CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER FIVE
THE NIGHT ELENA DISAPPEARED
The truth did not begin with Elena leaving.
It began hours before.
At 7:12 p.m., the Rossi mansion was still glowing with warm golden light.
The dining room was prepared for four.
Crystal glasses.
White roses.
Silver cutlery.
A bottle of wine that cost more than most people earned in a month.
Everything looked perfect.
But Elena Rossi knew something was wrong.
She stood at the upstairs window, watching a black sedan parked beneath the trees.
It had been there for twenty minutes.
The engine was running.
No one had gotten out.
Elena's hand instinctively moved to her stomach.
She was eleven weeks pregnant.
Nobody knew.
Not Julian.
Not Richard.
Not Camila.
Nobody.
At least, that was what Elena believed.
She stepped away from the window.
Her phone vibrated.
One message.
DON'T TELL JULIAN.
Elena stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
HE IS BEING WATCHED.
Then:
IF YOU LOVE HIM, LEAVE TONIGHT.
Elena's heart began pounding.
She typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
No answer.
She tried calling.
The number was disconnected.
She looked toward the bedroom door.
Then toward the hallway.
Someone was coming.
Elena quickly locked her phone.
The door opened.
Julian walked inside.
“Hey.”
She forced a smile.
“Hey.”
He kissed her forehead.
“You're quiet.”
“I'm tired.”
“You've been tired for weeks.”
Elena froze.
Julian looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
He smiled.
“I made reservations for tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Lake Como.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“What?”
“Three days.”
She looked away.
“I can't go.”
“Why?”
She didn't answer.
Julian touched her face.
“What's wrong?”
Elena wanted to tell him.
She wanted to tell him everything.
The pregnancy.
The messages.
The car outside.
The fear.
But something stopped her.
A memory.
Her father's funeral.
The night she had first met Richard.
The warning he had given her.
Never threaten a Rossi man with information you cannot prove.
Elena swallowed.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Julian smiled.
“Then pack.”
She couldn't.
Because she already knew she might not be alive by morning.
At 8:03 p.m., Richard Rossi arrived.
He walked into the dining room as though he owned the house.
Perhaps he did.
Julian greeted him.
“Dad.”
Richard nodded.
“Elena.”
She forced a smile.
“Richard.”
He studied her.
Too long.
Then looked toward her stomach.
Only for a second.
But Elena noticed.
Her blood went cold.
Richard sat down.
Dinner began.
The conversation was ordinary.
Business.
Politics.
A new hotel acquisition.
A charity gala.
Nothing unusual.
Then Richard asked:
“How are you feeling, Elena?”
She looked up.
“Fine.”
“You've been looking pale.”
“I haven't been sleeping well.”
Richard smiled.
“Stress can do strange things to a woman's body.”
Elena's fork stopped.
Julian didn't notice.
But Richard did.
His eyes sharpened.
“You should see a doctor.”
“I will.”
“Soon.”
Elena looked at him.
“Why?”
Richard's smile disappeared.
“Because certain conditions are better discovered early.”
Silence fell over the table.
Julian looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Richard lifted his glass.
“Nothing.”
Elena knew better.
Richard knew.
Somehow, he knew.
At 8:47 p.m., Elena went upstairs.
She locked the bedroom door.
Then pulled a pregnancy test from the back of a drawer.
Positive.
She stared at it.
She had taken four tests.
All positive.
She placed a hand over her stomach.
“I'm sorry.”
Her voice broke.
“I don't know how to protect you.”
A soft knock came at the door.
Elena froze.
“Who is it?”
“Me.”
Julian.
She opened the door.
He smiled.
“Can I come in?”
She nodded.
Julian walked inside.
Then noticed the tears on her face.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Elena.”
She looked at him.
For a moment, she nearly confessed.
Then her phone vibrated.
A new message.
HE KNOWS.
She quickly turned the screen away.
Julian saw it.
“Who keeps texting you?”
“Nobody.”
“Nobody?”
She nodded.
Julian's expression changed.
“Elena, what's going on?”
“I said nothing.”
He stepped closer.
“Are you in trouble?”
“No.”
“Are you afraid of someone?”
She couldn't answer.
Julian's voice softened.
“You can tell me anything.”
Elena looked into his eyes.
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
She almost did.
But the bedroom door suddenly opened.
Richard stood there.
Elena stepped backward.
Julian turned.
“Dad?”
Richard's expression was calm.
“We need to talk.”
Julian frowned.
“About what?”
“Business.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Julian looked at Elena.
“Five minutes.”
He left with Richard.
Elena watched them disappear.
Then locked the door again.
She whispered:
“Please come back.”
Downstairs, Richard led Julian into the study.
He closed the door.
“What?”
Richard poured himself a drink.
“You need to understand something.”
Julian waited.
“Elena isn't who you think she is.”
Julian frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“She has been investigating the family.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“You trust her too much.”
“She is my wife.”
“She is a liability.”
Julian stepped forward.
“Don't talk about her like that.”
Richard smiled.
“That's exactly why you're vulnerable.”
“What did she do?”
“She has been asking questions about the trust.”
Julian froze.
“What questions?”
“Questions she has no right to ask.”
Julian stared at him.
“What are you hiding?”
Richard didn't answer.
Then he said:
“Ask your wife why she was at St. Catherine's six years ago.”
Julian's face changed.
“What?”
Richard walked past him.
“Ask her.”
Then left.
Julian stood alone.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He returned upstairs.
But Elena was gone.
At 9:23 p.m., Elena was in the garage.
She had no suitcase.
No coat.
Only her handbag.
She was trying to leave quietly.
Then a voice came from behind her.
“You shouldn't go.”
Elena froze.
Camila.
She stood beside the second car.
Elena turned.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to warn you.”
“You need to leave.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“Your life is in danger.”
Elena stared at her.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I know what Richard is planning.”
Elena's expression changed.
“What?”
Camila stepped closer.
“He knows about the baby.”
Elena went pale.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
Elena shook her head.
“You want Julian.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised Elena.
“But I don't want him dead.”
Silence.
Camila lowered her voice.
“Richard wants you gone.”
“Why?”
“Because your child changes the inheritance.”
Elena's hand moved to her stomach.
Camila saw it.
Her expression softened.
“Please.”
Elena looked at her.
“Why are you helping me?”
Camila hesitated.
“Because I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I trusted him.”
Elena stared.
“Richard?”
Camila nodded.
“He promised me Julian.”
Elena's face hardened.
“So this is about money.”
“It started that way.”
“And now?”
Camila's eyes filled with tears.
“Now I'm scared.”
A car engine started outside.
Both women turned.
Richard's sedan.
Elena whispered:
“I have to go.”
Camila grabbed her wrist.
“Don't go through the front gate.”
“Why?”
“It's being watched.”
Elena stared.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw the men.”
“Then where do I go?”
Camila pointed toward the service tunnel.
“There's an old exit beneath the west wing.”
Elena hesitated.
“Does Julian know?”
“No.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because if you stay, you'll never get out.”
Elena pulled her hand away.
“I don't trust you.”
“You don't have to.”
Camila's voice broke.
“Just survive.”
Elena ran.
At 9:41 p.m., Julian returned to the bedroom.
“Elen—”
Empty.
He searched the bathroom.
The dressing room.
The balcony.
Nothing.
Her phone was gone.
Her purse was gone.
But her clothes remained.
Her passport remained.
Her wedding ring remained.
Julian's heart began racing.
“Elena?”
He called her.
Straight to voicemail.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something on the bed.
A letter.
His name.
Julian.
His hands trembled.
He opened it.
I am sorry.
I should have told you the truth.
I cannot stay.
Please don't look for me.
You deserve a life without me.
Julian read it twice.
Then again.
His eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
He knew her handwriting.
But something was wrong.
The letter didn't sound like Elena.
She would never say:
You deserve a life without me.
She would say:
I love you too much to leave you.
Julian looked closer.
The paper smelled strange.
Chemical.
He remembered something.
Elena always used cream-colored stationery.
This was white.
He opened the drawer.
Her stationery was still there.
He compared the handwriting.
The letters looked similar.
But not identical.
The forged letter.
Someone had created it.
Julian's anger exploded.
He ran downstairs.
“Where is my wife?”
The staff froze.
Richard emerged from the study.
“What happened?”
“Where is Elena?”
Richard's expression remained calm.
“She left.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Richard sighed.
“She said she wanted freedom.”
Julian stepped closer.
“She left her passport.”
“She probably intends to get another.”
“She left her wedding ring.”
Richard shrugged.
“Perhaps she doesn't want to be married anymore.”
Julian's eyes turned cold.
“You knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That she was leaving.”
Richard smiled.
“You're upset.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Julian grabbed his father's collar.
“Tell me.”
Richard didn't resist.
Instead, he whispered:
“You should be careful.”
Julian shoved him away.
“What does that mean?”
Richard adjusted his jacket.
“It means your wife made her choice.”
Julian stared.
Then noticed something.
A small smear of blood on Richard's cuff.
His expression changed.
“What's that?”
Richard looked down.
For the first time—
he looked nervous.
At 10:02 p.m., Elena ran through the underground tunnel.
She was barefoot.
Her shoes had broken on the stone stairs.
Her breathing was ragged.
She held her stomach.
“Please…”
She stumbled.
Then heard footsteps.
Behind her.
Someone was following.
She ran faster.
The tunnel ended at an old service door.
She pushed it open.
Cold air struck her face.
A black car waited outside.
Camila stood beside it.
“Get in!”
Elena hesitated.
Then heard the footsteps again.
She entered.
Camila drove.
Neither woman spoke for several minutes.
Then Elena asked:
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Where?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if I know, they can force it out of me.”
Elena stared at her.
Then asked:
“Who is the man controlling Richard?”
Camila's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“I don't know.”
“You've seen him.”
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
“I don't know his name.”
“Then describe him.”
Camila hesitated.
“Tall.”
“Anything else?”
“Grey eyes.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“What?”
“He had a scar.”
“Where?”
“Across his left cheek.”
Elena stopped breathing.
She knew that man.
She had seen him once.
Six years earlier.
At the hospital.
Standing beside Richard.
And holding a newborn baby.
Her baby.
At 10:26 p.m., Julian was in the garage.
He found the security footage.
The moment Elena left.
He watched.
She entered the tunnel.
Then Camila appeared.
Julian froze.
Camila had helped Elena escape.
But why?
He watched again.
Then noticed someone else.
A man standing in the shadows.
He had followed them.
Julian paused the footage.
Zoomed in.
The man's face became visible.
Scar across the left cheek.
Grey eyes.
Julian recognized him.
He had seen him before.
In photographs from his father's business meetings.
His name was Victor Hale.
Richard's most trusted private security contractor.
Julian's stomach dropped.
Victor had disappeared six years ago.
The same year Elena lost her first child.
The same year she had been hospitalized.
The same year Richard told everyone the baby had died.
Julian whispered:
“You.”
Then his phone rang.
Richard.
Julian answered.
“What?”
Richard's voice was strangely calm.
“You found the footage.”
Julian said nothing.
“I warned you.”
“You had Victor follow Elena.”
Richard sighed.
“Victor was protecting the family.”
“From what?”
“From her.”
Julian's voice shook with rage.
“What did you do to my child?”
Silence.
Then Richard said:
“You still don't understand.”
“Tell me.”
“The first child was never supposed to survive.”
Julian's heart stopped.
“But he did.”
Richard didn't answer.
Julian understood.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You took my son.”
“I protected him.”
“You stole my child.”
Richard's voice became cold.
“You were incapable of protecting anything.”
Julian hung up.
He stood alone in the garage.
Then his phone vibrated.
A new message.
An image.
A baby boy.
Alive.
Six years old.
Standing beside a woman.
Julian stared at the photograph.
The woman was Elena.
And the boy—
had his eyes.
Under the photograph was a message:
COME ALONE.
Julian's heart shattered.
He had spent six years believing his first child was dead.
He had spent eight months believing his wife had abandoned him.
Both were lies.
And the person who had been lying to him wasn't just his father.
It was someone much closer.
Someone who had been beside him every day.
Julian looked at the photograph again.
Then noticed the woman standing behind Elena.
Camila.
But Camila wasn't smiling.
She looked terrified.
And beside her stood the man with the scar.
Victor Hale.
Julian's blood ran cold.
Because the message beneath the photograph contained one final sentence.
ASK CAMILA WHY SHE TOOK YOUR SON.
Julian stared into the darkness.
Then whispered:
“I will.”
But somewhere far away, Elena was holding her six-year-old son against her chest.
She was crying.
Because she had just received the same photograph.
And the same message.
May you like
Except hers contained three additional words.
HE KNOWS EVERYTHING NOW.
