Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Elena woke to the sound of rain.
Her head was pounding.
Her arm was throbbing.
For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.
Then she remembered.
The kitchen.
The broken bowl.
Caleb's hand around her throat.
The gunshots.
Adrian.
She opened her eyes.
A dark room surrounded her.
Her wrists were tied to the arms of a wooden chair.
Panic rose in her chest.
She pulled against the ropes.
Nothing happened.
A door opened.
Elena froze.
A man stepped into the room.
Not Caleb.
Someone older.
He wore a gray suit.
His face was familiar.
She had seen him at the Ashford estate many times.
Richard Hale.
The family's attorney.
The man who had handled Adrian's father's estate.
The man who had advised Adrian for six years.
Elena's breathing stopped.
Richard smiled.
“You're awake.”
“Where am I?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
He walked around her slowly.
“You've been a problem for a long time, Elena.”
She stared at him.
“I don't know you.”
“Oh, I think you know me very well.”
“I've cleaned your office.”
“Yes.”
“You've never spoken to me.”
“That's because I didn't need to.”
He stopped behind her.
Elena's body went rigid.
“Why are you doing this?”
Richard sighed.
“Because you saw something you were never supposed to see.”
Elena's mind raced.
Six years earlier.
She had been seventeen.
Her father had worked as a driver for the Ashford family.
On the night Adrian's father died, Elena had been waiting in the service corridor.
She had been looking for her father.
Instead, she had seen Richard Hale entering the study.
With Caleb.
And a third man.
Adrian's father had been alive.
Standing behind his desk.
Angry.
Shouting.
Then Elena had heard the words.
“You think you can take the company from me?”
She had hidden behind a half-open door.
Caleb had answered.
“You've already given us everything we need.”
Then Richard had pulled something from his pocket.
A syringe.
Elena had never forgotten the look on the older man's face.
The terror.
The betrayal.
And then—
A hand had covered Elena's mouth.
Her father.
He had pulled her away.
They had escaped through the servants' passage.
But the next morning, Adrian's father was dead.
And Elena's father disappeared.
Three days later, Elena's mother received a message.
Her husband had been killed in a car accident.
No body was ever shown.
No investigation followed.
Elena had spent six years searching for answers.
Then she had entered the Ashford estate under a false name.
She had found nothing.
Until two nights ago.
She had been cleaning Richard Hale's private office.
A drawer had been left unlocked.
Inside was a photograph.
Her father.
Alive.
Taken only three months earlier.
In the photograph, he was standing beside a man Elena knew.
Richard Hale.
And Caleb Blackwood.
That was why Caleb had attacked her.
That was why she had been afraid.
Richard crouched in front of her.
“You should have left the estate when you had the chance.”
“My father is alive.”
Richard smiled.
“Perhaps.”
“Where is he?”
“You still care about him?”
“He's my father.”
“That's unfortunate.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
Richard stood.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You trusted Adrian.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I don't trust Adrian.”
“You should.”
The door suddenly opened.
Caleb walked inside.
Elena stared at him.
Richard looked over his shoulder.
“Did you find him?”
Caleb nodded.
“Adrian is looking everywhere.”
“Good.”
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“Marcus found the old service tunnels.”
Richard's expression changed.
For the first time, Elena saw fear.
“Then we have to move.”
Caleb looked at Elena.
“What do we do with her?”
Richard answered without hesitation.
“Nothing yet.”
Caleb stepped closer.
“She knows too much.”
“She knows enough to be useful.”
Elena stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Richard smiled.
“Adrian is going to come for you.”
Caleb's eyes hardened.
“And when he does?”
Richard turned toward the door.
“We give him a choice.”
Elena's heart began to pound.
“What choice?”
Richard looked back at her.
“His empire…”
May you like
He smiled.
“Or your life.”
