The CEO' Secret( Heiress)

The CEO

The elevator doors opened on the top floor.

Amara stepped out and immediately felt as though she had entered another world.

Everything was polished.

The floors gleamed beneath the soft lights, the walls were decorated with expensive artwork, and employees moved quietly through the enormous office space. No one spoke louder than necessary.

A woman in a black suit approached her.

"Miss Vale?"

Amara nodded.

"Mr. Blackwood is expecting you."

Expecting her.

The words made Amara uneasy.

She followed the woman down a long corridor until they stopped in front of two large wooden doors.

"He's inside."

The woman turned and walked away.

Amara stared at the doors.

For a moment, she considered leaving.

Her mother's warning returned to her mind.

Do not trust the Blackwoods.

But she had already come this far.

She knocked.

"Come in."

The voice was calm and commanding.

Amara opened the door.

The first thing she noticed was the view.

The second was the man standing in front of it.

Adrian Blackwood.

He was taller than she had expected, dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suit. His expression was unreadable, and his attention was fixed entirely on her.

Amara had seen photographs of him online.

Photographs hadn't prepared her for the intensity of his presence.

"Miss Vale."

"Mr. Blackwood."

Neither moved.

Adrian gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.

"Sit."

Amara sat.

Adrian remained standing.

"You asked to see me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Amara reached into her bag.

"I received something after my mother died."

Adrian's expression changed slightly.

"What did you receive?"

"A letter."

She placed it on his desk.

Adrian didn't touch it.

"From Elena?"

Amara froze.

"You knew my mother?"

"Answer my question."

Amara frowned.

"Yes. From Elena."

Adrian finally picked up the letter.

His eyes moved across the page.

The longer he read, the colder his expression became.

When he reached the final warning, he stopped.

Do not trust the Blackwoods.

He folded the letter carefully.

"Where did you get this?"

"My aunt gave it to me."

"Does anyone else know about it?"

"I don't think so."

Adrian looked at her.

"You're lying."

Amara's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not."

"You came here knowing your mother warned you about my family."

"I came here because she also gave me your name."

That silenced him.

Amara reached into her bag again and pulled out the second paper.

Adrian read the address.

Then he looked at her.

"Why would Elena send you to me?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

Adrian walked around the desk.

He stopped several feet from her.

"You believe you're a Blackwood."

"My mother wrote that I am."

"Letters can be forged."

Amara stood.

"My mother raised me. I know her handwriting."

"I didn't say she didn't write it."

"Then what are you saying?"

Adrian's eyes remained fixed on hers.

"I'm saying that there are people who would do anything to gain access to my family's fortune."

Amara stared at him.

"You think I'm after your money?"

"I don't know what you're after."

"Then ask me."

"I am asking."

"No. You're accusing me."

For the first time, something almost resembling amusement appeared in Adrian's expression.

"You have a temper."

"And you have a trust problem."

"Trust isn't something I give easily."

"Neither is mine."

Silence filled the room.

Neither looked away.

Then Adrian's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

"Excuse me."

He walked toward the window before answering.

"Yes?"

Amara couldn't hear the person on the other end.

But she saw Adrian's expression change.

"Where?"

A pause.

"Are you certain?"

Another pause.

"Don't tell anyone."

He ended the call.

Amara watched him carefully.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

She almost laughed.

"That didn't look like nothing."

Adrian turned toward her.

"You should leave."

"Why?"

"Because this conversation is over."

"I'm not leaving without answers."

"You don't understand what you're involving yourself in."

"Then explain it."

Adrian's expression hardened.

"Go home, Amara."

The way he said her name made her pause.

It was the first time he had used it.

She picked up her bag.

"If you know something about my mother, I'll find out eventually."

Adrian didn't respond.

Amara walked toward the door.

Her hand had barely touched the handle when his voice stopped her.

"Your mother wasn't supposed to disappear."

Amara turned slowly.

"What?"

Adrian looked toward the window.

"Twenty-two years ago, my father was involved in a business dispute."

"What does that have to do with my mother?"

"Everything."

Amara's heart pounded.

"What happened?"

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"Someone betrayed my family."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because Elena was there that night."

Amara felt the room tilt beneath her.

"My mother?"

Adrian nodded.

"She witnessed something she wasn't supposed to see."

"What?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then how did she disappear?"

Adrian finally looked directly at her.

"She didn't disappear."

Amara stopped breathing.

"What do you mean?"

"She ran."

"Why?"

"Because she was afraid."

"Of whom?"

Adrian's expression became unreadable again.

"That's what I'm trying to discover."

Before Amara could respond, the office doors suddenly opened.

Daniel entered, looking tense.

"Mr. Blackwood."

Adrian turned.

"What?"

Daniel glanced at Amara before lowering his voice.

"We found something."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Where?"

"In the old Blackwood residence."

Amara stepped closer.

"What did you find?"

Daniel hesitated.

Adrian looked at him.

"Tell her."

Daniel took a small photograph from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

Amara picked it up.

Her fingers immediately went cold.

It showed a young woman standing beside a man outside the Blackwood estate.

The woman was unmistakably her mother.

And the man beside her was someone Amara had never seen before.

But written on the back of the photograph were four words:

THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED.

Amara looked at Adrian.

"Who is this man?"

Adrian stared at the photograph.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Amara shook her head.

"I've never seen him."

Adrian's eyes met hers.

"Then we have a problem."

"What problem?"

He pointed at the photograph.

"The picture was taken the night you were born."

Amara's heart stopped.

For twenty-two years, she had believed she knew the story of her birth.

Now she realized she might not know the truth about herself at all.