Chapter 6: The Enemy Who Saved My Mother
I had spent fifteen years imagining the face of the man who destroyed my family.
In my nightmares, Adrian Cross was always a monster.
A shadow.
A faceless villain who stole my parents from me and disappeared before anyone could bring him to justice.
But standing there in the abandoned warehouse, looking at the man everyone believed was responsible, I felt something far more confusing than hatred.
I felt uncertainty.
Because Adrian wasn't looking at me like an enemy.
He was looking at me like someone who had been waiting years for this moment.
Tobias stepped forward.
His voice was filled with anger.
"You don't get to walk in here and pretend you're innocent.""
Adrian looked at him calmly.
"I never said I was innocent.""
The answer surprised all of us.
Garrett glanced at him.
For the first time, my husband looked uncomfortable.
"Adrian.""
The older man ignored him.
His eyes stayed on Tobias.
"You spent fifteen years preparing revenge.""
Tobias's jaw tightened.
"And you spent fifteen years hiding.""
"Yes.""
No hesitation.
No denial.
Adrian accepted it.
That made him more frightening.
I held the letter against my chest.
"Someone explain.""
Nobody spoke.
I raised my voice.
"I am tired of finding out my entire life was a lie one piece at a time.""
The words echoed through the warehouse.
Everyone looked at me.
Good.
For once, everyone was listening.
"Start talking.""
Adrian slowly walked forward.
Garrett immediately moved.
"Don't.""
The warning in Garrett's voice caught my attention.
I turned toward him.
"You're afraid of him?""
Garrett's expression hardened.
"I know what he is.""
Adrian smiled faintly.
"Do you?""
The tension between them was immediate.
And I noticed something important.
Garrett wasn't controlling this situation.
Not anymore.
I looked at Adrian.
"Did you kill my parents?""
Silence.
A long silence.
Then Adrian answered.
"No.""
My heart didn't know whether to believe him.
"You expect me to trust you?""
"No.""
He looked at the letter in my hand.
"I expect you to investigate.""
Tobias laughed bitterly.
"That's convenient.""
Adrian turned to him.
"Your father taught you something important.""
"What?""
"Never believe the first story you hear.""
Tobias froze.
Because those words were familiar.
I could see it on his face.
A memory.
A lesson from our father.
Adrian continued.
"Your father knew someone wanted him dead.""
My fingers tightened around the letter.
"Who?""
Adrian looked toward Garrett.
And the room changed.
"Your husband.""
My breath stopped.
Garrett immediately shook his head.
"Don't listen to him.""
Adrian continued.
"Garrett wasn't the person who planned the accident.""
He paused.
"But he was the person who benefited from it.""
I looked at Garrett.
The man I married.
The man who slept beside me.
The man who held my hand while secretly destroying my family.
"How?""
Adrian walked to the table.
"After your parents died, the company was unstable.""
I nodded slowly.
I knew that part.
"The board wanted someone experienced to take control.""
My stomach tightened.
"Garrett.""
Adrian nodded.
"He appeared three months after the funeral.""
The memory hit me.
Garrett arriving at the shipyard.
Helping me manage paperwork.
Offering advice.
Being patient.
Being kind.
I thought he was saving me.
"He didn't know me.""
I whispered.
"He studied you.""
Adrian's words cut deeper.
"He knew what you needed. What you feared. What would make you trust him.""
I felt sick.
Tobias looked at me.
"I'm sorry.""
I looked at him.
"For what?""
"For not stopping it.""
The sadness in his voice was worse than anger.
"You were grieving.""
He shook his head.
"I was watching.""
That sentence confused me.
"What?""
Tobias looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
"I knew Garrett was dangerous.""
My chest tightened.
"You knew?""
"Not at first.""
He took a breath.
"After the accident, I started investigating. I found connections between Garrett, Adrian, and Penelope.""
I looked at Penelope.
She remained silent.
"So why did you say nothing?""
Tobias looked away.
"Because I didn't have proof.""
"Fifteen years?""
His eyes filled with regret.
"I thought I could protect you.""
I laughed quietly.
"Everyone keeps saying that.""
The pain in my voice made him look down.
"I didn't need protection, Tobias.""
I touched my chest.
"I needed the truth.""
Nobody responded.
Because they knew I was right.
Then Adrian spoke.
"There is something you need to understand about your brother.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
"He wasn't hiding because he didn't trust you.""
Adrian's eyes moved toward Tobias.
"He was hiding because he was being hunted.""
The warehouse went silent.
Tobias looked at him.
"You promised you wouldn't tell her.""
Adrian's expression softened slightly.
"I promised your father.""
My heart stopped.
"My father?""
Adrian nodded.
"Your father asked me to protect both his children.""
Tobias looked away.
"By disappearing?""
"By surviving.""
I stared at Adrian.
"Why should I believe you?""
He reached into his coat.
Slowly.
Everyone tensed.
But he pulled out a small object.
A necklace.
My mother's necklace.
The one she wore every day.
The one we buried with her.
I stopped breathing.
"Where did you get that?""
Adrian looked at it.
"She gave it to me.""
My hands shook.
"No.""
"Yes.""
"She died wearing that.""
Adrian looked at me.
"No.""
A pause.
"She gave it to me the night she escaped.""
My knees weakened.
My mother.
Alive.
Not just alive.
She had been alive after the crash.
"Where is she?""
Nobody answered.
I stepped closer.
"Where is my mother?""
Adrian looked toward the door.
Then at Garrett.
"That depends.""
"On what?""
"On whether Garrett already found her.""
Garrett suddenly moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
He grabbed Penelope's arm.
"You're done talking.""
Adrian looked at him.
"You were always impatient.""
Garrett's face changed.
"You don't know what you're doing.""
"No.""
Adrian smiled.
"I know exactly what I'm doing.""
Then the lights went out.
Again.
A familiar fear entered my body.
Darkness.
Confusion.
Someone moving.
I heard Tobias shout.
"Rosalind, get down!""
A gunshot exploded.
I fell to the floor.
Glass shattered above me.
Someone grabbed my arm.
For one horrifying second, I thought it was Garrett.
Then I heard the voice.
"Don't be afraid.""
Adrian.
He pulled me behind a stack of crates.
Another gunshot.
People were shouting.
I couldn't see anything.
"Tobias!""
"I'm here!""
His voice came from across the room.
Then another voice.
Garrett.
"Nobody leaves.""
The lights flickered.
When they came back, everything had changed.
Penelope was gone.
Garrett was gone.
And Tobias was lying on the floor.
Blood spread across his shirt.
I screamed.
"Tobias!""
I ran to him.
He opened his eyes.
"Rosalind...""
"No.""
My hands pressed against the wound.
"No, no, no.""
He grabbed my wrist.
"Listen.""
"Save your strength.""
"Listen to me.""
His eyes were desperate.
"The letter...""
I looked at him.
"What?""
"Your mother didn't write it to warn you about me.""
A sharp pain crossed his face.
"She wrote it because she knew I would fail.""
I shook my head.
"What are you saying?""
Tobias reached into his jacket.
With shaking fingers, he pulled out a second envelope.
Hidden.
Waiting.
"I was supposed to give you this if Garrett ever found out the truth.""
I took it.
My name was written on the front.
Again.
But this time, the handwriting wasn't my mother's.
It was my father's.
Adrian looked at the envelope.
And his face changed.
For the first time, the man who had spent fifteen years hiding looked terrified.
"What is it?""
I asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Adrian whispered:
"That letter was never meant for you.""
He looked at Tobias.
"It was meant for the person who would betray you.""
I stared at the envelope.
A terrible feeling moved through me.
Because there was only one person my father could have written a warning about.
And everyone in that room knew his name.
Tobias slowly closed his eyes.
"Rosalind...""
His voice was barely audible.
"Before you open it...""
A pause.
"Promise me you'll remember one thing.""
"What?""
He looked at me.
"I never lied about loving you.""
Then he lost consciousness.
May you like
And I was left holding a letter from my dead father...
Written for the person he believed would destroy me.
