Owned by the Ruthless Mafia King

Chapter 9: Buried Truths

Lia couldn't move.

Adrian's words echoed through her mind.

"I think someone has been lying to you your entire life."

She stared at him, searching his face for any sign that he was joking.

There was none.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Adrian looked away, his jaw tightening.

"This isn't the place."

"Then where is?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he turned toward Viktor.

"Double the guards."

"They're already covering every entrance."

"I said double them."

Viktor nodded without another word.

"Yes, Boss."

As the guards dispersed throughout the mansion, Lia grabbed Adrian's arm before he could walk away.

"No."

His eyes dropped to her hand.

"No?"

"I'm done waiting."

She tightened her grip.

"You've dragged me into your world, locked me inside this mansion, and now you're telling me my entire life has been a lie."

Her voice trembled with frustration.

"You don't get to walk away."

For several seconds, Adrian simply looked at her.

Then he gently removed her hand from his arm.

"Come with me."

---

He led her through a corridor she'd never seen before.

Unlike the rest of the mansion, this hallway was dimly lit.

Old portraits lined the walls.

Every face wore the same cold expression.

Every frame carried the Volkov crest.

They stopped before a large oak door.

Adrian unlocked it with a small silver key.

The room beyond looked like a private study.

Bookshelves covered every wall.

Ancient maps were spread across a massive desk.

In one corner stood an old wooden cabinet filled with leather-bound journals.

Lia stepped inside slowly.

"What is this place?"

"My father's office."

She looked around.

"You've kept it exactly the same."

"I haven't changed a thing."

There was something almost sacred about the room.

Like time had stopped the day his father died.

Adrian walked to the cabinet and removed a thick folder.

He placed it on the desk.

"This is everything my father collected before he died."

Lia frowned.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I don't know."

"You just said—"

"I said I think someone lied to you."

He opened the folder.

Inside were newspaper clippings.

Old photographs.

Financial documents.

Family records.

Most of them were over twenty years old.

Adrian pulled out one faded photograph.

"This was taken twenty-three years ago."

Lia leaned closer.

A wealthy couple stood smiling beside a little girl.

The child's face was turned away from the camera.

"Who are they?"

"The Ashford family."

"I've never heard of them."

"You wouldn't have."

"Why?"

"They disappeared."

Lia looked back at him.

"What do you mean disappeared?"

"They vanished overnight."

"No bodies."

"No evidence."

"No explanation."

She swallowed.

"Why are you showing me this?"

Instead of answering, Adrian reached into another folder.

He removed a small silver necklace sealed inside a plastic evidence bag.

Lia froze.

Her breathing stopped.

"No..."

Her fingers instinctively moved to the necklace around her own neck.

It was identical.

Same pendant.

Same delicate engraving.

Same tiny sapphire in the center.

Her voice cracked.

"Where did you get that?"

Adrian watched her carefully.

"It belonged to the Ashford family's daughter."

Lia slowly removed her own necklace.

She compared them.

They matched perfectly.

"No..."

"This can't be..."

"I've worn this since I was a child."

"So had she."

Lia's heart pounded painfully.

"My foster mother told me my parents gave it to me."

Adrian's expression hardened.

"Your foster mother lied."

Tears filled Lia's eyes.

"No..."

"There has to be some mistake."

"I hope there is."

She stared at the two necklaces lying side by side.

One from her childhood.

One from a girl who disappeared decades ago.

Her hands began to shake.

"What are you saying?"

Adrian answered quietly.

"I think you're not who you believe you are."

---

A loud knock shattered the silence.

Viktor entered without waiting.

"Boss."

Adrian looked up.

"What happened?"

"We found another body."

Lia looked between them.

"Where?"

"Outside the north gate."

Adrian's expression darkened.

"One of ours?"

"No."

"Then whose?"

Viktor placed a photograph on the desk.

"He was carrying this."

Adrian picked it up.

His jaw clenched instantly.

Lia noticed.

"What is it?"

He silently handed her the picture.

It was a recent photograph.

Of her.

Walking home from work.

Completely unaware she was being watched.

Another photograph showed her entering a café.

Another.

Leaving her apartment.

Another.

Standing outside her office.

There were dozens.

Someone had been following her.

For weeks.

Maybe months.

Lia's knees weakened.

"I..."

She struggled to breathe.

"I never noticed."

"You weren't supposed to," Adrian said.

Viktor folded his arms.

"The dead man wasn't working alone."

"How do you know?"

"We found a radio."

"And?"

"He told someone..."

Viktor paused.

"...that the package had already been claimed."

Silence fell over the room.

Lia looked at Adrian.

"What package?"

His dark eyes met hers.

"You."

A chill ran down her spine.

She wasn't just a witness anymore.

She wasn't just Adrian's prisoner.

She was something people were willing to kill for.

And she still had no idea why.

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky once more.

Inside the Volkov Estate...

The truth was finally beginning to surface.

And it promised to destroy everything Lia thought she knew about herself.