Love in the crossfire

Chapter 6: The Blood Between Us

Siena stared at the photo in her hands like it might catch fire if she looked hard enough.
Adrian, her father, smiling together

Fifteen years ago, long before she ever met him. Long before the lies began.

She read the note again.

“He was always close. Closer than you think. – D”

Dorian Vale was playing her. But what terrified her more was the possibility that Adrian was, too.

That Afternoon – Adrian’s Apartment

She didn’t call ahead.

She showed up at Adrian’s penthouse like a storm cloud in heels, the photo burning a hole in her bag.

He opened the door in a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up, looking like the man she wanted to believe in.

She didn’t speak. Just held up the photo

His face fell.

Siena’s voice was ice. “Explain.”

Adrian exhaled slowly, his jaw tight. “I knew you’d find it eventually.”

“That’s not an explanation. That’s a confession.”

He stepped aside and motioned her in. She didn’t move.

“You were at that party with my father fifteen years ago,” she said. “You told me you hated your father’s obsession with mine, that you had no part in it. Were you lying the whole time?”

“No.” His voice was steady. “But I wasn’t just watching from the sidelines.”

Siena’s stomach dropped.

“I was young. My father used me to gain access to people, to rooms, to secrets,” he said. “Your father didn’t know He thought I was just some rich kid tagging along with his mother.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Your mother?”

“She was one of the Kade family’s estate lawyers. Quiet, smart, invisible. My father used her, too. Used both of us.”

He walked past her, poured a glass of water, but didn’t drink it.

“I spent my teenage years delivering secrets like a messenger boy. Until I realized what he was doing, what I was helping him destroy.”

Siena’s voice cracked. “And now you expect me to believe you’re trying to save it?”

“No. I expect you to decide what you believe. But I’m telling you the truth now. I walked away from that man, from his empire, from everything. But I can’t erase what I was part of.”

Siena swallowed hard. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d run.”

A beat passed.

“I still might.”

He looked her dead in the eye. “I won’t stop you. But if you go, Dorian wins. He wants us divided. He sent that photo to twist the knife.”

She said nothing.

Then Adrian stepped closer, holding out his phone.

“Look.”

She hesitated, then glanced at the screen.
A new file, Anonymous source. Same leak channel as before.

It was a recording of a private conversation between Paul Drayton and someone else on the board.

Paul: “Once Vale takes over, we’ll be free of her. Let her think Adrian’s the hero.”
Unknown Voice: “We’ll make the last move when she trusts him completely.”

Siena’s blood ran cold.

“This was never just about money,” Adrian said. “They want to take you down from the inside. With or without me.”

Her breath caught. The betrayal wasn’t just coming from Adrian; it was around her, inside her company, inside the people she thought she knew.

And someone had planned to use him as the final nail in her coffin.

Siena backed away. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“You don’t have to believe anything,” he said quietly. “Just watch what they do next, and if you still want me gone, I’ll walk.”

She didn’t respond. Just turned and walked out of his apartment fast, sharp, heels echoing like gunshots down the marble hallway.

That Night – Kade Tower Parking Garage

Siena sat behind the wheel of her car, staring into the dark.

On the seat beside her, the photo, the audio file, her company’s entire future.

She made a call.

Lila picked up.

“Cancel tomorrow’s meetings,” Siena said. “Call a private emergency session. Just the board. No assistants, no guests.”

Lila hesitated. “Are you okay?”

Siena stared out the windshield.

“No,” she said. “But I know what to do now.”

She hung up.

Then whispered to herself:

“Let’s finish this.”