Chapter 6 - SOFIA’S LETTER
Victor did not open the letter immediately.
That surprised me.
A man who solved most problems through force suddenly stood frozen beside my hospital bed, holding one envelope as though it contained an explosive.
Maybe it did.
Just not the kind his security team could detect.
“Open it,” Adrian said.
Victor looked at him.
“You kept this for two years.”
“I promised Sofia.”
“She is dead.”
“I noticed.”
Victor stepped toward him.
I reached out.
“Victor.”
He stopped.
Adrian did not flinch.
“Read it,” he said again.
Victor finally broke the seal.
Inside were three handwritten pages.
He read silently.
His face revealed nothing at first.
Then his breathing changed.
I watched his fingers tighten around the paper.
“What?” I asked.
Victor handed it to me.
The first line made my stomach twist.
Victor,
If you are reading this, something has gone wrong, and I need you to do the one thing you hate most.
Trust someone.
I read on.
Sofia wrote that she had discovered money disappearing through companies tied to the Romano organization.
Small amounts at first.
Then millions.
She believed somebody close to Victor was secretly paying an outside group.
Not for drugs.
Not for weapons.
For information.
Schedules.
Routes.
Security changes.
Details about Leo.
She had suspected the attack outside Mercy Hospital four years earlier was no random gang shooting.
Someone had known exactly when she would leave with her son.
And a young physical therapy student had saved Leo by carrying him inside.
Me.
Sofia had remembered my name from the hospital report.
Elise Carter.
She had kept it.
Then came the sentence that made my skin go cold.
If anything happens to me, find the girl who saved Leo. I watched her when everyone else ran. She went toward him.
Victor took the letter from my trembling hands.
“There’s more.”
I looked at Adrian.
He nodded.
“Sofia hired someone to investigate the leak.”
“Who?” Victor asked.
“She never told me.”
“Why tell you any of this?”
“Because she believed you would kill the wrong person if she told you too soon.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“Smart woman,” I muttered.
He gave me a look.
Adrian almost smiled.
Then he continued.
“Four days later, Sofia died.”
Victor folded the letter carefully.
“And you said nothing.”
“She told me not to.”
“For two years?”
“She said I would know when to tell you.”
“And what miraculous sign was I supposed to wait for?”
Adrian looked at me.
“When Elise saved Leo again.”
Silence.
I understood.
The line on Caleb’s card.
When she saves the boy, call me.
“You knew I had started working at the estate.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I saw your employment file.”
Victor glared at him.
“You had no access.”
“I had access before you revoked it.”
“You followed her?”
“No.”
“Then who took the photographs?”
Adrian’s face darkened.
“Not me.”
I believed him.
I wasn’t sure why.
Maybe because he looked frightened.
Not for himself.
For something bigger.
Victor paced.
“So Sofia somehow arranged for Elise to be hired?”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That part was coincidence.”
Victor stopped.
“I don’t believe in coincidence.”
“Neither do I anymore.”
My blood chilled.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked at me.
“The cleaning agency that placed you at the estate changed ownership nine months ago.”
“One month before I started.”
“Yes.”
Victor’s expression sharpened.
“Who owns it?”
“We traced six shell companies.”
“And?”
Adrian hesitated.
“The final company is registered in Delaware.”
Victor’s patience snapped.
“Who owns it?”
Adrian met his eyes.
“Caleb Carter.”
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
Victor’s gaze moved to me.
“Your brother owns your employer?”
“No.”
“He can barely pay his rent.”
Adrian shook his head.
“He may not know.”
“What does that mean?”
“His signature was used.”
I felt suddenly nauseated.
Victor called Dominic.
Within minutes, he ordered Caleb’s records secured.
This time I did not argue.
Someone had used my brother’s identity.
Someone had manipulated my job.
Someone had put me inside Victor’s house.
And then someone had staged an attack that counted on me risking my life for Leo.
I looked at the ring on the bedside table.
Maybe even the proposal had been anticipated.
The thought terrified me.
“Victor.”
He turned.
“What if this is still happening?”
“What?”
“What if the attack wasn’t the end of their plan?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“What comes next?”
Adrian reached inside his jacket.
Another paper.
“Yesterday, before I was taken, I received this.”
Victor snatched it.
Three lines were printed in block letters.
THE BOY LIVES.
THE GIRL LIVES.
THE WEDDING COMES NEXT.
No one spoke.
I looked at Victor.
“You see?”
His eyes remained on the paper.
“They knew.”
Adrian nodded.
“They expected you to propose.”
“How?”
“Because they understand you.”
Victor crushed the paper in one fist.
I stared at the engagement ring.
Suddenly it didn’t feel like protection.
It felt like a move on someone else’s chessboard.
“I’m not marrying you.”
Victor looked at me.
“The contract—”
“Forget the contract.”
“Elise.”
“No. Whoever planned this wants us married. So we do the opposite.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
Adrian nodded.
“She’s right.”
Victor looked offended that the two of us agreed.
Then the hospital alarm sounded.
Once.
Twice.
The lights flickered.
The guard outside shouted.
Victor pulled a gun.
Adrian stood despite his injuries.
The room plunged into darkness.
A second later, emergency lights glowed red.
Victor moved in front of my bed.
“Stay down.”
“As opposed to what?”
The door handle turned.
Victor aimed.
“Identify yourself.”
No answer.
The door opened slowly.
A six-year-old boy stepped inside.
“Daddy?”
Victor lowered the weapon instantly.
“Leo.”
Leo ran toward him.
Victor caught him.
Behind Leo stood his guard.
“Power failure, boss. We’re moving everyone.”
Victor nodded.
Then Leo looked at me.
He was holding something.
A folded piece of paper.
“Elise.”
“What is that?”
“A lady gave it to me.”
Victor froze.
“What lady?”
Leo pointed toward the hallway.
“She said she knew Mama.”
Victor took the paper.
Opened it.
Read.
His face lost all color.
“What?” I asked.
He turned the note toward me.
May you like
One sentence.
If Victor marries Elise, Leo dies before the honeymoon ends.
