HIS ACCIDENTAL BRIDE

THE WARNING BEHIND THE DOOR

“OR THEY WILL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER LEAVE SHANGHAI.”

Naomi stared at the final message until the words blurred.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

Three days.

Whoever had sent the messages knew about the competition.

They knew she was in Shanghai.

They knew about her father.

And somehow, they had placed a photograph of him inside her hotel room.

Naomi looked toward the door.

It was locked.

She was certain of it.

She had checked twice when she returned.

So how had someone entered?

She slowly stepped away from the desk.

Her eyes moved around the room.

Nothing appeared disturbed.

Her suitcase was where she'd left it.

Her handbag was still on the chair.

Her passport was inside.

Everything looked normal.

Except for the black folder.

Naomi picked it up again.

She studied the photograph of her father.

He looked younger in it.

Much younger.

And standing beside him was a man Naomi didn't recognize.

She turned the photograph over.

The date was still there.

Twenty-five years ago.

Her father's death had always been a painful subject in her family.

Grace rarely talked about him.

Whenever Naomi asked questions, her mother became uncomfortable and changed the subject.

Naomi had never pushed.

Until now.

She reached for her phone.

She wanted to call Grace.

But her thumb stopped above her mother's name.

What would she even say?

Mom, why was Dad connected to Zhao Global twenty-five years ago?

She couldn't explain how she had found the photograph without frightening her.

And after that threatening phone call, she wasn't even sure whom she could trust.

Naomi placed the photograph back inside the folder.

Then she heard a sound.

Click.

She froze.

It had come from the hallway.

Someone was outside her door.

Naomi's heart began pounding.

She moved silently toward the entrance.

Another sound.

A faint movement.

She looked through the peephole.

Nobody.

She waited.

Nothing.

Then she noticed something beneath the door.

A white envelope.

Naomi stepped back.

She didn't touch it.

Her mind screamed at her to call the police.

Instead, she reached for a pair of gloves from the small hotel bathroom and carefully picked up the envelope.

There was no name.

No room number.

Nothing.

She opened it.

A single piece of paper fell into her hand.

STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.

Naomi's breathing became shallow.

Then she turned the paper over.

There was another sentence.

THE ZHAOS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMIES.

Her eyebrows pulled together.

If the Zhaos weren't her enemies...

Then who was?

An Unwanted Visitor

A knock suddenly sounded.

Naomi jumped.

"Who is it?"

"Hotel security."

She didn't open the door immediately.

"Can I see your identification?"

A pause.

Then a card appeared beneath the door.

Naomi checked it.

The name seemed legitimate.

She opened the door slightly.

A hotel security officer stood outside.

"Ms. Williams?"

"Yes."

"We received a report that someone may have entered your room."

Naomi stared at him.

"Who reported it?"

"We can't disclose that."

She opened the door wider.

"Someone left this."

She handed him the envelope.

He examined it.

"When did you find it?"

"Just now."

He looked down the corridor.

"We'll review the security footage."

Naomi nodded.

"Please do."

The officer walked away.

Naomi closed the door.

But something bothered her.

If someone had reported the incident...

who?

Meanwhile at Zhao Global

Dominic stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.

Shanghai stretched beneath him.

Oliver entered without knocking.

"She's been threatened."

Dominic turned.

"Naomi?"

Oliver nodded.

"We intercepted information about a message sent to her hotel."

Dominic's jaw tightened.

"What did it say?"

Oliver handed him a tablet.

Dominic read the message.

His expression became colder.

"How did they know about her father?"

"We don't know."

"Find out."

"We're trying."

Dominic looked toward the city.

Someone had been watching Naomi since before she arrived.

That much was becoming obvious.

But why?

He remembered the message he'd received that morning.

SHE IS NOT HERE BY ACCIDENT.

He hadn't told Naomi.

He didn't know whether he should.

For the first time in years, Dominic was facing a problem he couldn't solve simply by throwing money or power at it.

Someone was operating in the shadows.

And they seemed to know something about Naomi that he didn't.

His phone rang.

He answered.

"Dominic."

The voice belonged to one of the company's senior investigators.

"We found something."

"What?"

"The person who accessed Naomi's competition file."

Dominic's eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

"We're still confirming the identity."

"Then confirm it quickly."

"There is a problem."

"What?"

"The access originated from inside Zhao Global."

Silence.

Dominic's expression hardened.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

Someone inside his company had deliberately accessed Naomi's file.

And that meant the threat wasn't coming from somewhere far away.

It was coming from within.

The Unexpected Meeting

The following afternoon, Naomi returned to Zhao Global for the final competition briefing.

She hadn't slept properly.

The photograph had stayed in her mind all night.

She entered the building and approached reception.

Before she could say anything, she heard a familiar voice.

"You're here early."

She turned.

Dominic stood several feet away.

Naomi wasn't prepared to see him.

"Mr. Zhao."

"Dominic is fine."

She hesitated.

"Dominic."

He studied her face.

"You look tired."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Naomi gave him a small smile.

"I've had a strange twenty-four hours."

His expression changed.

"What happened?"

She considered telling him.

But something stopped her.

She didn't know him.

Not really.

He was the CEO of the company hosting her competition.

And according to the mysterious messages, the Zhao family was connected to her father's past.

"I received a strange message."

Dominic's eyes sharpened.

"What kind of message?"

"Someone told me to leave Shanghai."

"Did you report it?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Naomi studied him.

"Why do you seem so unsurprised?"

Dominic said nothing.

"Mr. Zhao—"

"Dominic."

She sighed.

"Dominic. Is there something you know about my father?"

The question caught him completely off guard.

For a second, his expression was unreadable.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Because someone left a photograph of him in my hotel room."

Dominic went still.

"What photograph?"

Naomi reached into her handbag.

Before she could take it out, Oliver appeared.

"Dominic."

He looked at Oliver.

"What?"

"We need to speak privately."

Dominic glanced at Naomi.

"Excuse me."

He walked away with Oliver.

Naomi watched them.

Something was definitely wrong.

The File

Inside Dominic's private office, Oliver closed the door.

"What happened?"

"The photograph."

Dominic's eyes narrowed.

"What about it?"

"We found a similar photograph."

He placed a document on the desk.

Dominic opened it.

His expression changed.

It showed the same location Naomi had described.

The same date.

The same year.

Twenty-five years ago.

But there was something else.

At the bottom of the document was a name.

William Williams.

Naomi's father.

Dominic stared at it.

"Where did you find this?"

"In an archived Zhao Global file."

"Who created it?"

"We don't know."

Dominic looked at the date again.

"Why would my company have a file on William Williams?"

Oliver didn't answer.

Because neither of them knew.

Then Dominic noticed another detail.

The file had been accessed recently.

Very recently.

He looked at Oliver.

"Who accessed this?"

"We're tracing it."

Dominic closed the file.

"Don't let anyone know we found it."

"Understood."

The Woman Outside

Neither man noticed the woman standing at the far end of the corridor.

She watched Dominic's office door.

Then she lowered her phone.

A photograph of Naomi appeared on the screen.

The woman stared at it.

"She's getting too close."

A voice answered through the phone.

"Then make sure she stops."

"What about Dominic?"

"Leave him alone."

"For now?"

A pause.

"Yes."

The woman smiled faintly.

"Understood."

She ended the call and walked away.

The First Crack

Later that evening, Naomi stood alone inside the competition hall.

Models and architectural drawings surrounded her.

Tomorrow would be the final presentation.

She should have been focused on winning.

Instead, she couldn't stop thinking about her father.

She touched the silver pendant around her neck.

"Dad..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Who were you really?"

A sound came from behind her.

Naomi turned.

Nobody.

She looked around the empty hall.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Then her phone vibrated.

Unknown number.

She opened the message.

YOU ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION.

Her heartbeat accelerated.

Another message arrived.

NOW ASK YOUR MOTHER WHY SHE LIED TO YOU.

Naomi stared at the screen.

Her mother's face immediately came to mind.

Grace.

The woman who had raised her.

The woman who had comforted her after her father's death.

The woman who had always told Naomi that she loved her.

Naomi shook her head.

"No."

Another message appeared.

CALL HER.

Naomi's hand trembled.

She pressed Grace's name.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Finally, her mother answered.

"Naomi?"

Naomi swallowed.

"Mom..."

"What's wrong?"

Naomi closed her eyes.

Then asked the question that would change everything.

"Why did you never tell me Dad knew the Zhao family?"

Silence.

Complete silence.

Naomi's heart dropped.

"Mom?"

Grace's breathing became uneven.

"Where did you hear that?"

Naomi opened her eyes.

She knew immediately.

Her mother knew.

And before Grace could answer, another voice suddenly spoke from somewhere behind Naomi.

"Because she was never supposed to tell you."

Naomi spun around.

The call remained connected.

Grace screamed through the phone.

"Naomi, run!"

The lights in the competition hall went out.

And Naomi heard footsteps rushing toward her.