ENEMIES THEN LOVER

CHAPTER 9

THE MAN WHO KNEW MY FATHER

Elena stared at the message on her phone.

Ask Adrian why his father paid someone to keep your father silent.

Her heart raced.

Who had sent it?

And how much did they know about her family?

"Elena, give me the box," her mother whispered urgently.

Elena looked at her. "Mum, someone just sent me a message about Dad. What are you hiding from me?"

Her mother opened her mouth, but before she could answer, the knocking at the door became louder.

"Mrs. Carter! I know you're inside!"

Elena tightened her grip on the wooden box.

"I'm opening the door."

"No!" her mother shouted.

But Elena was already moving.

She opened the door just enough to see a tall, middle-aged man standing outside. He wore a dark suit, and his expression was serious.

"Who are you?" Elena asked.

"My name is Mr. Hayes. I used to work for Richard Blackwood."

Her mother's face drained of colour.

"How dare you come here?" she demanded.

Mr. Hayes ignored her.

He looked directly at Elena.

"Your father was a good man. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Elena's throat tightened.

"You knew my father?"

"Very well."

"Then tell me where he is!"

The man looked down briefly.

"I can't tell you where he is because I don't know. But I know why he disappeared."

Elena stepped closer.

"Tell me."

Mr. Hayes glanced over his shoulder before lowering his voice.

"Richard Blackwood accused your father of stealing important company documents. But your father had discovered that Richard was involved in something illegal. The accusation was a way to silence him."

Elena felt sick.

"You're saying my father was framed?"

Mr. Hayes nodded.

"Yes. And Adrian knows more about this than he's admitting."

Elena shook her head.

"No. Adrian wouldn't lie to me about something this serious."

Mr. Hayes gave her a sad look.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

She didn't answer.

"Then you need to be careful. Sometimes the people we love are the ones who know exactly how to hurt us."

He reached into his jacket and handed her a folded piece of paper.

"Your father left this behind. I kept it because I believed one day someone would come looking for the truth."

Elena unfolded the paper with trembling fingers.

It contained only one sentence.

If anything happens to me, tell Elena that the truth is hidden where our family began.

She read it twice.

"Where our family began?" she whispered.

Her mother covered her mouth.

Mr. Hayes looked at her mother.

"You never told her, did you?"

"Told me what?" Elena demanded.

Neither of them answered.

Suddenly, Mr. Hayes's phone rang.

He checked the screen and immediately looked worried.

"I have to go."

"But you can't leave! I need answers!"

He stepped back.

"Look through your father's old belongings. Start with the house where you spent your childhood. You'll understand."

Then he hurried away.

Elena closed the door slowly.

She turned toward her mother.

"Mum, what house was he talking about?"

Her mother sat down, looking as though years of secrets had finally become too heavy to carry.

"The house your father bought before you were born," she whispered. "The one I told you we had to leave."

Elena's eyes widened.

"Why did we leave?"

Her mother looked at her, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Because the night your father disappeared, someone broke into that house looking for something."

"What were they looking for?"

Her mother shook her head.

"I never found out."

Elena looked down at the wooden box.

For the first time, she wondered whether the answers she'd spent years searching for had been waiting for her all along.

---

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Across the city, Adrian stood in his father's office.

Richard Blackwood sat behind his desk, reading a document.

"You went to see Elena's mother," Richard said without looking up.

Adrian stiffened.

"How do you know that?"

Richard finally raised his eyes.

"Because I told someone to watch her."

Adrian stared at him in disbelief.

"You've been watching Elena's family?"

"Don't raise your voice at me."

"She's done nothing wrong!"

Richard stood.

"You think this is about what she's done? It's about what her father knew."

Adrian clenched his fists.

"What happened to Daniel Carter?"

Richard's expression turned cold.

"Some questions are better left unanswered."

"Not anymore."

Richard slowly walked around his desk.

"If you care about that girl, you'll end this relationship immediately."

Adrian shook his head.

"I won't."

His father smiled, but there was nothing kind about it.

"Then I suppose it's time she learned the truth about you."

Adrian went still.

"What does that mean?"

Richard returned to his chair.

"It means that if Elena discovers what happened the night her father disappeared, she'll never look at you the same way again."

Adrian's phone vibrated.

A message from Elena appeared on the screen.

Elena: We need to talk. Tonight. No more lies.

Adrian stared at the message, his heart sinking.

Because there was one secret he had never told her.

One secret that could destroy everything between them.

And it had nothing to do with his father.

TO BE CONTINUED…