CHAPTER 5: The breaking point
790 Words
The city lights blurred through the rain as I sat in the back of the cab, replaying Adrian’s last words over and over. The truth always costs more than it should.
He had sounded like a man who knew loss, who carried it like a shadow he couldn’t shake. And now I was part of it, even if I didn’t understand how.
By the time I reached my apartment, the streets were nearly empty. My phone buzzed again, another message from the unknown number.
“He’s not who you think he is.”
I closed the phone quickly, my heart hammering. I didn’t want to believe it. Not after everything I had seen in his eyes. There was something broken in Adrian, but not evil. I was sure of that.
Still, doubt crept in. I opened my laptop, searching Cross Industries again. This time, I found it in an old article buried in an archive. A list of names connected to a financial scandal, one that had ruined several lives. Among them was Adrian Cross.
My stomach twisted. He hadn’t just been part of the story. He had been the story.
Before I could read further, my phone rang. Unknown number again. Against my better judgment, I answered.
“Bella.” His voice. Deep, calm, but different now strained.
“Adrian? Where are you? What’s happening?”
“You need to leave the city. Right now.”
“What? Why would I !!
“They know who you are. They’ll come for you next.”
My throat went dry. “Who are they?”
He didn’t answer. Only silence, heavy and tense. Then, softly, “I never wanted this for you.”
The line went dead.
I stood there in my living room, phone still pressed to my ear, as fear and anger tangled inside me. I deserved answers.
An hour later, I was outside again, rain soaking through my coat. I didn’t know where I was going until I found myself in front of his building once more. The lights on the top floor were off this time.
I waited in the shadows across the street until a car pulled up black, tinted windows. Two men stepped out and entered the building. Neither of them looked like security.
Something was wrong.
I slipped inside through the service entrance, my heart pounding as I climbed the stairs. By the time I reached his floor, I could hear voices—sharp, angry, muffled through the door.
“…told you she’s off-limits,” Adrian’s voice snapped.
One of the men replied, lower and colder. “You made her a target when you didn’t walk away.”
There was the sound of movement, then a crash.
I pushed the door open without thinking.
“Bella” Adrian turned just as one of the men drew a gun.
I froze. Everything happened in seconds. Adrian moved fast, tackling the man, knocking the weapon to the ground. The second man lunged, but Adrian’s strike sent him sprawling. The fight was brutal, fast, and silent except for the sound of fists meeting flesh.
When it was over, both men were down. Adrian stood breathing heavily, a cut on his cheek, his shirt torn at the shoulder.
He looked at me with a mix of anger and relief. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“You think I could just stay home after that call?” I shot back. “You told me to leave the city without telling me why!”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “You don’t understand, Bella. These people ,they run deeper than you can imagine. And now they know you matter to me.”
The words hit harder than I expected. Matter to me.
For a moment, the chaos around us faded. I stepped closer, close enough to see the blood on his knuckles.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
He met my eyes then, and something inside him seemed to crumble. The walls he’d built around himself finally cracked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked softly.
“Because I wanted to keep you away from all of this.”
“But you didn’t.”
He gave a low, humorless laugh. “No. I didn’t.”
For a long moment, we just stood there, the air thick with everything we couldn’t say.
Finally, he said, “You have to trust me one last time. Please.”
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. I didn’t know what truth he was still hiding. But as I looked into his eyes those dark, wounded eyes, I knew one thing.
No matter how dangerous this was, I wasn’t walking away.
- Writer
