The First Attempt
881 Words
The words echoed through the library like a death sentence.
"They were carrying a sniper rifle... and a photograph of Miss Aria Bennett."
For a brief moment, no one moved.
Aria felt her blood run cold.
"A... photograph of me?" she whispered.
The security guard nodded.
"Yes, Miss."
Adrian's expression turned deadly serious.
"Where is the intruder now?"
"He escaped before we could capture him, Young Master."
Adrian slammed his fist against the edge of the desk.
"Damn it!"
James Carter quickly stepped forward.
"We've already sealed the estate. Security teams are searching every corner of the property."
"Double the guards," Adrian ordered.
"I want every entrance locked down. Search every vehicle leaving this estate."
"Yes, sir."
Within seconds, the mansion erupted into controlled chaos.
Guards hurried through the hallways while alarms continued to echo outside.
Aria stood frozen, unable to process what was happening.
Someone she had never met wanted her dead.
Why?
---
Eleanor gently held Aria's trembling hands.
"My dear..."
"I'm sorry."
Aria looked up in confusion.
"Sorry?"
"If I hadn't asked you to come here..."
"You wouldn't be involved in this."
Aria forced herself to remain calm.
"This isn't your fault."
But deep inside, fear was beginning to take hold.
Only two days ago, her biggest concern had been paying hospital bills.
Now someone had brought a sniper rifle to kill her.
Nothing made sense anymore.
---
Adrian studied her carefully.
She wasn't pretending.
He had questioned countless people during business negotiations.
He knew how to recognize fear, lies, and manipulation.
What he saw in Aria's eyes was genuine confusion.
She truly didn't understand why someone was targeting her.
That realization unsettled him more than he cared to admit.
"If she isn't lying..." he thought.
"...then whoever planned this has been waiting for her."
---
An hour later, the estate finally grew quiet.
The search had found only one clue.
A folded piece of paper hidden beneath the hedge where the sniper had been hiding.
James Carter carefully unfolded it.
On the front was a single sentence.
The fake heiress must die.
Eleanor gasped.
Aria stared at the message.
"The fake heiress?"
She looked at Adrian.
"But I haven't even agreed to pretend to be anyone."
Adrian took the note from James.
His eyes narrowed.
"They're already calling you the fake heiress."
He looked directly at Aria.
"That means whoever wrote this believes the family will accept you."
"But why?"
"No idea."
He folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket.
"But we're going to find out."
---
That evening, Adrian personally drove Aria to the hospital.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
The silence inside the luxury car felt strangely comfortable.
Finally, Adrian broke it.
"Your grandmother."
"What about her?"
"Does she know anything about your childhood?"
"Very little."
"She found me outside an orphanage when I was five."
"And before that?"
"I don't remember."
He glanced at her briefly.
"No memories at all?"
"Only flashes."
"Like what?"
Aria closed her eyes.
"A little girl laughing."
"A beautiful garden."
"And..."
She hesitated.
"A music box."
Adrian tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
The Kingsley estate had once contained a famous rose garden.
Aurora had loved playing there.
She had also owned an antique music box.
It was impossible...
Wasn't it?
---
At the hospital, Aria visited her grandmother alone.
The elderly woman immediately noticed the worry on her face.
"What happened?"
Aria sat beside the bed and told her everything.
The mansion.
Eleanor.
The missing heiress.
The stolen DNA samples.
The sniper.
Her grandmother listened without interrupting.
When Aria finished, she gently smiled.
"You've always wondered where you came from."
"I still do."
"Then don't run away from the answer."
"But what if they're wrong?"
"What if I'm not their granddaughter?"
Her grandmother squeezed her hand.
"Then you'll still discover who you truly are."
---
As Aria left the hospital later that night, she didn't notice the black motorcycle parked across the street.
The rider watched her through a dark helmet.
Hidden beneath the visor was a small earpiece.
"I have eyes on the target."
A cold voice answered from the other end.
"Proceed."
The rider started the engine.
Aria stepped onto the sidewalk, waiting for the traffic light to change.
She never heard the motorcycle accelerating toward her.
Across the street, Adrian had just finished a phone call when he saw the speeding bike heading straight for Aria.
His eyes widened.
"ARIA!"
Without thinking, he sprinted into the road.
At the last possible second, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of the motorcycle's path.
The bike roared past, missing them by inches before disappearing into the night.
Aria stumbled against Adrian's chest, too shocked to speak.
His heartbeat thundered beneath her ear.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Then Adrian looked down at her.
"Are you hurt?"
Aria slowly shook her head.
Before she could thank him, Adrian noticed something lying on the pavement where the motorcycle had passed.
A black envelope.
He picked it up carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed Aria as a little girl... standing beside a smiling child whose face had been burned away.
Written across the bottom in red ink were five chilling words:
Only one girl survived that fire.
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