Episode 6
1376 Words
The Woman in the Photograph
Lena kept her phone hidden in her hand all the way back to the mansion.
She didn't know what frightened her more—the messages or the fact that she had started believing them.
Adrian can't protect you from his own family.
The words wouldn't leave her mind.
She glanced at the man sitting beside her in the back of the car.
Adrian was staring through the window, his expression hard.
His phone had barely stopped ringing since they left the hospital.
Board members.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Everyone wanted answers.
But Adrian hadn't once complained.
He simply gave instructions in that calm, controlled voice of his.
“Freeze the accounts.”
“Don't release anything to the press.”
“Get the forensic team into the system immediately.”
“Find out who accessed those files.”
Lena watched him silently.
He looked completely in control.
Yet she remembered the brief moment in the hospital parking lot when he'd admitted he didn't know who was behind the attack.
For the first time, she realized something.
Adrian Vale might control an empire.
But he couldn't control everything.
The car stopped.
Adrian stepped out first.
“Stay close.”
Lena followed him inside.
Before they reached the staircase, his phone rang again.
He answered.
“What?”
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Send the file to my private office.”
He ended the call.
Lena stopped.
“What happened?”
“Someone leaked another document.”
“What kind?”
Adrian looked at her.
“A document concerning my father.”
Lena's heart skipped.
The photograph flashed through her mind.
The mysterious woman standing beside Adrian's father.
She swallowed.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Who was the woman in the photograph?”
Adrian froze.
The silence was immediate.
Lena knew she'd asked the wrong question.
His eyes became colder.
“Where did you see that photograph?”
Lena hesitated.
“Online.”
“That's not true.”
Her heart raced.
“How do you know?”
“Because that photograph was never made public.”
Lena's blood went cold.
Adrian stepped toward her.
“Where did you see it?”
She couldn't answer.
“Lena.”
She finally pulled out her phone.
“I received a message.”
She showed him the photograph.
Adrian stared at the screen.
His face became completely emotionless.
But his hands tightened into fists.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know.”
“What else did they say?”
She showed him the messages.
Adrian read every line.
When he finished, his expression was terrifyingly calm.
“Give me your phone.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
She handed it over.
He studied the number.
“Blocked.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Yes.”
He walked toward his office.
Lena followed.
“You know who she is.”
Adrian stopped.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
“Adrian.”
He turned around.
“My father's first wife.”
Lena stared at him.
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Her name was Isabella.”
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
Lena's stomach tightened.
“And nobody found her?”
“No.”
“Was she dead?”
Adrian looked directly at her.
“We don't know.”
A chill ran through Lena.
“Then why would someone send me her photograph?”
“Because they want you asking questions.”
“And they're succeeding.”
Adrian walked past her.
“That's exactly what worries me.”
---
Inside Adrian's private office, a file waited on his desk.
He opened it.
Lena stood behind him.
Several photographs were spread across the pages.
Isabella Vale.
Adrian's father.
A younger Victoria.
And a fourth person whose face had been blacked out.
Lena leaned closer.
“Who is that?”
“We don't know.”
Adrian picked up another photograph.
“This was taken two days before Isabella disappeared.”
Lena looked at it.
“She looks frightened.”
Adrian nodded.
“My father told the police she left voluntarily.”
“And you don't believe him?”
“He died three years later.”
Lena looked at him.
“Did you ever ask him what happened?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He refused to answer.”
Adrian's voice became quieter.
“He only told me one thing.”
Lena waited.
“He said, ‘Never trust the person who tells you they know everything.’”
A silence settled between them.
Then Lena noticed something.
The photograph.
She picked it up.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“Look at this.”
She pointed toward the background.
A small building stood behind Isabella.
Adrian frowned.
“I've seen that place.”
“Where?”
“On the Vale estate.”
Lena's eyes widened.
“Your estate?”
Adrian took the photograph from her.
He studied it carefully.
Then his face changed.
“The old greenhouse.”
“What?”
“My grandfather's property.”
He grabbed his coat.
“Stay here.”
Lena followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“The greenhouse.”
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“Adrian—”
“I said no.”
She folded her arms.
“You can't tell me to stay here after someone has threatened me.”
“This isn't a game.”
“I know.”
“Then listen to me.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
She stared right back.
“I've already married you. I think I've earned the right to know what is happening.”
For several seconds, Adrian said nothing.
Then he sighed.
“Fine.”
They walked outside together.
---
The old greenhouse stood at the far end of the estate, hidden behind overgrown trees.
It looked abandoned.
The glass windows were covered with dust.
The door creaked when Adrian pushed it open.
Lena stepped inside.
“Why would Isabella come here?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian switched on his flashlight.
They searched the room.
Nothing.
Then Lena noticed something beneath an old wooden table.
A small metal box.
She crouched.
“Adrian.”
He came over.
“What is it?”
She pulled the box free.
There was no lock.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Adrian opened it.
His face went pale.
“What does it say?”
He handed it to Lena.
Three lines were written in faded ink.
If Adrian ever marries,
tell his wife the truth.
His mother knows what happened to Isabella.
Lena's heart stopped.
She looked at Adrian.
“Your mother?”
He didn't respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the paper.
Then they heard a sound outside.
A branch snapping.
Adrian immediately stepped in front of Lena.
“Stay behind me.”
Someone was moving through the trees.
Adrian reached for his phone.
“Security.”
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Lena whispered, “Adrian…”
“I know.”
The footsteps stopped.
Then a figure appeared beyond the glass.
Watching them.
Lena couldn't see the face.
But she could see something in the person's hand.
A photograph.
The same photograph of Isabella.
The figure slowly raised it against the glass.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
Adrian rushed outside.
“Stay here!”
Lena followed him anyway.
By the time they reached the trees, there was no one there.
Only the photograph remained on the ground.
Adrian picked it up.
On the back, someone had written a single sentence.
Your wife is next.
Adrian's expression hardened.
He turned toward Lena.
For the first time since she'd met him, there was unmistakable fear in his eyes.
Not for himself.
For her.
He walked toward her and took her hand.
“We're leaving.”
“Adrian—”
“Now.”
His grip tightened around hers.
And Lena suddenly understood something she hadn't expected.
The contract might have been fake.
The marriage might have started as business.
But Adrian was beginning to protect her as if losing her would cost him far more than one million dollars.
Next.
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