Episode 4:THE WRONG MAN
1194 Words
You married the wrong man.
Marlow read the message again.
Then again.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
Across the darkened ballroom, Ellis stood completely still.
He was staring at her.
Not at the message.
At her face.
As if he already knew exactly what she had seen.
“Ellis,” Marlow whispered.
He crossed the room.
“Give me your phone.”
“No.”
“Marlow.”
“You said she was dead.”
“I know what I said.”
“Then who is she?”
The lights suddenly came back on.
The ballroom erupted with confused voices.
Guests looked around, checking their phones. Security guards rushed toward the stage while photographers tried to figure out what had happened.
But Marlow heard none of it.
Her attention remained on Ellis.
He reached for her arm.
“Come with me.”
She pulled away.
“I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth.”
His eyes hardened.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“Somewhere private.”
“No.”
“Marlow—”
“You've lied to me since the moment we met.”
His expression changed.
“I never lied about the contract.”
“You didn't tell me you were watching me.”
Silence.
“You didn't tell me about Brielle.”
Another silence.
“And now you're telling me the woman in that photograph is dead?”
Ellis looked around the ballroom.
Several people were watching them.
He lowered his voice.
“If you want answers, come with me.”
Marlow hesitated.
Then she followed.
---
The moment the penthouse doors closed behind them, Marlow turned around.
“Talk.”
Ellis removed his jacket and dropped it onto a chair.
“You're asking questions you don't understand.”
“Then explain them.”
He walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Finally, he spoke.
“Her name is Celeste Vale.”
Marlow waited.
“She was my father's business partner's daughter.”
“Brielle?”
“No.”
His voice became quieter.
“Celeste was Brielle's older sister.”
Marlow's stomach dropped.
“And she was your…”
Ellis turned.
“The woman my father wanted me to marry.”
Marlow stared at him.
“So Brielle was telling the truth.”
“About the arrangement? Yes.”
“But she said you wanted Celeste.”
Ellis looked away.
“I cared about her.”
The words hit Marlow harder than they should have.
She hated that they did.
“How did she die?”
“She didn't.”
Marlow froze.
“What?”
“Celeste disappeared three years ago.”
“You said she was supposed to be dead.”
“I said that because everyone believes she is.”
“Do you?”
Ellis didn't answer.
Marlow stepped closer.
“Do you believe she's alive?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why was that photograph taken three months ago?”
Ellis looked at her.
“That is what I've been trying to find out.”
Marlow's anger faltered.
“You knew about the photograph?”
“Yes.”
“And you still brought me into this?”
“I didn't know you would be dragged into it.”
“You made me your wife!”
“To protect myself.”
Marlow laughed bitterly.
“Exactly. Everything is about protecting Ellis Cole.”
His jaw tightened.
“You think I don't know what I've done?”
“I think you don't care.”
His expression suddenly changed.
“I care more than you know.”
The room went silent.
Marlow looked at him.
For one second, neither moved.
Then Ellis stepped closer.
“You think this marriage was only about the board.”
“Wasn't it?”
“It was.”
He paused.
“But not anymore.”
Her heart skipped.
“What does that mean?”
Ellis looked into her eyes.
“It means I didn't expect you.”
Before she could respond, his phone rang.
He answered.
“Cole.”
His face went pale.
“What?”
Marlow watched him carefully.
“Are you sure?”
A pause.
“Don't touch anything. I'm coming.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?”
Ellis grabbed his jacket.
“The security team found something.”
“What?”
He looked at her.
“Someone broke into my office.”
---
They arrived at Cole Holdings less than twenty minutes later.
The building was surrounded by security.
Ellis hurried through the entrance with Marlow behind him.
His office door was open.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Except for one thing.
The photograph.
The same photograph Marlow had been holding earlier was now pinned to Ellis's desk.
Under it was a handwritten message.
STOP LOOKING FOR HER.
Marlow stared at it.
“Someone was here.”
Ellis nodded.
He walked toward the desk.
Then stopped.
There was another envelope.
His name was written across it.
Ellis opened it.
His face changed as he read the contents.
“What is it?” Marlow asked.
He didn't answer.
She took the paper from his hand.
It contained only one sentence.
YOUR NEW WIFE WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOUR FAMILY DID.
Marlow's breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
Ellis immediately turned toward her.
“From now on, you don't go anywhere without security.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because this isn't about me anymore.”
“Then who is it about?”
His eyes met hers.
“You.”
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Ellis moved instantly.
He pulled Marlow behind him.
“Stay here.”
Footsteps approached.
Fast.
Marlow heard a security guard shout.
Then silence.
Ellis moved toward the door.
A second later, his phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
Marlow saw the color drain from his face.
“What?”
He turned the phone toward her.
It was a video.
Marlow pressed play.
The screen showed her apartment.
Her bedroom.
Her bed.
The camera moved slowly across the room.
Then stopped.
On her pillow was a single red rose.
A voice whispered from behind the camera.
“Thirty days is a long time, Mrs. Cole.”
The video ended.
Marlow couldn't breathe.
Ellis took the phone from her.
“Pack a bag.”
“What?”
“You're staying with me.”
“No.”
“This isn't a request.”
She stared at him.
For once, she didn't argue.
Because beneath the anger, beneath the confusion, beneath the questions she still needed answered, there was something else.
Fear.
Someone had been inside her home.
Someone had been watching her.
And now they knew exactly who she was.
Ellis reached for her hand.
She looked down at their fingers.
Then back at him.
“Ellis…”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
His eyes darkened.
“We find out who is behind this.”
He paused.
“And before they get to you.”
Marlow's phone suddenly buzzed.
One new message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
She opened it.
Her blood ran cold.
Ask Ellis why your father really died.
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