CHAPTER THREE-ELENA’S POV
1093 Words
The knock was so loud. My entire body went still.
I couldn't move. My eyes locked on the door like it might disappear if I stared hard enough. Noah was still asleep in the next room. I could hear his soft breathing through the cracked door.
There was another knock, stronger this time.
My heart slammed hard against my ribs as I forced my feet to move. My hand trembled as I reached for the handle.
Don’t open it.
But I already knew who was on the other side. I opened the door and everything inside me shattered.
Adrian stood there. He still looked like the handsome cold devil who was untouched by time. Power clung to him like a second skin, suffocating and absolute.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
It had been five years…..five years and he looked exactly the same. But his eyes… his eyes were worse. They were darker and colder than I remembered.
Shock rooted me to the ground, but it was nothing compared to the terror that followed.
My body reacted before my mind did. I stepped out, pulling the door behind me, blocking his view completely.
“You need to leave,” I said, my voice low but shaking.
Adrian didn’t move.
His gaze swept over me slowly, like he was confirming I was real.
“Elena.”
My name in his voice—it hadn’t changed.
“I said leave,” I repeated, firmer this time.
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
Then he moved closer and I instinctively stepped back, but he was already there, closing the distance I made. My back hit the door before I could stop it.
My pulse spiked.
“Five years,” he said quietly.
I swallowed hard. “You don’t get to just show up….”
“I do,” he cut in.
The words were calm and simple.
Something inside me snapped. “No, you don’t,” I shot back, my voice rising despite myself. “You lost that right a long time ago.”
His expression didn’t change. If anything, it got colder.
“Did I?” he asked.
Then he reached into his coat. My stomach dropped instantly, panic flaring but he only pulled out a file. He held it out to me.
I didn’t take it.
“I’m not interested in whatever game you’re playing….”
“It’s not a game,” he said. Something in his tone made my chest tighten.
Reluctantly, I grabbed the file and opened it. The words blurred at first.
DNA Test Results.
My body went numb. No. No, no, no…..
99.9% probability.
The world tilted violently. I shook my head, stepping back. “This is fake.”
“It’s been verified three times.”
My breathing turned shallow. “You think you can just walk in here and throw papers at me and….what? Claim him?”
“Yes.”
The single word hit like a slap.
Rage exploded through me, burning away the fear. “No!” I snapped, my voice breaking. “You don’t get to do that! You don’t get to decide now that you want to be a father!”
His eyes darkened slightly, but his expression stayed calm. “I’m not deciding,” he said. “You never let me even know him.”
My nails dug into the paper in my hand. “You don’t even know him!”
“I know enough.”
“You know nothing!” My voice cracked, louder now, raw and unfiltered. “You don’t know what he likes, what scares him, how he sleeps—you don’t know anything about him because you weren’t there!”
“And whose fault is that?” he asked quietly.
The question hit harder than if he’d shouted. I froze.
“That’s right,” he continued, his voice still calm, still cutting. “You made that decision for both of us.”
My chest heaved. “I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.” His words were cold and unforgiving.
My vision blurred with anger. “You don’t get to rewrite what happened! You don’t get to pretend you didn’t destroy everything first!”
Something flickered in his eyes then and it was gone just as quickly. “I’m not here to discuss the past,” he said.
“Of course you’re not,” I laughed bitterly. “Because that would mean admitting what you did.”
There was thick, heavy silence. Then….a soft sound came from behind the door. My blood ran cold. It was Noah.
Adrian’s gaze shifted instantly.
“No,” I said quickly, stepping in front of him. “You’re not going anywhere near him.”
But it was too late.
Something changed in the air. I felt it. The shift was subtle but terrifying.
“He’s mine,” Adrian said.
The words were quiet but they carried absolute certainty.
My entire body went rigid. “No. He’s not.”
Adrian looked at me then and whatever he saw didn’t move him. “He is my son.”
“You don’t get to call him that!” I snapped, my voice shaking with fury. “You lost that right the moment you threw me away like I meant nothing!”
His jaw tightened slightly but there was no remorse, not even a trace.
“I’m not here to ask for permission, Elena.” The finality in his voice made something inside me crack. Before I could respond, he stepped back. “This isn’t a conversation,” he continued. “It’s a f*****g warning.”
My stomach dropped.
He reached into his coat again and pulled out another document.
This time, he didn’t hand it to me. He let it fall to the ground right at my feet. The sound of paper hitting the ground echoed louder than it should have.
Adrian held my gaze for one long, heavy second. Then he turned and walked away. Just like that. The sound of his footsteps faded, but the pressure he left behind didn’t.
I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding violently in my chest. Then slowly…I looked down. My hands shook as I picked up the document. The words swam before my eyes as I forced myself to read.
Petition for Full Custody.
My breath caught. No… No, he wouldn’t…
My eyes scanned the page faster, panic clawing up my throat.
Filed by: Adrian Wolfe.
Grounds: Kidnapping.
The world spun and my knees nearly gave out beneath me.
He was trying to take Noah….completely.
- Writer
