His Enemy, His Obsession

The Message

The words hung in the air.

Your father isn't the man you think he is.

Serena stared at Ryder.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then she whispered, "What does that mean?"

Ryder ended the call.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

His eyes snapped toward hers.

"I'm not."

"You've spent years hating my father. You believed he destroyed your family. You believed he was responsible for everything that

happened."

"I did."

"And now someone is saying he's not who I think he is."

Ryder's jaw tightened.

"That doesn't mean he's innocent."

"But you believe there's more."

"Yes."

Serena stepped away from him.

Her hands were shaking.

"Then I need to know."

"Serena—"

"No."

She turned toward the photographs scattered across the table.

"My father knew your father. Our mothers knew each other. Someone has been hiding the truth for twelve years."

She picked up the photograph of their mothers.

"And now someone is killing people to make sure we don't find it."

Ryder watched her carefully.

"You're right."

She looked at him.

"Then we find the truth."

Ryder walked toward her.

"Together."

Serena hesitated.

"Can I trust you?"

The question hit harder than he expected.

He had no answer.

Not one he could give her.

Because the truth was complicated.

He had entered her life intending to use her.

He had wanted access to Damon.

He had wanted revenge.

But somewhere along the way, Serena had stopped being a target.

She had become the one person he couldn't imagine losing.

Ryder reached for her hand.

"You can trust me with your life."

Serena looked into his eyes.

"But can I trust you with my heart?"

His fingers tightened around hers.

"That's the one thing I'm afraid you'll give me."

Before Serena could respond, the clubhouse doors burst open.

Jace rushed inside.

"Ryder!"

Ryder immediately moved in front of Serena.

"What happened?"

Jace's expression was grim.

"We've got a problem."

"Another one?"

"Much bigger."

Jace placed a tablet on the table.

A security recording played.

Ryder watched.

His expression changed.

Serena moved closer.

"What is that?"

"Footage from your father's estate," Jace said.

Serena stared at the screen.

The timestamp showed two nights earlier.

A black SUV entered the estate.

A man stepped out.

He walked toward the house.

Then turned toward the security camera.

Serena's breath caught.

"I know him."

Ryder looked at her.

"Who?"

"My father's driver."

Jace shook his head.

"Former driver."

Serena frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"He disappeared three days ago."

The video continued.

The man entered the house.

Twenty minutes later, he left carrying a black briefcase.

Ryder paused the footage.

"Zoom in."

Jace did.

The man's face became clearer.

Ryder's eyes narrowed.

"That's not a briefcase."

Serena stared.

"What is it?"

"A box."

Ryder looked at Jace.

"Where did he take it?"

"We lost him after he left the estate."

"Then find him."

"We tried."

Jace's voice lowered.

"We found his vehicle."

Ryder waited.

"Empty."

"Where?"

"Saint Mary's."

Serena's stomach dropped.

The same church.

The same place where Ryder had met the mysterious man.

She looked at Ryder.

"That can't be a coincidence."

"No," Ryder said.

"It isn't."

Jace stared at them.

"What happened at Saint Mary's?"

Ryder didn't answer immediately.

Then he pulled the photograph from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Jace looked at it.

His face went pale.

"Where did you get that?"

Ryder's eyes narrowed.

"You've seen it before?"

Jace looked between Ryder and Serena.

"I've seen something similar."

"Where?"

"In your father's old files."

Ryder stepped closer.

"What did they say?"

Jace swallowed.

"They mentioned two women."

Serena's heart stopped.

"My mother?"

"And Ryder's."

Jace pointed at the photograph.

"They weren't just friends."

Serena frowned.

"What were they?"

Jace looked at Ryder.

"Partners."

Silence.

Ryder's expression hardened.

"Partners in what?"

"I don't know."

"Then find out."

Jace hesitated.

"There's more."

Ryder's eyes darkened.

"What?"

"The records say both women were involved in something called The Covenant."

Serena repeated the name softly.

"The Covenant."

Jace nodded.

"Whatever it was, it involved your fathers."

Ryder looked at Serena.

Something cold settled in his chest.

Their families hadn't simply known one another.

They had shared a secret.

A secret important enough to get people killed.

Serena suddenly remembered something.

"The notebook."

Ryder looked at her.

"What notebook?"

"The one I found in my father's study."

She opened her bag and pulled it out.

"I didn't bring it because I wasn't sure if I should trust anyone."

Ryder stared at it.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know what was inside."

"You do now."

She opened it.

Pages of handwritten notes filled the book.

Dates.

Names.

Numbers.

Then Serena stopped.

Her eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" Ryder asked.

She turned the notebook toward him.

One entry had been underlined repeatedly.

September 3, 2014.

The Covenant has been compromised.

Below it was another sentence.

Richard knows. Damon knows. The girls must never find out.

Serena's hand trembled.

"The girls."

Ryder stared at the page.

"Our mothers?"

"No."

Serena's voice became barely audible.

"Us."

Ryder's eyes lifted.

"That was written before we even met."

"Exactly."

He took the notebook from her.

He flipped through the remaining pages.

Then he found another entry.

If the girls ever meet, the truth will come back.

Ryder's breathing slowed.

Someone had known.

Someone had predicted that he and Serena would eventually cross paths.

And if that was true...

Their meeting might not have been an accident.

Ryder looked at Serena.

"Someone brought us together."

She shook her head.

"No."

"Think about it."

"Ryder—"

"The anonymous photographs. The messages. The man at Saint Mary's. Your father's records."

He stepped closer.

"What if someone wanted us to find each other?"

Serena's face went pale.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Then maybe we're being used."

Ryder's expression darkened.

"Maybe."

Suddenly, the lights flickered.

Everyone froze.

Jace reached for his weapon.

The lights went out.

A loud crash came from the hallway.

Serena gasped.

Ryder grabbed her and pulled her behind him.

"Stay here."

"No."

"Serena."

"I'm not hiding."

Another crash.

Then footsteps.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Coming closer.

Ryder raised his weapon.

Jace moved to the opposite side of the room.

The footsteps stopped outside the door.

Silence.

Then the door opened.

A figure stood in the darkness.

Ryder aimed.

"Don't move."

The figure slowly raised both hands.

Serena stared.

She knew that face.

Her blood ran cold.

"That's impossible."

Ryder looked at her.

"Who is it?"

Serena couldn't speak.

The man stepped into the light.

He was older.

His face was scarred.

But she recognized him.

She had seen his photograph in her father's study.

Ryder lowered his weapon slightly.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man looked directly at Serena.

Then he said four words.

"I'm your mother's killer."

Serena's knees nearly gave out.

Ryder caught her.

Jace raised his weapon again.

"You have five seconds to explain."

The stranger smiled bitterly.

"I didn't kill her."

Serena stared at him.

"Then why did you say you did?"

"Because your father wanted you to believe I did."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"My father?"

The man nodded.

"Damon Vale has lied to you your entire life."

Ryder stepped forward.

"What happened to Serena's mother?"

The man's expression changed.

"She discovered what The Covenant really was."

Ryder's grip tightened around his weapon.

"And?"

The man looked at Serena.

"She tried to expose it."

"Who stopped her?"

The stranger hesitated.

Then he whispered,

"Your father."

Serena froze.

"Which father?"

The man looked between her and Ryder.

"Both of them."

The room fell silent.

Ryder felt something inside him crack.

"You're saying my father and Damon worked together?"

"They did."

"Why?"

The man reached inside his coat.

Everyone raised their weapons.

He slowly pulled out a small photograph.

He handed it to Serena.

She looked down.

Her breath caught.

It was a photograph of her mother.

Pregnant.

Standing beside Richard Kane.

And Damon Vale.

On the back was a handwritten message.

The child was never supposed to survive.

Serena looked up in horror.

"What child?"

The stranger stared directly at her.

"You."

Ryder's blood ran cold.

Serena's fingers loosened.

The photograph fell to the floor.

And suddenly, the truth they'd spent twelve years searching for no longer looked like something that would save them.

It looked like something that had been waiting...

to destroy them.