Chapter 3: The Empty Apartment
The words landed like shattered glass.
"...someone just emptied your apartment."
Elena's breath caught.
"What?"
The security officer looked pale.
"I came as soon as I received the call from our security team."
Julian stepped forward.
"Explain."
"The building manager reported that approximately thirty minutes ago, three men arrived with forged authorization documents. They claimed Ms. Elena Rossi had terminated her lease."
Elena shook her head immediately.
"I never signed anything."
"They had paperwork."
"They forged it."
"We believe so."
Julian's expression darkened.
"What did they take?"
The guard hesitated.
"Everything."
Silence.
"The furniture."
"The clothes."
"Personal documents."
"Electronics."
"The baby's belongings..."
Elena instinctively wrapped both arms around her stomach.
"...they took those too."
Her knees nearly gave way.
Julian caught her before she fell.
She didn't resist this time.
She simply buried her face against his chest, trembling.
For eight months she had survived alone.
She had worked double shifts despite her pregnancy.
Every paycheck had gone toward preparing for their baby.
A tiny crib.
Secondhand blankets.
A hand-knitted yellow sweater from an elderly coworker.
A stuffed rabbit she'd bought after saving tips for three weeks.
Now...
It was all gone.
Julian held her gently.
"You don't have to worry."
"I do."
"No."
"I have nothing left."
He looked into her tear-filled eyes.
"You have me."
She wanted to believe him.
God, she wanted to.
But the last eight months had taught her one painful lesson.
Nothing stayed.
Not happiness.
Not safety.
Not certainty.
Victoria remained unusually quiet.
Julian noticed.
"You already knew."
She looked at him.
"No."
"You expected something."
"I expected retaliation."
"For what?"
"For tonight."
Julian frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Victoria walked toward the conference room window.
"The people behind this operation don't leave loose ends."
Elena whispered,
"They know he found me."
Victoria nodded.
"Yes."
Julian looked between them.
"Operation?"
"What operation?"
Neither woman answered immediately.
Finally Victoria turned around.
"Eight months ago, this stopped being a family matter."
She looked directly at her son.
"It became corporate warfare."
Julian stared.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
Victoria opened her leather handbag and removed a thin black folder.
She placed it carefully on the table.
"I've kept this hidden."
Elena's face instantly lost color.
"No..."
Victoria looked at her.
"He deserves to know."
"No."
"Enough lies."
"You promised."
"I promised until he found you."
Julian slowly opened the folder.
Inside...
There were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Elena leaving their mansion.
Elena entering a taxi.
Elena renting a tiny apartment.
Elena buying groceries.
Elena walking home after midnight.
Elena cleaning hotel rooms.
Every picture had dates.
Locations.
Times.
Julian felt sick.
Someone had followed his wife.
Every.
Single.
Day.
He flipped another page.
Expense reports.
Daily schedules.
Medical appointments.
Pregnancy checkups.
Work shifts.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"Who collected these?"
Victoria answered.
"They did."
"Who is 'they'?"
"The people financing the merger."
Julian looked up sharply.
"Our investors?"
She nodded.
"They wanted proof she stayed away."
Julian slammed the folder shut.
"They were spying on my pregnant wife?"
"For months."
He looked at Elena.
"You knew?"
She nodded weakly.
"I saw them sometimes."
"You never called the police?"
"They told me it would only make things worse."
"Who told you?"
Victoria answered again.
"I did."
Julian couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You advised her not to call the police?"
"I advised her to stay alive."
The room became silent.
Julian slowly processed those words.
Stay alive.
He turned toward Elena.
"Were you threatened?"
She remained motionless.
"Elena..."
No answer.
He gently held both her shoulders.
"Tell me."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"They came to my apartment."
His heartbeat stopped.
"When?"
"The third week."
"Who?"
"I never learned their names."
"What did they do?"
She closed her eyes.
"They knew where I worked."
"They knew where I slept."
"They knew I was pregnant."
Julian's breathing became uneven.
"They said..."
Her voice broke.
"...that accidents happen every day."
No one spoke.
"They told me elevators fail."
"Cars lose control."
"Pregnant women fall down stairs."
Julian felt rage unlike anything he had experienced in his life.
His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"They said if I contacted you..."
She placed a trembling hand over her stomach.
"...our baby might never be born."
Julian turned toward Victoria.
"You knew this."
"Yes."
"And you did nothing?"
"I kept them from acting."
"How?"
"They wanted Elena gone permanently."
Julian stared.
"What?"
"I negotiated."
His mother spoke with chilling honesty.
"I convinced them that exile was sufficient."
Julian felt physically ill.
"You negotiated... my wife's life?"
Victoria didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
The silence was answer enough.
A knock interrupted them.
The hotel manager entered carefully.
"Mr. Rossi..."
"What?"
"Security found something."
He handed Julian a sealed evidence bag.
Inside...
A tiny knitted baby sock.
Pink.
Handmade.
Elena gasped.
"My grandmother made that..."
The manager nodded.
"It was left inside the apartment."
Julian examined the bag.
Folded inside the sock...
There was a small flash drive.
No one had noticed it.
Until now.
Julian placed it into his laptop.
A single video file appeared.
No title.
No date.
He clicked play.
Static filled the screen.
Then...
The image cleared.
A hidden security camera.
The timestamp showed eight months earlier.
The Rossi family mansion.
Julian's private study.
He frowned.
"I never installed a camera here."
Victoria suddenly stood.
Her face drained of color.
"No..."
The recording showed Julian leaving the room after receiving a business call.
Seconds later...
The office door opened again.
Three board members entered.
One of them locked the door.
The second placed several folders onto Julian's desk.
The third smiled.
Then one man said words that froze everyone in the room.
"Once Rossi signs tomorrow, Elena disappears."
Julian stopped breathing.
Another voice laughed.
"His mother already agreed."
Victoria whispered,
"No..."
The next sentence hit even harder.
"If the wife refuses to cooperate... eliminate her after the contracts close."
Elena covered her mouth.
Julian slowly turned toward his mother.
She looked horrified.
"I never heard this meeting."
"You were mentioned."
"I wasn't present."
The recording continued.
Another executive spoke.
"The old woman believes we're sending the girl overseas."
The room fell silent.
Victoria staggered backward.
Her face had become completely white.
"They lied to me..."
Julian looked at her with disbelief.
"You mean..."
She nodded slowly.
"I never agreed to murder."
Before anyone could speak again...
The lights in the conference room suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A second later...
The hotel's emergency alarms screamed through the building.
Red lights began flashing.
Then came a terrified voice over the security radio.
"Code Black! Code Black!"
"Unknown armed intruders have entered the executive floor!"
Julian instinctively pulled Elena behind him.
Outside the conference room...
Footsteps were running toward them.
Fast.
May you like
And getting closer.
End of Chapter 3
