CHAPTER 4
1382 Words
THE GIRL FROM HIS PAST
Elena didn't go to sleep that night.
How could she?
The photograph was still open on her phone.
Her mother stood in the background, smiling at someone outside the frame.
Someone Elena had never seen before.
Someone who apparently had a connection to Adrian Cole.
She zoomed in on the picture, hoping to find something she had missed.
Then she noticed it.
A man standing beside her mother.
His face was partly hidden, but the silver watch on his wrist was unmistakable.
She had seen that watch before.
On Adrian's father.
Elena's stomach twisted.
"No," she whispered.
It couldn't be.
Her mother had never mentioned knowing the Cole family.
Not once.
Her phone buzzed.
Adrian: Are you awake?
Elena stared at the message.
Of all the people she wanted to hear from, he was the last.
She typed a reply.
Deleted it.
Typed another.
Elena: What do you know about my mother?
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Then disappeared.
A minute passed.
Finally, his reply arrived.
Adrian: Where did you get that picture?
Elena's heart sank.
He hadn't denied knowing her.
He hadn't asked what she meant.
He had asked about the picture.
That was enough to tell her something was wrong.
Elena: So you do know something.
No reply.
She threw her phone onto the bed.
"Fine, Adrian. Keep your secrets."
But deep down, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave this alone.
Not anymore.
---
THE NEXT MORNING — WESTBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
Elena arrived early.
She had barely entered the lecture hall when Adrian appeared at the door.
Their eyes met.
For once, neither of them smiled.
He walked toward her.
"Can we talk?"
"No."
"Elena, please."
She looked up at him.
"Interesting. Yesterday, you told me to stay away from everything. Today, suddenly, you want to talk?"
"I know you're angry."
"Angry?" She laughed without humour. "Adrian, someone is sending me pictures of my mother, and you clearly know more than you're telling me. What exactly am I supposed to feel?"
He glanced around the room.
"Not here."
"Then where? Your secret-keeping headquarters?"
Despite himself, Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
"You're impossible."
"And you're a liar."
His expression changed.
That word hit harder than she expected.
"I'm not lying to you," he said quietly.
"Then tell me the truth."
He opened his mouth.
The lecture hall door swung open.
Victoria Hayes walked in.
Her eyes moved from Adrian to Elena.
"Oh," she said with a cold smile. "Am I interrupting something?"
Elena folded her arms.
"Not at all. We were just discussing how your friend enjoys keeping secrets."
Victoria's smile vanished.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Victoria. Leave."
She ignored him.
Instead, she looked directly at Elena.
"Has he told you about Daniel yet?"
Adrian went completely still.
Elena noticed.
"Who's Daniel?"
Victoria smiled again.
"Ask your precious partner."
"Victoria," Adrian warned.
But she was already walking away.
At the door, she turned around.
"Some people don't deserve second chances, Elena. Especially when their families are involved."
Then she disappeared into the corridor.
Elena slowly turned toward Adrian.
"Who is Daniel?"
He looked away.
And that was when she knew.
Whatever happened last year, Daniel was at the centre of it.
---
THE NAME HE COULDN'T FORGET
After class, Adrian found Elena sitting beneath an old tree behind the faculty building.
She didn't look up when he approached.
"Go away, Adrian."
He sat beside her anyway, leaving a little space between them.
"Victoria shouldn't have said that."
"But she did."
"She likes causing trouble."
"And you like avoiding questions."
He sighed.
"Fair enough."
Elena finally looked at him.
"Who was Daniel?"
For a long moment, Adrian said nothing.
Then he looked down at his hands.
"Daniel was my best friend."
"Was?"
His jaw tightened.
"He died last year."
Elena's anger faltered.
"Oh."
It was the only word she could manage.
"I'm sorry."
Adrian nodded, but his expression remained distant.
"Daniel was the kind of person everyone loved. He made people laugh. He trusted people too easily."
His voice became quieter.
"Especially me."
Elena studied him.
"What happened?"
He swallowed.
"There was an accident."
"What kind of accident?"
"The kind that changes everything."
She waited.
He didn't continue.
"Adrian, you can't tell me something like that and expect me not to ask questions."
"I know."
"Then why won't you tell me the rest?"
He turned toward her.
"Because the truth isn't going to make you look at me the same way again."
Elena's heart ached at the fear in his voice.
For the first time, she saw something beneath his arrogance.
Guilt.
Real, painful guilt.
She softened slightly.
"Maybe you should let me decide that."
Their eyes met.
For a moment, the world around them seemed to grow quiet.
Adrian looked as though he wanted to say something.
Instead, he stood.
"Stay away from my family, Elena."
Then he walked away.
Leaving her with more questions than answers.
---
THE HOUSE THAT HELD THE TRUTH
That afternoon, Elena went home and searched through an old box of family photographs.
Her mother had always been private about the past.
Whenever Elena asked about certain years of her childhood, her mother would change the subject.
Now, she understood why that bothered her.
She emptied the box onto her bedroom floor.
Birthday pictures.
School photographs.
Old letters.
Then she found a small envelope tucked beneath a stack of papers.
Her name was written on it.
Elena's hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a photograph of her mother standing beside a younger version of Adrian's father.
On the back were five handwritten words.
We must protect the children.
Elena read them again.
And again.
What children?
She turned the photograph over.
A date was written beneath the message.
September 14.
The same date that had appeared on the photograph from the hospital.
Her heart began to race.
It wasn't a coincidence.
The past was connected to both families.
And someone had spent years making sure neither Elena nor Adrian discovered why.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside her bedroom.
"Elena?"
Her mother's voice.
Elena quickly hid the photograph behind her back.
"Yes, Mum?"
The door opened.
Her mother stepped inside, then stopped when she noticed the photographs scattered across the floor.
Her face drained of colour.
"Where did you get that?"
Elena slowly brought the photograph forward.
"Who is Adrian Cole's father to you?"
Her mother stared at the picture.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, Elena."
Her voice trembled.
"There's something I should have told you a long time ago."
Elena's throat tightened.
"What?"
Her mother looked into her eyes.
"Before you were born, our families were inseparable."
She paused.
"Until the night Daniel died."
---
THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Across the city, Adrian stood in his father's study.
The older man was reading a document when Adrian entered.
"We need to talk."
His father didn't look up.
"About what?"
"Elena."
The document lowered slowly.
"Stay away from that girl."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You know her family, don't you?"
Silence.
"Father, I'm asking you a question."
His father placed the document on the desk.
"Some doors should remain closed."
"Not anymore."
His father stood.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
"Then tell me!"
The older man stared at him.
For a moment, something like regret crossed his face.
Then he said the words Adrian had feared most.
"If Elena discovers what really happened to Daniel, she will hate you."
Adrian's chest tightened.
"Why?"
His father didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
"Because, Adrian, the accident was never the whole story."
Adrian went cold.
"What are you saying?"
His father turned around.
"I'm saying that someone lied to both our families."
Before Adrian could respond, his phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"You've kept the secret long enough, Adrian."
His blood ran cold.
"Who is this?"
The voice laughed softly.
"Ask your father who was driving that night."
The call ended.
Adrian stood motionless.
Then he slowly turned toward his father.
For the first time in his life, he looked at the man who had raised him and wondered whether he had ever truly known him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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