Chapter 4: The House by the Sea
Chapter 4: The House by the Sea
Elena had awakened inside a secluded house on the Croatian coast.
The windows were sealed.
Two guards remained outside her bedroom.
Adrian visited every few days, always perfectly dressed, always speaking with the patient calm of a man who considered himself reasonable.
He wanted the original flash drive.
Elena insisted she had destroyed it.
Adrian did not believe her.
When he learned she was pregnant, his strategy changed.
“He said the baby gave him leverage,” Elena told Julian. “He said you would sign away every company you owned if he placed your child in danger.”
Julian’s face became rigid with fury.
“How did you escape?”
“One guard was careless. He left a maintenance door unlocked during a storm.”
Elena ran barefoot through the rain until a fisherman found her near the cliffs.
She gave him a false name because she believed Adrian controlled the police.
The fisherman’s sister helped her reach Spain.
Eventually, Elena arrived at the Grand Alcazar, where she found work through an international cleaning contractor.
“Why this hotel?”
“Because I thought Adrian would never look for me in one of your own properties.”
Julian frowned.
“I don’t own the Grand Alcazar.”
“You will after the merger.”
The billion-dollar merger Julian had been preparing would combine his hospitality division with Vale Meridian Group.
Adrian’s company.
Once the deal was signed, Adrian would gain operational control over twenty-three Rossi resorts, including the Grand Alcazar.
The realization struck Julian with brutal force.
Adrian had arranged the merger because he was losing access to Rossi money.
And Julian had nearly handed him an empire.
“Where is the flash drive?” Julian asked.
Elena watched him carefully.
“I need to know whether I can trust you.”
“I’m your husband.”
“You were also the man who let Adrian control every search for me.”
Shame crossed his face.
“I failed you.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have known.”
Elena looked away.
“You trusted him more than you trusted your own instincts.”
Julian did not defend himself.
The ambulance arrived through the hotel’s underground entrance. Julian accompanied Elena to a private clinic twenty minutes away.
He left Camila in the lobby without explanation.
On the way, Elena fell asleep from exhaustion.
Julian watched her beneath the dim ambulance lights.
Her hands were damaged by chemicals. A faint scar circled one wrist. Her uniform was too thin for the cold evening.
Eight months earlier, she had been sleeping beside him in their lakeside mansion.
Now she flinched whenever a stranger opened a door.
His phone vibrated.
Adrian had sent a message.
We need to discuss Elena before she destroys everything.
Julian stared at the screen.
Then he replied.
Come to the hospital. Alone.
Elena opened her eyes.
“Don’t confront him yet.”
“Why?”
“Because he has people inside your companies.”
“I’ll remove them.”
“You don’t know who they are.”
Julian put the phone away.
“Then I’ll make him believe I still trust him.”
Elena studied his face.
“What are you planning?”
May you like
Julian’s eyes turned cold.
“I’m going to give Adrian exactly what he wants.”
