Chapter 10: The Runaway Returns
541 Words
Elena barely slept that night. Every time she closed her eyes, the voice from the phone call echoed in her head.
“Too late. He’s already involved.”
Her fingers curled into the sheets as she lay in the darkness, her mind racing. She had thought she could stay ahead of the danger. That leaving Damian had been enough to protect him.
She had been wrong.
Now, he was pulling at the threads of the past, unraveling everything she had worked so hard to keep buried.
And if he kept going…
She swallowed hard, pushing away the thought. No. She wouldn’t let it happen.
Morning came too quickly. A knock at the door made her jolt upright.
She wrapped her robe tightly around her as she walked to the door, her heart pounding.
When she opened it, Damian stood on the other side.
Dressed in a tailored black suit, he looked every bit the powerful billionaire the world knew him as. But his expression was unreadable, his sharp eyes scanning her face as if searching for something.
“Elena.”
Her throat tightened. “You’re back early.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “We need to talk.”
A chill ran down her spine. He knew something.
She stepped aside, letting him in. He walked past her, his presence filling the small space.
She turned to face him. “Damian—”
“Who were you running from?”
The question was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.
Her breath hitched. “What?”
He took a step closer. “Don’t play dumb, Elena. I know you weren’t just running from me.”
She tried to steady her voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His jaw tightened. “Liam found something. A name.”
Her stomach dropped. “What name?”
Damian didn’t blink. “Mason Black.”
The air left her lungs.
Damian watched her closely, catching the way she stiffened, the flicker of fear in her eyes.
“That’s who you were running from, isn’t it?” he pressed.
Elena clenched her fists. “Let it go, Damian.”
His expression darkened. “Not a chance.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand—”
“Then make me understand,” he snapped. “Because right now, all I see is a woman who left me at the altar, vanished for a year, and is still lying to my face.”
Pain flickered in his voice, barely there, but she caught it.
She swallowed hard. “If you keep digging, you’re going to get hurt.”
Damian’s eyes flashed with something dangerous. “Let me worry about that.”
She took a step closer, lowering her voice. “No, Damian. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
His gaze locked onto hers. “Neither do you.”
The weight of his words hung between them.
Elena’s hands trembled at her sides. If he didn’t stop now, he’d uncover everything. And Mason—he wouldn’t let that happen.
She had made a mistake by calling last night.
Now, it was only a matter of time before Mason made his move.
And when he did…
Damian would be his first target.
- Writer
