She couldn't stop looking at the picure.
Her dad.
Adrian.
And the lady between them.
She looked beautiful and elegant with long black hair blown by the breeze. About middle aged. She rested her hand on her father's arm.
She looked familiar.
But Eva could not understand.
"Who is she?" Eva asked.
Adrian took his time to respond.
He removed his jacket and loosened his tie. But even in bright light of the apartment, he still looked frightening.
Dangerous.
Too dangerous to trust.
"she was Isabelle Laurent," he added at last.
Eva looked up sharply.
" A Laurent?"
"Your mother."
The room became unnaturally quiet.
"No."
The phrase slipped her lips before she could stop it.
"My mother died at childbirth."
"That's what he told you."
Eva's chest tightened.
She didn't really know much about her mother.
Whenever she asked, her father would change the topic.
All she knew was that her mother was a kind person.
And dead.
"no, you're lying."
Adrian's face did change.
"I wish I was lying."
Eva walked away from him.
The picture shook in her hands.
"Stop speaking like you know my family well."
"but I do know them."
"You knew my father?"
"Yes." "
"and my mother too?".
His jaw stiffened.
"very well."
"okay, tell me what happened to her."
Adrian kept silent for a longer time.
Then he spoke, with a low voice.
"Your mother wanted to leave the Laurent family too."
Eva held her braeth.
"What?"
"She wanted to run away with you before the arranged marriage plans would begin. But Victor Laurent stopped her."
Victor Laurent.
The head of the Laurent's family
The man Eva had spent fifteen years dreading.
"What did he do to her?" she muttered.
Adrian looked away.
"She went missing."
Eva's knees almost betrayed her.
"No…"
"She didn't fall sick. Neither did she die at childbirth. That was the story the wanted you to believe."
Eva staggered backward till she smacked the edge of the table.
Everything she knew was a lie.
Her father had lied to her.
The Laurent family also lied to her.
Her whole life had been based on secrets.
"Why tell me now?" she inquired.
"Because they want you."
Adrian moved closer.
"And if you don't know the truth, you won't survive them."
The penthouse was large.
Floor-to-ceiling windows looked over the city.
New furniture. Marble floor. Expensive artwork,
It looked good.
And cold.
Just like the Laurent Villa.
Eva wrapped herself with her arms.
"I want to go."
"no, You can't."
"Why?"
"Because the moment you get out, they'll have you."
Eva looked through the windows.
The city below gleamed softly.
Like nothing had changed.
But things have changed.
There was a knock on the door
Daniel stepped into the room.
"There is a problem."
Adrian turned.
"Whats wrong?"
Daniel showed him out a tablet.
"Someone broke-in at Margaret's apartment."
Eva's blood ran cold.
"What?"
"The security cameras showed three men entering her apartment about twenty minutes ago."
Margaret.
"No."
Eva went close and collected the iPad from him.
The video played.
Three guys wearing black entered the building.
Laurent Enforcers.
Her hands shook.
"Where is she now?"
Daniel hesitated.
"No idea"
Eva said to Adrian.
"We have to go back."
"Not possible."
"She's all alone!"
"And that's exactly how they want it."
Eva looked at him.
"You do expect me to stay here while they hurt her?"
Adrian's face hardened.
"I expect you to stay alive."
"She watched over me for fifteen years!"
"And if you decide to walk into their trap, then she protected you in vain."
The words hit her like a slap.
Eva glanced aside quickly so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes.
"I detest you," she murmured.
Adrian didn't reply.
Then he murmured.
"I know that."
Hours later, Eva was alone in one of the guest bedrooms.
Sleep evaded her.
Each time she tried to sleep, she either saw Margaret.
Or her dad.
Or the killer in the ballroom.
The silver key still hung around her neck.
Her father's key.
The one thing he had given to her.
She stroked it gently.
When the moment is right, take the key and go to the location described below.
The words of her father came back to her.
But She had never gone.
She had been too afraid all along.
But maybe this was the right time.
Someone knocked faintly at the door.
Eva quickly wiped her face.
"What?"
The door opened.
And Adrian walked in.
He had changed into a black shirt with the sleeves folded up.
He was much younger without his jacket and tie.
Unlike a billionaire.
More like a guy that had too many scars.
"You should try to get some sleep," he advised.
Eva looked away.
"Its not working"
He saw the key in her hand.
"is that the key your father gave you."?
"how did you know about it?"
"He once told me he had a second plan."
"but you never mentioned that before?"
"i didn't get the chance."
Eva crossed her arms.
"Why did my father have so much faith in you?"
Adrian was silent.
Then he went close to the window.
"Because I owed him my life." he saved me
Eva'sbrow creased.
"meaning?"
He looked out at the city.
"exactly fifteen years ago, I wasn't who I am now. I was just a kidt of another wealthy family trying to survive in a society governed by the Laurents."
He waited sometime.
"Your father gave me help when nobody else wanted to"
"and Why would he do that?"
"Because somehow he believed there are still good people around."
His voice grew cold.
"but He got it wrong."
Eva looked at him.
"No," she responded gently. "He wasn't."
For the first time, Adrian looked at her in a different way.
Not like a puzzle.
Not like an assignment
But like a human being.
The hush between them changed
The air felt heavy.
Closer.
Too close.
Then Daniel's voice spoke suddenly through the intercom.
"Sir."
Adrian turned quickly.
"yes, What is it?"
"Someone is downstairs asking to see Miss Laurent."
Eva frowned.
"At this time of the day?"
Daniel's voice hardened.
"He says he's her fiancé."
The world momentarily stopped.
Eva stared at the intercom.
"What?"
Adrian's face became completely unreadable.
Daniel continued.
"He says he was sent by the Laurent family to bring her home.