Chapter 2: The Woman in Black
1126 Words
Amara stared at the woman in disbelief.
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
The woman’s eyes moved from Amara to Adrian.
For the first time since they met, Adrian looked genuinely uncomfortable.
“Claire,” he said firmly. “Enough.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“I was only asking.”
“No. You were assuming.”
Amara looked between them.
“Can someone please tell me what is going on?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Amara, I promise I’ll explain everything.”
“When?”
His expression softened.
“Soon.”
She let out a frustrated breath.
“I hate that word.”
A small smile appeared on his lips.
“Then let me say this instead. I owe you an explanation.”
Before Amara could respond, Claire stepped forward.
“Adrian, your father has been calling.”
His expression changed immediately.
“I’ll deal with him.”
“You should probably deal with him before he comes here himself.”
Adrian glanced at his watch.
Then he looked at Amara.
“Where are you staying?”
“I have an apartment arranged by my company.”
“Do you have the address?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll have someone take you there.”
Amara shook her head.
“No. I can manage.”
“You just arrived in a country you’ve never been to, your luggage is missing, and you don’t know anyone here.”
“I’ll figure it out.”
Something about the way she said it made Adrian pause.
She wasn’t asking for sympathy.
She wasn’t looking for someone to rescue her.
She had simply decided that she would survive whatever came her way.
And strangely, he admired her for it.
“Fine,” he said. “But at least let my driver take you.”
“I don’t even know you.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“You’ve spent an entire flight sitting beside me.”
“That doesn’t mean I know you.”
“Fair enough.”
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
Claire cleared her throat.
“Should I leave you two alone?”
Amara immediately stepped back.
“There is nothing to leave us alone for.”
Adrian’s lips curved into a smile.
“She’s right.”
Claire rolled her eyes.
“Of course.”
⸻
Twenty minutes later, Amara sat in the back of Adrian’s car.
Paris passed outside the window.
The architecture was beautiful.
The streets were alive.
Cafés spilled onto sidewalks, people hurried past carrying umbrellas, and the distant sound of French conversations filled the air.
She had imagined this moment countless times.
Paris.
A fresh start.
A new career.
A new life.
But somehow, she hadn’t imagined meeting a mysterious businessman before she’d even reached her apartment.
Adrian sat opposite her, scrolling through his phone.
His expression was serious.
He looked completely different from the man she’d spoken to on the plane.
That Adrian had laughed with her.
This one looked untouchable.
Powerful.
Almost intimidating.
Amara studied him for a moment.
“What kind of business do you actually run?”
He looked up.
“Several.”
“That sounds suspicious.”
“It probably is.”
She laughed.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
His phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“Yes?”
A pause.
His eyes darkened.
“Don’t let him leave the country.”
Amara stopped smiling.
“Understood,” the voice on the other end said.
Adrian ended the call.
She watched him carefully.
“Is someone in trouble?”
“Not anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked at her.
“It means you should forget you heard that conversation.”
Amara frowned.
“That’s not exactly reassuring.”
“No,” he admitted. “It isn’t.”
The car suddenly slowed.
Adrian looked through the window.
Two black SUVs were parked several meters ahead.
His expression hardened.
“Stop the car.”
The driver immediately pulled over.
“What is it?” Amara asked.
Adrian didn’t answer.
He was staring at the SUVs.
One of the doors opened.
A man stepped out.
He looked directly at Adrian’s car.
Then he smiled.
Adrian’s entire body became tense.
“Stay here,” he told Amara.
“What?”
“Whatever happens, don’t get out.”
He opened the door.
“Adrian—”
But he was already outside.
The man walked toward him.
They stopped several feet apart.
Neither spoke.
Then the stranger said something that Amara couldn’t hear.
Adrian’s face changed.
The stranger reached into his coat.
Amara’s heart jumped.
She couldn’t see what he was holding.
Then Adrian suddenly grabbed his wrist.
The two men struggled for a moment before Adrian shoved him against the vehicle.
Amara instinctively reached for the door handle.
She had no idea who the man was.
She only knew Adrian was in danger.
And despite everything, she couldn’t sit there and watch.
She opened the door.
“Amara!”
Adrian’s voice was sharp.
The stranger looked toward her.
And the moment his eyes landed on Amara, his expression changed.
He stared at her as though he had seen a ghost.
Then he whispered something that made Adrian freeze.
Amara couldn’t hear the words.
But Adrian did.
His eyes slowly turned toward her.
And for the first time since she met him, she saw something she hadn’t expected to see in his eyes.
Fear.
Real fear.
The stranger smiled.
“So she really is here.”
Amara’s heart pounded.
Adrian stepped in front of her.
“Get back in the car.”
“Adrian, what is happening?”
He didn’t answer.
The stranger laughed softly.
“You didn’t tell her, did you?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Not another word.”
The man looked at Amara.
“You should ask him about your mother.”
Everything inside Amara stopped.
Her mother’s name hadn’t been mentioned.
Not once.
Not by Adrian.
Not by Claire.
Not by anyone.
She stared at the stranger.
“How do you know my mother?”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“Because your mother knew the Laurent family.”
Adrian immediately turned toward him.
“That’s enough.”
But it was too late.
Amara looked at Adrian.
“The Laurent family?”
Adrian said nothing.
Her voice trembled.
“What does my mother have to do with your family?”
Silence.
And in that silence, Amara realized something terrifying.
Meeting Adrian Laurent hadn’t been a coincidence.
Maybe the seat beside him hadn’t been as random as she thought.
And perhaps her journey to Paris wasn’t simply the beginning of a new life.
Maybe it was the beginning of the truth about the life she had left behind.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD