THE BILLIONARE UNWANTED BRIDE

CHAPTER TWO

“THE SECRET SHE WAS NEVER MEANT TO FIND”

Elena didn't look back as the elevator doors closed.

She stood alone inside the polished metal box, staring at her reflection while her mind replayed the same few seconds again and again.

The photograph. Her father.

Her mother. And Adrian Vale. Together.

Why?

She pressed the button for the lobby. The elevator began its descent.

Forty-two. Forty-one. Forty.

Her heart refused to slow down.

She had spent years believing she knew everything important about her parents. Their

marriage. Their struggles. The business they had built. The night everything had changed. Her mother had always avoided talking about those years.

Her father had been even worse.

Whenever Elena asked questions, the answers were always the same.

It was complicated.

It happened a long time ago.

Some things are better left in the past.

She had accepted those answers when she was younger. Now she wasn't sure she had ever known the truth.

The elevator reached the lobby.

Elena stepped out and walked through the glass doors into the afternoon sunlight. Her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen. Her sister.

Elena answered. "Hey."

"How did it go?"

Elena stopped beside the curb. "Not exactly how I expected." There was a pause.

"Bad?"

"I met Adrian Vale." Her sister laughed.

"Wait. The billionaire?" "Unfortunately."

"And?"

"He was arrogant." "Of course he was." "Cold."

"Obviously."

"And extremely annoying." Her sister laughed again. "Sounds like you."

Elena smiled despite herself. Then the smile disappeared.

"Do you remember Dad ever mentioning the Vale family?" The silence on the other end was immediate.

"Why?"

"Just answer me."

"I don't know. Maybe once or twice. Why?" Elena looked back at the towering building. "I saw a photograph."

"What photograph?" "Our parents."

Her sister stopped breathing for a second. "What?"

"They were with Adrian Vale." "That's impossible."

"That's what I thought." "Elena, are you sure?"

"I saw it myself." Another silence.

Then her sister's voice became quieter. "Did you ask him?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He wouldn't explain."

"Maybe there's a reason." "Exactly."

Elena ended the call a few minutes later.

She stood on the sidewalk, watching cars pass. She should go home.

She should forget the entire thing.

That was what a sensible person would do.

Unfortunately, Elena had never been very good at being sensible when someone tried to hide the truth from her.

She opened her phone. Then searched:

Adrian Vale family history. The results appeared instantly. Articles.

Interviews. Business profiles. Photographs.

Vale International had been founded almost thirty years ago by Adrian's father, Richard Vale.

Richard Vale had built the company from a small investment firm into one of the largest private corporations in the country.

Elena kept scrolling. Then she saw a headline.

VALE FAMILY FACES QUESTIONS AFTER DECADE-OLD INVESTMENT COLLAPSE

Her thumb stopped. She opened it.

The article was dated eleven years earlier.

According to the report, Vale International had been involved in a major investment partnership that had collapsed unexpectedly.

Several smaller businesses had suffered massive losses. One of those businesses had belonged to—

Elena's father.

Her stomach dropped. She read faster.

The partnership had been dissolved after allegations of financial misconduct. But no charges had ever been filed.

The investigation had simply disappeared. Elena stared at the screen.

Her father had never told her this.

Neither had her mother. She continued reading.

A name appeared repeatedly.

Richard Vale. Then another. Thomas Hart.

Her father's name.

Elena's breathing became shallow. This wasn't a coincidence.

She returned to the photograph in her memory. Her parents.

Richard Vale.

A young Adrian.

All standing together. Before the scandal.

Before everything changed. She needed answers.

And there was only one person who could give them to her. Adrian.

That evening, Elena sat at her kitchen table surrounded by printed documents. She had spent hours searching.

Most of what she found was useless. Corporate reports.

Old interviews. Business articles. Rumors.

But one detail kept appearing.

A missing financial record.

A transaction made shortly before the collapse. The money had disappeared.

And no one had ever explained where it went. Elena leaned back in her chair.

"Where did you go?" Her phone vibrated. Unknown number.

She stared at it. Then answered. "Hello?" Nothing. "Hello?"

A faint breath came through the speaker. Then the call ended.

Elena lowered the phone.

A cold feeling settled in her stomach.

A minute later, another message arrived.

Stop looking into the Vale family.

She stared at the screen. Her fingers went cold.

Another message appeared.

You don't know what you're getting yourself into.

Elena looked toward the dark window.

For the first time, she wondered whether Adrian had been warning her for a reason. Not threatening her.

Warning her.

She stood and locked the front door.

Then checked it again. Her phone rang.

This time, the number was familiar. Adrian Vale.

Elena hesitated before answering. "How did you get my number?"

"I have my ways." "That's not reassuring."

"I wasn't trying to reassure you." She crossed her arms.

"What do you want?"

"To know whether you've been investigating." Her silence answered for her.

Adrian exhaled slowly. "You shouldn't have." "You knew I would." "Yes."

"Then why warn me?"

"Because I don't want you hurt." The words caught her off guard.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then Elena said quietly, "Who was my father to your family?" Adrian didn't answer.

"Adrian."

"Someone important." "That's not an answer."

"It is the only answer I can give you tonight." "Why?"

"Because you don't understand what happened." "Then explain it."

"I can't."

"You mean you won't." A pause.

"Maybe."

Elena's frustration rose.

"You expect me to believe that you just happened to have a photograph of my parents?" "No."

"Then what am I supposed to believe?" His voice became quieter.

"Believe that your family wasn't the only family destroyed by what happened." Elena froze.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you need to stop digging." "No."

"Elena."

"No."

She could almost hear him clenching his jaw. "You have no idea how dangerous this is." "Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Because you don't trust me?" "Because I don't trust anyone."

The honesty in his voice silenced her.

For the first time, she heard something beneath his cold exterior. Fear.

Not weakness.

Fear.

And somehow that frightened her more. "Then why me?" she asked.

Silence.

"Why are you calling me?" Another pause.

"Because someone else knows you're looking." Elena's heart stopped.

"The person who sent the messages?" "I don't know."

"You don't know?" "No."

"Then what do you know?" Adrian's voice hardened.

"I know that if they think you've found the missing records, they'll come after you." Elena looked at her laptop.

The old financial documents were still open. "What missing records?"

Adrian went silent.

She immediately knew she had said too much. "You know about them."

"I know enough."

"What happened eleven years ago?" "Elena—"

"What happened to my father?"

The silence that followed was different. Heavy.

Painful.

Finally Adrian spoke.

"Your father wasn't responsible for the collapse." Elena's breath caught.

"What?"

"He was blamed for it." "By whom?"

"My father."

She couldn't speak. Adrian continued.

"Richard Vale made sure the blame fell on Thomas Hart." "Why?"

"I don't know."

"You expect me to believe that?" "No."

His voice softened. "But it's the truth."

Elena closed her eyes.

"Then why didn't you tell me this when I was in your office?"

"Because there are things you need to understand before you hear the rest." "What things?"

"You need to understand that my father wasn't acting alone." A chill ran through her.

"Who was helping him?" Adrian didn't answer. "Adrian?"

The line went silent.

Then he said the words that changed everything. "I don't know who we can trust anymore."

The call ended.

Elena slowly lowered her phone. She stared at the dark screen.

For years, she had believed her family had been destroyed by circumstances. Now she understood something much worse.

Someone had made sure it happened.

And whoever had done it had never been caught. Her phone vibrated again.

One final message appeared.

You were warned.

Elena looked toward the locked door. Then toward the window.

Her fear told her to stop.

Her anger told her to keep going.

And somewhere deep inside, another feeling had begun to take shape. Trust.

Against every instinct she had, Elena believed Adrian Vale. And that frightened her more than the threats.

Because if Adrian was telling the truth, then the man she had walked into that office determin

ed to hate might be the only person capable of helping her uncover what happened to her family.

But Elena didn't know one thing yet. Adrian hadn't told her the entire truth. Not even close.