Chapter 3
1790 Words
Evelyn did not sleep.
By four in the morning, Manhattan had gone strangely quiet beneath the rain, but her mind refused to do the same. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes instead of memories.
Celeste’s hand connecting with Adrian’s face.
Camera flashes exploding across the ballroom.
Genevieve looking at her like something filthy had walked into her family’s bloodline.
And Adrian—
Standing there saying almost nothing while the world collapsed around them.
Natalie had fallen asleep on the opposite couch sometime after two, still clutching the television remote against her chest. The muted news channels continued cycling through the same footage over and over again.
Evelyn revealing the marriage.
Adrian’s silence.
Celeste slapping him.
The internet was eating the scandal alive.
She rubbed both hands over her face before standing up quietly. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt worse.
The apartment kitchen was dark except for city lights filtering through the windows. She poured herself water she didn’t really want and stared blankly at the marble counter while her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number.
She ignored it.
It rang again immediately.
Then again.
Annoyed now, Evelyn answered sharply. “What?”
“Miss Carter?”
Male voice.
Smooth.
Professional.
Not Adrian.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Thomas Greene. I represent the Vale family.”
Of course he did.
Evelyn leaned against the counter slowly. “It’s five in the morning.”
“Yes. Unfortunately, the situation has become urgent.”
“The situation has a name.”
A brief pause.
“My apologies. Evelyn.”
She already hated him.
“What do you want?”
“There are reporters outside your building now. We strongly recommend relocating you somewhere more secure before this escalates further.”
“We?”
“The Vale legal team.”
Evelyn laughed softly. “Interesting. Yesterday I was apparently too embarrassing to stand beside your clients publicly, but suddenly everyone cares about my safety.”
His voice remained painfully calm. “The internet has become aggressive overnight.”
“I noticed.”
“People have already leaked your previous addresses online.”
Her grip tightened slightly around the phone.
That made her pause.
Thomas continued carefully. “Someone also attempted accessing your banking information two hours ago.”
Evelyn straightened immediately. “What?”
“We froze the intrusion before damage was done.”
Cold unease slid slowly down her spine.
“Why would someone do that?”
“That is exactly why we’re recommending you cooperate temporarily.”
Cooperate.
Another polished word for control.
Evelyn looked toward the sleeping figure of Natalie in the living room before lowering her voice. “Tell Genevieve Vale I’m not signing anything.”
“I’m afraid this situation is larger than Mrs. Vale.”
“What does that mean?”
Silence.
Then carefully:
“There are business interests involved here that extend beyond family embarrassment.”
Her stomach tightened.
The same way it had tightened when Adrian warned her earlier.
You have no idea what kind of people will come after you.
Evelyn suddenly realized something uncomfortable.
Neither Adrian nor the lawyers seemed primarily worried about gossip.
They sounded worried about something else.
Something bigger.
Before she could ask another question, movement outside the apartment windows caught her attention.
Flashes.
Cameras.
At this hour.
“Oh my God.”
“Miss Carter?”
“There are people outside.”
“Yes,” Thomas said grimly. “That’s why you need to leave now.”
---
By seven-thirty, the entire sidewalk outside Natalie’s building looked like a media circus.
Reporters crowded behind police barriers while photographers shoved cameras toward every passing vehicle. Someone had already leaked the exact apartment number online because strangers kept shouting her name toward the building entrance.
Natalie peeked through the curtains before immediately stepping back.
“They’re insane.”
Evelyn sat frozen at the dining table, still wearing yesterday’s sweatshirt. “How do they even know where I am?”
“The internet is terrifying.”
One reporter shouted something from below.
Another camera flashed.
Natalie turned toward her carefully. “Okay. Don’t panic.”
“I’m not panicking.”
“You’re holding your coffee mug like it insulted your ancestors.”
Evelyn loosened her grip slightly.
Too late.
Coffee had already spilled across her fingers.
She stared at the mess blankly.
Everything felt unreal.
Less than twelve hours ago, she was standing in front of her mirror wondering whether Adrian would finally choose her publicly.
Now strangers were screaming her name outside an apartment building like she committed murder.
Natalie grabbed paper towels. “Did he text again?”
Evelyn looked at the phone beside her.
21 unread messages.
13 missed calls.
Mostly Adrian.
A few from unknown numbers.
One from her mother.
That one made guilt stab sharply through her chest.
She still hadn’t called back.
“How’s your mom taking it?” Natalie asked gently.
Evelyn gave a humorless laugh. “Probably wondering why her daughter secretly married a billionaire psychopath.”
“You love him.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
Natalie opened her mouth.
Stopped.
Then quietly: “Do you still?”
The question landed harder than expected.
Because despite the humiliation… despite the betrayal… despite everything…
Yes.
And that made her angry with herself.
Before she could answer, another knock sounded at the door.
Both women froze instantly.
Natalie whispered, “Please tell me billionaires don’t knock like serial killers.”
Another knock.
Firm this time.
Evelyn stood slowly. “Maybe it’s the police.”
“Why would the police come?”
“I don’t know. Rich people are dramatic.”
Natalie crept toward the door first and checked the peephole.
Then blinked.
“…Well.”
“What?”
“It’s not Adrian.”
Something uneasy settled immediately in Evelyn’s chest.
Natalie opened the door cautiously.
The man standing outside looked around forty, sharply dressed in a charcoal coat despite the rain outside. Calm eyes. Expensive watch. The kind of face trained never to reveal panic.
“Miss Carter,” he said politely. “Thomas Greene.”
Of course.
Evelyn folded her arms. “You move fast.”
“We didn’t have much choice.”
His gaze shifted briefly toward the windows where flashes still flickered outside.
“They’re getting more aggressive.”
Natalie frowned. “How did you even get past the reporters?”
Thomas gave a small smile. “Money helps.”
That irritated Evelyn immediately.
Everything in Adrian’s world was solved with money.
Scandal.
Silence.
People.
Feelings.
Money.
Thomas reached into his coat pocket carefully. “Mr. Vale asked me to deliver this personally.”
Evelyn stiffened. “Another NDA?”
“No.”
He handed her a small velvet box.
Her breath caught instantly.
Because she recognized it before opening it.
Adrian’s ring.
Not hers.
His.
The wedding band he always wore hidden beneath sleeves and gloves whenever cameras appeared.
Evelyn looked up slowly. “Why are you giving me this?”
Thomas hesitated for the first time.
“That’s… complicated.”
“I’m tired of complicated.”
“He asked me to tell you he can’t wear it publicly right now.”
The hurt that moved through her chest was immediate and humiliating.
Still hiding her.
Even after everything.
Natalie muttered, “Oh, I hate rich people.”
Evelyn stared at the ring sitting silently inside the box.
Then noticed something else beneath it.
A folded piece of paper.
Her stomach tightened.
She unfolded it slowly.
Three words.
Trust me. Please.
No signature.
No explanation.
Just those words in Adrian’s handwriting.
For some reason, that hurt worse than the legal documents.
Because it sounded personal.
Real.
Desperate.
And she no longer knew whether Adrian Vale deserved any of her trust at all.
Thomas cleared his throat carefully. “There’s another issue.”
Evelyn looked up immediately.
“What now?”
“Someone leaked your marriage certificate online an hour ago.”
Natalie frowned. “Wasn’t that already public?”
“No. Only portions of it.” Thomas’ expression darkened slightly. “This leak included personal details. Social security numbers. Addresses. Identification records.”
Evelyn went cold.
“What?”
“We’ve already started damage control.”
“How does that even happen?”
Thomas hesitated again.
That hesitation scared her now.
“Miss Carter…” He lowered his voice slightly. “This situation no longer looks like ordinary media exposure.”
The room fell quiet.
Evelyn’s pulse began climbing slowly.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying someone seems determined to make your life collapse publicly.”
Before she could respond, her phone suddenly rang again.
Unknown number.
Thomas noticed immediately. “Don’t answer that.”
Too late.
Evelyn had already accepted the call.
Static crackled briefly.
Then a woman’s voice.
Soft.
Elegant.
Familiar.
“Congratulations,” Celeste Laurent said coolly. “You got exactly what you wanted.”
Evelyn went still.
Natalie mouthed Is that her?
Evelyn ignored her.
“What do you want, Celeste?”
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
“You know, Adrian always had terrible taste in complicated women.”
Thomas immediately looked alarmed.
“End the call,” he whispered.
Celeste continued before Evelyn could move.
“Do you know what’s funny? You still think this scandal is about love.”
Evelyn’s stomach tightened slightly.
“What are you talking about?”
“You really have no idea what you walked into, do you?”
“Stop speaking in riddles.”
Another soft laugh.
Then Celeste’s tone changed completely.
Colder now.
Sharper.
“You should’ve taken the humiliation and disappeared quietly.”
The line went dead.
Silence swallowed the apartment instantly.
Natalie stared wide-eyed. “Okay, I officially hate her.”
But Evelyn barely heard her.
Because one sentence kept replaying in her head.
You have no idea what you walked into.
Thomas slowly removed his glasses.
For the first time since arriving, he looked genuinely concerned.
“We need to move you somewhere secure immediately.”
Evelyn looked toward him sharply.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Thomas held her gaze for several seconds.
Then finally said the one thing she wasn’t prepared to hear.
“Adrian believes someone inside Vale Holdings leaked your identity intentionally.”
A cold feeling spread slowly through her chest.
“Why would anyone do that?”
Thomas’ expression tightened.
“Because they expected the scandal to stay private.” He paused carefully. “And now they’re trying to punish whoever disrupted their plans.”
Evelyn stared at him.
Then at Adrian’s wedding ring still sitting open inside the velvet box.
And for the first time since the engagement gala, something worse than heartbreak settled inside her.
Fear.
- Writer
