Episode 14
1244 Words
The Name on the Will
Lena stood frozen beside the desk.
Her back pressed against the wall as she stared at Adrian.
“Say it again.”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on her, and for the first time since she had met him, Lena saw something she had never expected to see in his expression.
Fear.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Fear.
“The recording said you're the rightful heir,” Adrian finally said.
Lena shook her head.
“No.”
“Lena—”
“No!” Her voice cracked. “My parents weren't rich. They didn't leave me an empire. My mother worked two jobs just to keep food on the table.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“And what if everything you were told about your family was a lie?”
Lena stared at him.
The question struck harder than she expected.
“My whole life?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“Possibly.”
She looked toward the old tape recorder.
The machine had stopped.
But the voice from the recording still echoed inside her mind.
Lena Carter is the rightful heir.
Who had recorded it?
And why had they hidden the truth for so many years?
Adrian walked toward the desk and picked up the folder he had found beside the recorder.
“There is something else.”
Lena's stomach tightened.
“What?”
He opened the folder.
Inside was a single document.
Yellowed with age.
At the bottom was a signature.
Lena stepped forward.
“What is that?”
“A will.”
Her eyes widened.
“A will?”
Adrian handed it to her.
Lena's fingers trembled as she took the document.
She read the first few lines.
Then stopped.
Her breathing became shallow.
“What…”
Adrian watched her carefully.
“What is it?”
She couldn't speak.
He moved closer.
“Lena?”
She finally looked up.
“My name is on it.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“But this says…”
Her voice disappeared.
Adrian gently took the document from her and read the section she had been staring at.
His expression changed.
The will wasn't written for an ordinary inheritance.
It named an entire business empire.
Property.
Bank accounts.
Private investments.
Companies.
And at the very end, one sentence stood apart from everything else.
Upon reaching the age of twenty-five, Lena Carter shall inherit everything belonging to the Carter family, provided she remains unmarried.
Lena stared at Adrian.
Neither of them spoke.
Then she whispered,
“I'm twenty-five.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“Yes.”
“And I'm married.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Lena looked down at the ring on her finger.
Her accidental marriage to Adrian had never felt more dangerous.
“Wait,” she whispered.
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
“If the will says I must remain unmarried…”
She slowly raised her eyes.
“Then why did someone arrange for me to marry you?”
Adrian didn't respond.
That question changed everything.
The marriage had happened too easily.
The strange circumstances.
The pressure.
The mysterious contract.
The people who had insisted that Adrian marry her.
Had someone planned it?
Lena's heart began pounding.
“You knew.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Knew what?”
“You knew about the inheritance.”
“No.”
“You're lying.”
“I found out tonight.”
“Then why do you look like you've seen this before?”
Adrian went silent.
Lena stepped closer.
“You knew my family.”
His silence answered her.
“You knew them,” she whispered.
Adrian looked away.
“My father knew your family.”
Lena froze.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“What did he know?”
Adrian rubbed his jaw.
“That is what I'm trying to figure out.”
Lena stared at him.
“Tell me everything.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who we can trust.”
A sudden noise came from outside the room.
Both of them turned.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking down the hallway.
Adrian immediately grabbed Lena's hand.
“Stay behind me.”
“Who is it?”
“I don't know.”
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
Silence.
Then—
Three knocks.
Lena's blood ran cold.
Three slow knocks.
Exactly like the ones she had heard earlier that night.
Adrian moved toward the door.
“Don't.”
Lena grabbed his arm.
He looked at her.
“Someone wants us to open that door,” she whispered.
Another knock.
This time harder.
Adrian reached for the handle.
Lena's eyes widened.
“Adrian, wait.”
But the handle suddenly turned from the other side.
Adrian stepped back.
The door opened.
A man stood in the hallway.
He was older, dressed in a dark suit, with silver hair and a cold expression.
Lena had never seen him before.
But the moment he looked at her, his face changed.
He looked shocked.
Then afraid.
“My God,” he whispered.
Lena stared at him.
“Who are you?”
The man didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on her face.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
Lena's heart stopped.
“You knew my mother?”
The man swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who are you?”
He looked at Adrian.
Then back at Lena.
“My name is Victor Hale.”
Adrian's expression immediately darkened.
“Get out.”
Victor ignored him.
“You have no idea what you've inherited.”
Lena stepped forward.
“What happened to my family?”
Victor's face became grim.
“They didn't lose their fortune.”
Lena frowned.
“What?”
“They were robbed.”
“By who?”
Victor looked toward the hallway.
“We don't have much time.”
Adrian stepped between them.
“You have five seconds to explain why you're here.”
Victor reached inside his jacket.
Adrian immediately tensed.
But instead of a weapon, Victor pulled out a small envelope.
He handed it to Lena.
“This was meant for you.”
Lena looked at the envelope.
Her name was written across the front.
LENA CARTER
Her hands began trembling.
“Who wrote this?”
Victor looked at her sadly.
“Your father.”
Lena's eyes filled with tears.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then how could he write it?”
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he looked directly into her eyes.
“Because he wrote it the night before he disappeared.”
Lena stopped breathing.
“Disappeared?”
Victor nodded.
“Your father wasn't killed.”
Adrian's face changed.
Victor continued.
“He escaped.”
Lena stared at him in disbelief.
“Escaped from what?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“From the people who are now looking for you.”
A terrible silence filled the room.
Lena looked at Adrian.
For the first time, the billionaire looked genuinely unsettled.
Victor turned toward the hallway.
“They already know you're here.”
“Who?” Lena asked.
Victor's expression hardened.
“The people who stole your inheritance.”
Then he looked at the wedding ring on her finger.
“And they know exactly who your husband is.”
Lena looked at Adrian.
Adrian's eyes met hers.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside, somewhere in the darkness, a car engine started.
Victor whispered,
“They're here.”
And the lights suddenly went out.
To Be Continued…
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