Chapter 3 - The Ghost of the Past
There was no dialogue for three agonizing seconds. Just the sharp, sudden intake of Adrian’s breath as his entire universe violently tilted on its axis.
Five years ago, Adrian and Elena’s marriage had ended in a catastrophic explosion of betrayal. Adrian’s ruthless stepmother, Victoria, had orchestrated a masterful frame-up. She had planted forged financial documents and faked audio recordings, convincing Adrian that Elena had not only embezzled millions from the syndicate, but that she had been sleeping with a rival cartel boss.
Adrian, blinded by fury and the toxic lies fed to him by his own family, had confronted Elena with cold, merciless rage. He refused to listen to her tears. He refused to look at the evidence she tried to show him.
Terrified that Adrian would execute her—or worse, that Victoria’s assassins would finish the job—Elena had fled into the freezing rain with absolutely nothing but the clothes on her back.
She had vanished into the shadows, running not just to save her own life, but to save the tiny, undetected life growing inside of her.
Now, standing under the glowing crystal chandeliers of the Manhattan gala, Adrian stared at the jagged crescent moon birthmark. The lie he had believed for half a decade shattered into a million pieces. Elena hadn't slept with a rival. She hadn't betrayed him.
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She had been carrying his child.
👉 Adrian was drowning in the devastating realization of his mistake, but Elena was about to fight like a lioness to protect her daughter.
