Chapter 4 - The Man Who Knew Elena’s Secret
The stranger's voice echoed through the staff room.
"Adrian."
Nobody had called him that way in years.
Not with that tone.
Not with that certainty.
The entire mansion knew him as Adrian Blackwood.
The man who controlled everything.
The man nobody questioned.
But this stranger spoke his name like he remembered the boy behind the name.
The man Adrian used to be.
Before the money.
Before the violence.
Before the walls.
Adrian stared at him.
His hand remained close to the weapon hidden beneath his jacket.
"You're supposed to be dead."
The stranger gave a faint smile.
"So is Elena."
Sadie immediately stepped back.
Her face changed when she heard her mother's name.
The stranger noticed.
"She never told you everything, did she?"
Sadie shook her head.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at her.
And for a moment, his expression softened.
"My name is Daniel Cross."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
Daniel Cross.
A name he had not heard in fifteen years.
A name connected to the night everything fell apart.
"You worked for my father."
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"Yes."
"And you betrayed him."
Silence.
Sadie looked between them.
She could feel the anger in the room.
Not the kind that exploded.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that waited.
Daniel slowly placed the photograph on the table.
"I didn't betray anyone."
Adrian laughed quietly.
A cold sound.
"You disappeared the same night Elena disappeared."
"Because I was trying to keep her alive."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Then why did everyone tell me she left?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
That hesitation told Adrian everything.
"Who told you?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Your father."
The room became silent.
Adrian's expression changed.
"My father died twelve years ago."
"That doesn't mean he stopped controlling things."
The words landed heavily.
Because Adrian knew his father better than anyone.
Marcus Blackwood.
A man who built an empire through fear.
A man who believed emotions were weaknesses.
A man who would destroy anything that threatened his power.
Including his own son.
Adrian looked at Sadie.
Then at Daniel.
"Start talking."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Fifteen years ago, Elena found out she was pregnant."
Sadie's eyes lowered.
She already knew this part.
But Adrian didn't.
"She wanted to tell you."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"But she didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Because your father found out first."
The answer made Adrian freeze.
"What did he do?"
Daniel looked at Sadie.
Then back at Adrian.
"He gave Elena a choice."
Sadie whispered:
"What choice?"
Daniel's face became serious.
"Disappear forever."
A cold silence filled the room.
"Or watch her child disappear instead."
Sadie covered her mouth.
Adrian didn't move.
For years, he had believed Elena abandoned him.
For years, he had hated himself for trusting the wrong people.
But now he was hearing something worse.
Someone had stolen her from him.
Someone had stolen his chance to know his own child.
"Why didn't she come back?"
Daniel looked down.
"Because she tried."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"She came back three years later."
The room seemed to stop.
"Where?"
"Here."
Adrian stared at him.
"This mansion?"
Daniel nodded.
"She came here to find you."
Sadie's breathing became shaky.
"But she never found him."
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"Because she was stopped before she reached the front door."
Adrian's face turned colder.
"By who?"
Daniel didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Adrian already knew.
"My father."
Daniel remained silent.
That was confirmation enough.
Adrian turned away.
His entire life had been built on a lie.
But one question bothered him more than anything.
"Why did Elena write that letter?"
Daniel looked at the wooden box.
"Because she knew she wouldn't survive."
Sadie closed her eyes.
She had heard those words before.
From doctors.
From strangers.
From people who thought she was too young to understand.
But she understood.
Her mother knew she was running out of time.
"She left me instructions," Sadie whispered.
Adrian looked at her.
"What instructions?"
Sadie hesitated.
Then she reached into her cardigan pocket.
She pulled out a small folded piece of paper.
Adrian stared.
"You had that the whole time?"
Sadie nodded.
"My mother told me never to open it unless someone found me."
"Someone?"
"Someone who knew the truth."
Adrian slowly took the paper.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Elena.
His fingers trembled slightly.
He opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
"If Adrian finds you, tell him the truth about the night you were born."
Adrian looked up.
"What night?"
Sadie looked terrified.
"I don't know."
Daniel suddenly moved.
"Wait."
Both Adrian and Sadie looked at him.
Daniel's expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Where did you get that?"
Sadie looked confused.
"My mother gave it to me."
"No."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Elena would never write that."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Daniel pointed at the paper.
"Because Elena's handwriting was changed after she disappeared."
Silence.
Adrian looked down.
The letter.
The photograph.
The note.
Everything.
Someone had been leaving pieces of the truth.
But maybe not the whole truth.
"Someone wants me to find this."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Daniel looked at Sadie.
"Because they need you to believe she is your daughter."
Sadie flinched.
Adrian noticed.
He immediately moved between them.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Daniel didn't back away.
"I am not your enemy."
"Then prove it."
Daniel took a deep breath.
"Sadie is connected to Elena."
Adrian stared.
"But she may not be connected to you."
Sadie's face turned pale.
"No."
The word came out broken.
"My mother said..."
Daniel interrupted gently.
"Your mother loved you."
Sadie looked at him.
"But love doesn't change blood."
Adrian felt something inside him shift.
Because no matter what the truth was...
Sadie had spent her entire life believing she had finally found the person her mother wanted her to find.
And now that belief was being destroyed.
He looked at her.
The injured arm.
The fear.
The loneliness.
The woman who had walked into his mansion carrying nothing except a broken name tag and a secret.
"Leave."
Daniel looked surprised.
"What?"
Adrian's voice was firm.
"Everyone leaves."
Sadie looked at him.
"Adrian..."
It was the second time she had said his name.
This time, it affected him differently.
Because he realized something.
No matter what the truth was...
He wanted to protect her.
Not because she might be his daughter.
Not because Elena asked him to.
Because Sadie had been hurt.
And nobody had cared.
The mansion staff returned moments later.
Adrian gave only one order.
"Find out who entered this mansion tonight."
The guards nodded.
But before they could leave, Adrian's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"You should have let the girl die quietly."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Who is this?"
The voice laughed softly.
"Ask Sadie what happened on the night Elena disappeared."
Adrian looked at Sadie.
She was staring at him.
Terrified.
The caller continued.
"Because she wasn't the only child in that house."
The line went dead.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
Sadie whispered:
"What did they say?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Because behind Sadie's frightened expression...
He saw something.
A memory.
A secret she had buried.
And when he asked her one question, her entire face changed.
"Sadie..."
May you like
She stopped breathing.
"Who was the other child?"
