Chapter 2 - The Man Who Took Her Hand
The stranger's fingers closed gently around Serena's hand.
“My name is Adrian Vale.”
Serena studied him.
There was something familiar about his eyes.
Not his face.
His eyes.
“I don't believe we've met.”
“We haven't.”
Across the ballroom, Roman started moving.
People noticed.
Roman never hurried.
Tonight, he did.
Adrian glanced past Serena.
“Your husband is coming.”
Serena turned.
Roman crossed the ballroom with the kind of controlled fury that made conversations stop around him.
“Release her.”
Adrian looked at Serena.
Then at Roman.
“No.”
The room became silent.
Serena felt her pulse jump.
Roman stopped three feet away.
“You have five seconds.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“You've been giving orders for years, Roman.”
Roman's expression changed.
Serena looked between them.
“You know my husband?”
“I knew him before you did.”
Roman's hand moved toward his jacket.
Serena noticed.
“Roman.”
He stopped.
Adrian released her hand.
Then he leaned closer.
“Your wife deserves to know why you married her.”
Serena's stomach tightened.
Roman's eyes became dangerous.
“Not here.”
“Exactly here.”
Adrian reached into his jacket.
Roman immediately stepped forward.
Several men in the room reached beneath their jackets too.
Serena suddenly realized how many armed men were standing among the guests.
Adrian removed a small envelope.
He handed it to Serena.
“This belongs to you.”
She stared at it.
Her name was written across the front.
Not Mrs. Duca.
Just:
SERENA.
Her fingers went cold.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
She recognized the woman immediately.
Her mother.
But the photograph had been taken twenty-seven years earlier.
Her mother stood beside a younger Roman.
Serena's breath stopped.
Roman whispered her name.
“Don't.”
She looked at him.
“Why were you with my mother?”
Roman didn't answer.
Adrian watched him.
“That isn't even the worst part.”
Serena turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
Six words.
He promised he'd keep you alive.
Her heart hammered.
“Who?”
Roman finally spoke.
“Your father.”
Serena stared at him.
“My father died before I was born.”
Roman's silence answered her.
Adrian's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His smile disappeared.
“That's impossible.”
“What?” Serena asked.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
“Your father is calling me.”
Roman grabbed Serena's arm.
May you like
“Get behind me.”
Then the ballroom doors slammed shut...
