Chapter 3: The Daughter of a Forgotten Man
Chapter 3: The Daughter of a Forgotten Man
The message on the security screen remained there.
Seven words.
Seven words that carried fifteen years of hatred.
YOU FOUND HER. NOW WATCH HER DISAPPEAR AGAIN.
Lena stared at the screen.
Her mind struggled to process everything happening around her.
Her mother was alive in memories she never knew existed.
Her father, the man she believed had died before she was old enough to remember him, might still be alive.
And now someone was threatening her.
All in one night.
It felt impossible.
Like she had walked through a normal door and somehow entered a life that belonged to someone else.
“Who sent that?”
Her voice was quiet.
But Adrian heard the fear underneath.
He turned away from the screen.
“Someone who wants me to know they are watching.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Adrian looked at her.
For a second, he saw Clara again.
The same determination.
The same refusal to accept half-truths.
He understood then.
Lena was not going to stand behind him and wait for protection.
She was going to demand answers.
“His name is Victor Hale.”
The name meant nothing to Lena.
But Adrian said it like it carried a wound.
“Fifteen years ago, he was my business partner.”
Lena looked at the folder.
“And my mother knew him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Adrian walked toward the window.
The city lights outside reflected against the glass.
“My company was collapsing back then. I was young. I thought money and intelligence were enough to protect me.”
A bitter smile appeared briefly.
“I was wrong.”
He remembered the beginning.
Before the billions.
Before the power.
Before people feared the name Adrian Cross.
He had been twenty-five years old, ambitious, and desperate to prove himself.
Victor Hale had been the person who appeared when Adrian needed help most.
He offered investments.
Connections.
A future.
And Adrian trusted him.
Until Clara discovered what Victor was really doing.
“He was stealing from the company.”
Lena listened carefully.
“My mother found out?”
Adrian nodded.
“She discovered Victor had been moving money through fake accounts. He wasn’t just stealing from me. He was planning to destroy everything.”
“And she tried to stop him.”
“Yes.”
The room became quiet.
“She was brave.”
Lena looked down.
“She was always like that.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You remember?”
Lena smiled sadly.
“Not much.”
She touched the photo.
“But I remember little things.”
Her voice softened.
“She used to sing when she cooked.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“She did that.”
Lena looked surprised.
“You knew?”
A small smile appeared.
“She hated silence.”
For the first time, they shared something.
Not as strangers.
Not as billionaire and lost girl.
But as two people who had both loved the same woman.
Then Adrian noticed something.
The letter.
The sentence.
Your father is alive.
He picked it up carefully.
“Did you know anything about your father?”
Lena shook her head.
“Everyone told me he died.”
“Who told you?”
She hesitated.
“My mother’s friend.”
“Name?”
“Evelyn Hart.”
Adrian froze.
Lena noticed.
“You know her?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Who is she?”
Adrian looked at the letter.
“She worked with your mother.”
“Worked with her?”
“She was the only person Clara trusted after everything happened.”
Lena felt a cold feeling.
“Then why does everyone connected to my mother know more about my life than I do?”
Adrian had no answer.
Because that was the cruelest part.
Everyone had been protecting Lena from the truth.
But nobody had asked what living without the truth had done to her.
Downstairs, the ballroom was emptying.
The wealthy guests were leaving quietly.
But Victoria remained.
She stood beside the shattered gown.
The manager approached carefully.
“Miss Vale…”
She didn’t look at him.
“Where is Adrian?”
“Upstairs.”
Victoria smiled.
“Of course.”
The manager hesitated.
“Are you leaving?”
Victoria looked down at the blue fabric.
“No.”
She touched the torn edge.
“Not yet.”
“You knew about her?”
Victoria’s face became unreadable.
“I knew Clara Hart had a daughter.”
The manager swallowed.
“And you brought her here?”
Victoria finally looked at him.
“No.”
Her voice became colder.
“I made sure she came here.”
The manager’s eyes widened.
“Why?”
Victoria didn’t answer.
Because the truth was complicated.
She hated Adrian.
She had spent years waiting for him to lose everything.
But she also knew something he didn’t.
Victor Hale was not the only enemy.
There was another person.
Someone even closer.
Someone Adrian trusted.
Upstairs, Adrian continued searching through the documents.
Then Lena noticed a small envelope hidden behind the folder.
“This wasn’t there before.”
Adrian looked up.
“What?”
She pulled it out.
The envelope had no name.
Only one symbol.
A blue rose.
The same symbol on her necklace.
Adrian immediately stood.
“Don’t open it.”
Lena stopped.
“Why?”
“Because your mother used that symbol only when something was extremely important.”
“That means I should open it.”
Adrian stared at her.
Then slowly nodded.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Three sentences.
That was all.
But those three sentences changed everything.
Lena, if Adrian finds you, trust him.
But do not trust anyone else.
Especially the person who raised you.
Lena’s hands froze.
“What?”
Adrian read the message.
His expression darkened.
“The person who raised you…”
Lena looked at him.
“Evelyn.”
Neither of them spoke.
Because they both understood the implication.
Evelyn Hart had raised Lena after Clara disappeared.
Evelyn had told her Adrian was dangerous.
Evelyn had told her father was dead.
Evelyn had controlled the story for fifteen years.
Then suddenly...
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Someone was approaching.
Adrian immediately closed the folder.
“Stay behind me.”
Lena whispered:
“Who is it?”
The door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
Older.
Elegant.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes immediately found Lena.
And tears appeared.
“Lena.”
The girl froze.
She recognized the voice.
Even after years.
“Evelyn?”
The woman looked at Adrian.
Fear filled her face.
“You found her.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What did you do?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I did what Clara asked me to do.”
Lena stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Evelyn looked at her.
And then she said the one thing nobody expected.
“Your mother never disappeared.”
Silence.
“She was taken.”
Adrian’s face changed.
“By who?”
Evelyn looked toward the door.
Her voice became a whisper.
“By the same person who has been protecting you all these years.”
A shadow moved outside.
Someone was standing there.
Listening.
Evelyn continued:
“Your father.”
Lena stopped breathing.
Because the biggest mystery of her life had just become the most terrifying one.
Her father was alive.
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And according to Evelyn...
He was the reason her mother vanished.
