Chapter 4 - The Woman They Should Never Have Targeted
Elena noticed the changes before anyone told her.
The black cars outside the diner.
The strangers watching from across the street.
The feeling that someone was always nearby.
At first, she thought she was imagining it.
Until Adrian walked into the diner one rainy evening.
And he wasn’t alone.
Two men stood outside.
Watching.
Protecting.
Elena crossed her arms.
“What is going on?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I need you to close early tonight.”
She laughed once.
“No.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“No?”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“Mr. Vale, I appreciate that you saved me.”
“I didn’t save you.”
“You literally pulled me behind you during gunfire.”
“That was my choice.”
“Exactly.”
She stepped closer.
“But you don’t get to walk into my workplace and start controlling my life.”
Adrian stared at her.
Nobody spoke to him like this.
Nobody.
“You’re not afraid of me.”
It wasn’t a question.
Elena looked at him.
“I should be?”
“Yes.”
“Are you trying to convince me?”
For a moment, Adrian had no answer.
Because she was right.
---
He sat down.
Lowering his voice, he said:
“The attack wasn’t meant to scare me.”
Elena became serious.
“What was it meant to do?”
“To send a message.”
“To who?”
“To me.”
“And why am I involved?”
Silence.
That was enough.
Elena understood.
“They know about me.”
Adrian didn’t answer.
She looked away.
“So because you came here…”
“Yes.”
“Because I called you sir?”
His expression softened.
“No.”
“Then why?”
Adrian looked at her.
Because she was the first person in years who treated him like a human being.
Because when everyone else saw a monster…
She saw a tired man with cold eggs.
But he couldn’t say that.
Not yet.
“Because you’re innocent.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“I’m not innocent.”
Adrian frowned.
“Everyone has something.”
She looked down.
“I have debt.”
“That isn’t a crime.”
“I have anger.”
“That isn’t a crime.”
“I have spent years pretending I’m okay when I’m not.”
Adrian was silent.
Then quietly:
“Neither is that.”
---
That night, Adrian made a decision.
He would protect Elena.
Even if she hated him for it.
---
Two days later, the truth appeared.
Marcus entered Adrian’s office with a file.
“We found the leak.”
Adrian opened it.
And his expression changed.
The information had come from someone inside his organization.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
The name was written clearly.
Daniel Cross.
His most loyal advisor.
Adrian stared at the page.
“Impossible.”
Marcus shook his head.
May you like
“That’s what makes betrayal dangerous.”
---
