Married to My Enemy's Father

The return

Chapter 7

The gunshot echoed through the abandoned factory.

For one terrifying second, everything stood still.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Darkness swallowed the entire building as panicked voices erupted from every direction.

"Protect Mrs. King!" one of Alexander's guards shouted.

A strong arm wrapped around my waist before I could react.

Alexander.

He pulled me down behind a stack of rusted steel containers just as another gunshot ripped through the darkness.

The sound of bullets striking metal filled the air.

My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst.

"Are you hurt?" Alexander asked, his voice low but urgent.

I shook my head.

"No."

He quickly checked my shoulders and arms anyway, making sure I wasn't injured.

Only after he was certain did he let out a quiet breath.

"Stay here."

"No."

I grabbed his sleeve before he could leave.

"My mother is in this building."

"I know."

"Then don't ask me to hide."

His blue eyes met mine.

For the first time since we met, I saw genuine fear in them.

Not fear for himself.

Fear of losing me.

"Ava..."

"I promised myself I would never run again."

His expression softened.

"And I promised your father I'd bring you home."

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The world outside continued exploding with chaos, but somehow everything between us became strangely quiet.

Then Alexander reached into his jacket and handed me a small earpiece.

"Put this on."

"What is it?"

"So I can hear you."

"And if we get separated?"

His jaw tightened.

"We won't."

I placed the earpiece in my ear anyway.

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Good."

Another explosion shook the building.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

Alexander immediately stood.

"Move!"

Together we sprinted deeper into the factory.

---

The emergency lights flickered weakly, painting everything in shades of red.

Alexander's security team spread out through the building.

"East corridor clear."

"Nothing on the second floor."

"Three armed men approaching from the loading dock."

The updates came rapidly through the earpiece.

Alexander remained calm.

Every order he gave was short and precise.

He wasn't just a billionaire.

He was a leader.

Watching him command the team so effortlessly reminded me that there was so much about his past I still didn't know.

Who had trained him?

Why did he move like someone who had spent years preparing for nights like this?

Before I could ask, we heard crying.

A woman's voice.

"Mum!"

I ran toward the sound.

Alexander caught my hand.

"Wait."

"It's her!"

"No."

He listened carefully.

The crying repeated.

Exactly the same.

Every word.

Every sob.

His expression hardened.

"It's another recording."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"They're trying to separate us."

My stomach twisted.

"They know exactly how I'll react."

Alexander nodded.

"They've studied you."

A chill crawled down my spine.

This wasn't random.

Someone had been watching me for a very long time.

---

Suddenly, Clara's voice came through the earpiece.

"Mr. King!"

Alexander pressed a button.

"Report."

"We found surveillance monitors."

"How many?"

"More than fifty."

"What?"

"They've been watching every room in this factory."

Alexander's face darkened.

"And there's something else."

"What is it?"

"The Chairman isn't here."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Clara answered quietly.

"The man on the balcony..."

"He was a decoy."

Alexander cursed under his breath.

"He wanted to delay us."

"But why?"

Before anyone answered, another guard's voice came through.

"Sir!"

"We've located a hidden elevator."

Alexander immediately turned toward me.

"This way."

---

The elevator doors opened into an underground level.

Unlike the abandoned factory above, everything here looked modern.

Bright lights.

Clean floors.

New security cameras.

Someone had spent millions creating this hidden facility.

"This doesn't make sense," I whispered.

Alexander slowly looked around.

"It does."

"How?"

"This isn't a hideout."

He met my eyes.

"It's headquarters."

My heart skipped.

"The Chairman built all of this?"

"I think he's been operating from here for years."

We moved carefully through the corridor.

Every room we passed contained expensive computers, confidential files, and large digital maps.

One wall displayed photographs.

Hundreds of them.

Business leaders.

Politicians.

Judges.

Even members of the Carter and King families.

My photograph was there too.

Alongside one of Alexander.

Red lines connected our pictures.

As though someone had been studying our lives.

My breathing became uneven.

"They've been watching us."

"For years," Alexander replied.

I noticed another photograph.

It showed my father.

Standing beside a man whose face had been torn away from the picture.

Only one thing remained visible.

A signet ring.

The same crown symbol.

"Alexander..."

He followed my gaze.

"I know."

"Whoever that man is..."

"He was close to your father."

A heavy silence filled the room.

The deeper we went...

The more it became clear that everything we believed was only the surface of a much bigger conspiracy.

Then, from somewhere down the corridor...

A familiar voice cried out.

"Ava!"

This time, it wasn't a recording.

It was my mother.

Alive.

And terrified.

"Mum!"

My mother's frightened voice echoed through the underground corridor.

Without thinking, I sprinted towards the sound.

"Ava, wait!" Alexander shouted.

But I was already running.

Every instinct told me she was close.

Every heartbeat urged me forward.

I reached a heavy steel door and pushed it open.

The room inside was brightly lit.

My mother sat tied to a chair in the middle of the floor.

Her mouth was covered with tape, and tears streamed down her face.

"Mum!"

I rushed to her.

Just as I reached for the ropes, Alexander grabbed my arm.

"Don't touch her!"

"What?"

"It's another trap."

The moment the words left his mouth, a red laser swept across the room.

Then another.

And another.

Tiny red dots covered the floor around my mother's chair.

Alexander slowly looked up.

"The room is wired."

My blood turned cold.

"What do you mean?"

"Pressure sensors."

"If you pull the chair..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

He didn't have to.

The entire room could explode.

My mother shook her head desperately, trying to warn us away.

Tears blurred my vision.

"There has to be another way."

"There is," Alexander said calmly.

"But it will take time."

Before he could move, slow applause echoed behind us.

We turned.

A tall man stepped out of the shadows.

He wasn't wearing the silver mask anymore.

For the first time, I saw his face.

He looked to be in his late fifties.

His hair was streaked with grey.

His tailored black suit looked immaculate despite the abandoned surroundings.

The only thing that truly stood out was the ring on his right hand.

A black crown engraved in gold.

"So," he said with a smile.

"We finally meet properly."

"The Chairman," Alexander said coldly.

The man chuckled.

"I've always hated that name."

My eyes never left him.

"You kidnapped my mother."

"I invited her."

"You tied her to a chair!"

"I needed your attention."

Anger burned through me.

"What do you want from us?"

His smile widened.

"The same thing I've wanted for twenty years."

He looked directly at Alexander.

"The journal."

Alexander didn't hesitate.

"No."

The Chairman laughed softly.

"You've always been stubborn."

"I learned from you."

That sentence caught my attention.

"You know each other?"

The Chairman's smile faded.

"Oh, Ava..."

"We know each other far better than you realise."

He slowly walked around my mother's chair.

"Your father once trusted me with his life."

My heart sank.

"And I rewarded him by teaching him an important lesson."

My hands clenched into fists.

"What lesson?"

"Never mistake ambition for loyalty."

Alexander stepped forward.

"Leave her out of this."

"But she's the reason we're here."

The Chairman's eyes settled on me.

"Everything I've done..."

"Every plan."

"Every sacrifice."

"It was all leading to this moment."

I frowned.

"I don't understand."

"You will."

He reached into his pocket and removed an old photograph.

He tossed it onto the floor.

It landed at my feet.

I picked it up.

The picture showed four people standing together.

My father.

Alexander's father.

The Chairman.

And...

My mother.

They were all smiling.

Like a family.

"No..."

I looked at my mother.

She lowered her eyes.

She knew.

She had known all along.

"Mum?"

She began crying harder.

The Chairman laughed.

"Ask her."

"Ask her why she lied to you for twenty-two years."

I looked desperately at my mother.

She slowly shook her head.

The shame on her face said more than words ever could.

My world cracked a little more.

Alexander gently stepped beside me.

"Ava."

"Did you know?"

His silence answered for him.

"You knew..."

"I only learned the truth recently."

"You should have told me."

"I wanted proof first."

The Chairman smiled with satisfaction.

"Secrets."

"They destroy every family eventually."

Suddenly, one of Alexander's guards spoke through the earpiece.

"Sir."

"We've disabled the explosives."

Alexander's eyes flickered briefly.

"How long?"

"Thirty seconds."

The Chairman heard everything.

His smile disappeared.

"So..."

He pressed a button hidden inside his ring.

A loud alarm blared throughout the underground facility.

Metal doors began sliding shut.

"He's locking us in!" one of the guards shouted.

Alexander reacted instantly.

"Get her out!"

Two guards rushed towards my mother.

Within seconds they carefully cut the ropes and lifted her away from the chair.

I threw my arms around her.

"Mum!"

She hugged me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

"I've got you."

"I've got you now."

For one brief moment...

Everything else disappeared.

Then a gunshot echoed through the room.

Alexander spun around.

The Chairman stood at the far end of the corridor, a pistol in his hand.

He wasn't aiming at Alexander.

He was aiming at me.

"Down!" Alexander shouted.

He threw himself in front of me.

The gun fired.

Time seemed to stop.

Alexander staggered backwards.

A dark stain spread across the shoulder of his white shirt.

"Alexander!"

He collapsed onto one knee.

The guards immediately returned fire, forcing the Chairman to disappear into another corridor.

"Go!" Alexander shouted through gritted teeth.

"Don't let him escape!"

Half the team chased after the Chairman.

The others surrounded us.

Blood dripped steadily from Alexander's shoulder.

I knelt beside him.

"You're bleeding."

"It's only my shoulder."

"You were shot because of me."

His breathing was uneven, but he still managed a small smile.

"No."

He looked into my eyes.

"I was shot because I chose you."

The words stole my breath.

For the first time since our marriage...

There was no contract between us.

No deal.

No revenge.

Only two people staring at each other while everything around them fell apart.

I reached for his hand.

He squeezed mine weakly.

"We should leave," one of the guards urged.

"The building is on lockdown."

Alexander slowly stood despite the pain.

"We're taking your mother home."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"What about the Chairman?"

Alexander's expression hardened.

"He escaped."

"But this isn't over."

"No."

He glanced towards the dark corridor where the Chairman had vanished.

"It's only just begun."

As they reached the exit, I looked back one last time.

The abandoned factory was burning.

Smoke rose into the stormy night.

Somewhere inside those flames, more secrets were turning to ashes.

But one thing had changed forever.

Alexander King had taken a bullet to save my life.

And for the first time...

I wasn't afraid of losing the contract husband I barely knew.

I was terrified of losing the man who was slowly becoming impossible not to love.