn't that simple.”
“Then make it simple.”
He stayed silent.
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course. Nobody in this house knows how to answer a simple question.”
Adrian appeared at the end of the hallway.
“That's not true.”
I turned toward him.
“Really?”
“No. I just wanted to annoy Roman.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“Adrian, please.”
His smile disappeared.
“Okay.”
Nikolai walked out of another room.
“What happened?”
I held up the photograph.
“Nobody wants to tell me anything.”
His eyes landed on the picture.
He went still.
I looked between the three men.
“You all knew about this?”
Roman finally spoke.
“We knew Victor was alive.”
My mouth fell open.
“You knew?”
Adrian looked down.
“Not for certain.”
“You knew enough to hide it from me.”
“Elena—”
“No!”
My voice echoed through the hallway.
“You don't get to say my name like that and expect everything to be fine.”
Roman watched me quietly.
I felt tears building in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“Why did he fake his death?”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Because someone wanted him dead.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“Then who changed his face?”
Silence.
I looked at them.
“You know that too, don't you?”
Nikolai answered.
“He had surgery.”
I swallowed.
“So he really looks different?”
“Yes.”
“Does he have another name?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
Nikolai didn't answer.
I turned to Roman.
“What is his new name?”
Roman's eyes met mine.
“We don't know.”
I stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It is the truth.”
“Then how did he call me?”
Roman's face changed slightly.
“He has people everywhere.”
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Why would he contact me now?”
Nobody answered.
Then my phone vibrated.
I jumped.
Another unknown number.
I stared at it.
Roman held out his hand.
“Don't answer.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because whoever is calling knows we're here.”
My phone vibrated again.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
I could hear breathing.
Slow.
Steady.
Then a man's voice whispered,
“You shouldn't trust them.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who are you?”
“You know who I am.”
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Adrian looked at me.
“What did he say?”
I didn't answer.
Roman stepped closer.
“Elena.”
“He said I shouldn't trust you.”
Nobody moved.
Then Nikolai's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“Where?”
He listened for a few seconds.
“Understood.”
He ended the call.
Roman looked at him.
“What happened?”
“Someone broke into the apartment.”
My stomach dropped.
“My apartment?”
Nikolai nodded.
“Did they take anything?”
“No.”
“Then what did they want?”
Nikolai looked at me.
“They left something.”
“What?”
“A message.”
Roman's expression darkened.
“What message?”
Nikolai pulled out his phone and showed us a photograph.
Written across the wall of my apartment were four words.
SHE BELONGS TO US.
A chill moved through me.
“Who is us?”
Roman didn't answer.
Adrian looked unusually serious.
“We need to leave.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere they can't find you.”
I shook my head.
“I've had enough of running.”
Roman stepped toward me.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”
“Then tell me!”
His eyes locked with mine.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
There was something in his eyes.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
“You're not just Victor's daughter,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
Roman looked at Nikolai.
Nikolai shook his head.
“It's too soon.”
“Too soon for what?”
Roman walked away.
I followed him.
“Roman!”
He stopped.
I grabbed his arm.
“Tell me.”
He turned around.
We were suddenly very close.
His eyes dropped to my lips for half a second before returning to my eyes.
My heart skipped.
I hated that it did.
“You need to stop asking questions,” he whispered.
“Why?”
“Because the answers will change everything.”
“Maybe I want everything changed.”
His face softened for a second.
Then he stepped back.
“You don't know what you're asking for.”
“Try me.”
Before he could answer, a loud crash came from downstairs.
Everyone froze.
Nikolai reached for his gun.
Adrian moved in front of me.
Roman pulled me behind him.
Another crash came from below.
Then silence.
Someone was inside the house.
Roman whispered,
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“I am not staying alone.”
Adrian looked at Nikolai.
“She has a point.”
Roman sighed.
“Fine. Stay between us.”
We moved downstairs.
The lights were still on.
Nothing looked wrong.
Then Nikolai pointed toward the dining room.
A chair was overturned.
A window stood open.
Roman walked toward it.
On the table sat a small black box.
He stared at it.
“Don't touch it,” Nikolai warned.
Roman ignored him.
He opened the box.
Inside was a single key.
Underneath it was a photograph.
I stepped closer.
My heart stopped.
The photograph showed a man I had never seen before.
He was older, with dark hair and cold eyes.
His face was completely unfamiliar.
Yet something about him made my stomach twist.
I turned the photograph over.
There was one sentence written on the back.
YOUR FATHER HAS A NEW FACE.
I looked at Roman.
“Who is this man?”
Roman didn't answer.
Then the lights went out.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Hello, Elena.”
I froze.
It was the same voice from the phone.
A hand suddenly grabbed me from behind.
I screamed.
Roman lunged forward.
But before he could reach me, the stranger whispered into my ear,
“Your father wants you back.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD