CHAPTER 6: The truth between us
800 Words
The sound of sirens grew faint in the distance, swallowed by the hum of the city. The two men Adrian had fought were gone by the time I found the courage to breathe again. The floor was streaked with rainwater and blood.
He stood by the window, staring out as if the skyline might hold answers he could not give. His shoulders rose and fell with every controlled breath.
I stepped closer. “You can’t keep shutting me out, Adrian. Not anymore.”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Only when I reached out and touched his arm did he finally turn to face me. There was exhaustion in his eyes and something deeper, something like guilt.
“You shouldn’t have seen any of that,” he said quietly.
“I saw enough to know you’re in danger,” I replied. “And now I am too. So stop trying to protect me by lying.”
He closed his eyes briefly, as if the truth itself hurt. “Three years ago, I worked for the people who were here tonight. They called themselves the Orion Syndicate investors on paper, criminals behind the curtain. I helped them move money, hide it, build fake companies. I thought it was business. I didn’t realise what it cost until someone died because of a deal I signed.”
His voice broke slightly at the last word.
I stared at him, heart sinking. “Who?”
“My brother,” he said. “He tried to expose them. They made it look like an accident.”
The silence that followed was heavy and raw. I wanted to say something, anything, but the look on his face stopped me.
“So you ran,” I said finally.
“I didn’t run.” His jaw tightened. “I built something new to destroy them from the inside. I’ve been collecting proof, feeding it to the authorities quietly. But someone found out. That’s why they’re coming after me and now you.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of it sinking in. The fear, the warnings, the shadows following us , it all made sense now.
“Why tell me this now?” I asked.
“Because I don’t know how much time we have left.” He stepped closer, his hand brushing mine. “And because you deserve to know before it’s too late.”
His touch was light but grounding. Outside, thunder rumbled, a low growl echoing across the skyline.
I looked up at him, my voice barely a whisper. “You think they’ll stop?”
He shook his head. “Not until someone stops them first.”
A moment passed, quiet, charged, fragile. Then, softly, I said, “Then we stop them.”
He blinked, almost disbelieving. “Bella, you don’t understand what that means.”
“I do,” I said. “It means I’m not leaving you to face this alone.”
Something shifted in his eyes, the same spark I had seen the night we first met. He exhaled slowly, as if surrendering to something he could no longer fight.
“You’re impossible,” he murmured.
“Maybe,” I said with a small smile. “But I’m still here.”
He reached out then, his fingers brushing against mine before he finally took my hand fully. It wasn’t a promise or a confession. it was something stronger, quieter. A choice.
We stood like that for a long time, the rain tracing patterns against the glass. For once, the city felt still.
But peace never lasted long in Adrian’s world.
The lights flickered suddenly, once, twice. The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. His expression hardened in an instant.
“They found us,” he said.
Before I could react, he pulled me toward a side door, leading into a stairwell. The air was damp, cold, filled with the smell of metal and rain. We descended quickly, the echo of boots behind us growing louder.
When we burst out into the alley, he turned to me. “Go to the east pier. There’s a safe house there under the name J. Rowan. Don’t stop until you get there.”
I shook my head. “Not without you.”
“Bella, please.”
The pleading in his tone stopped me more than the words did.
“I’ll find you,” he said, his hand on my cheek for the briefest second. “I swear I will.”
Then he turned back toward the building.
“Adrian”
But he was already gone.
The rain came harder now, blurring everything , the city lights, the sound of my own heartbeat, the shape of the man disappearing into the dark.
And in that moment I knew: whatever truth waited ahead, it would change us both forever.
- Writer
