Elena was in the library, curled in one of the armchairs with a book open on her lap, though she'd been reading the same paragraph for nearly fifteen minutes. Adrian had been distant all day, moving through the house like a storm trapped in a suit, barely speaking except to issue instructions to Victor and the security team.
Something had changed in him since the night he stood outside her door. He was watching her more. Protecting her more. Guarding her like she was some fragile thing he didn't know how to hold without breaking.
It scared her more than his coldness ever had.
She closed the book and stood, pacing absently between the tall shelves. The sun had already dipped low outside, washing the estate in soft amber light. The air felt strange, too still, too tight.
The kind of silence that warns you right before a world cracks open.
That was when she heard it, two voices outside the library door.
Victor's low murmur. Another guard's hushed reply.
"… perimeter sweep came back wrong."
"… tell him now, before she..."
Elena paused, heart lifting into her throat.
Before she what?
She stepped closer.
Victor's voice sharpened. "We keep this between us until we have confirmation. If Mr. Vale worries, he'll..."
The door opened.
"Elena?" Victor's words froze as soon as he saw her. A flicker of something crossed his face, surprise, then tension.
She straightened. "Is something going on?"
The guard looked at Victor, waiting for permission to speak, but Victor shook his head.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, ma'am."
Her pulse kicked. "You said something about the perimeter."
Victor's jaw flexed, like he regretted ever speaking near the door. "Just a routine check. Nothing unusual."
Lie. She heard the lie immediately.
"Victor," she said softly, "please don't treat me like I'm made of glass. If something is wrong, I need to know."
Before Victor could answer, another voice cut through the hall.
"Victor."
Adrian.
He walked toward them, jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up, expression carved from stone. His eyes flicked to Elena, and something about his posture changed. He went rigid. Defensive.
"What's happening?" he asked Victor.
The guard cleared his throat. "We picked up a signal on the outer field sensors. Could be an animal. Could be nothing. We'll check it again."
Adrian studied him for a beat too long. "And the motion signatures?"
"Intermittent."
Adrian cursed under his breath.
Elena stepped forward. "Adrian..."
"You need to go to your room," he said, already moving past her. "Now."
Her breath caught. "Why?"
"There's a possible breach." His voice stayed calm, but beneath it she heard the truth, fear. "I'm not risking you wandering around this house until we confirm what's happening."
"I'm not hiding while you deal with..."
"Elena." He finally turned, eyes locking onto hers. "Please. For once, don't argue with me."
The word please.
He only used it when he was terrified.
She swallowed her protests. "Okay."
But she didn't go to her room.
Not yet.
Elena followed at a distance, her footsteps quiet, heart hammering. Adrian moved through the house with Victor at his side, both of them heading toward the east wing security control room. They spoke quickly, their strides matching in urgency.
She kept behind the corner as the door closed behind them.
Her fingers curled around the wall.
She wasn't supposed to hear this.
But she needed to.
Inside the security room, Adrian stood in front of the wide monitors, eyes scanning the infrared feeds. Rows of screens showed the perimeter, the forest line, and the outer gates. Everything looked normal at first glance.
But Victor pointed silently at the south boundary feed.
A faint heat signature pulsed.
Then vanished.
Then pulsed again in a different spot, closer.
"Sir," Victor said quietly, "it's moving too deliberately to be an animal."
"How many?" Adrian asked.
"Unknown. Could be one. Could be three."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "What about the blind spot near the maintenance shed?"
Victor hesitated.
And that alone confirmed it.
"It's offline."
Adrian swore. "Someone's tampered with it."
"We don't know that..."
"Yes," Adrian snapped. "We do."
Silence stretched thin.
"It's him, isn't it?" Victor said finally.
Adrian didn't answer. His expression gave every answer she needed.
Elena pressed a hand to her mouth.
Who were they talking about?
Who was "him"?
When Adrian finally stepped out of the room, Elena hurried back down the hallway, pretending to walk from the opposite direction. His gaze landed on her immediately.
She froze.
His chest rose and fell in a slow breath. "You followed me."
She didn't deny it.
"Elena," he said softly, "if I tell you to stay in your room, it's not because I don't trust you. It's because I can't lose..."
He stopped himself.
Pulled back.
Walls rising.
"Just listen," he finished.
"Tell me what's going on," she whispered.
He hesitated.
Then: "There's someone who wants something from me. Someone who won't hesitate to use you to get it."
"Why me?"
His eyes darkened. "Because you're the only thing in this house I can't replace."
Her heart skipped.
Before she could answer, Victor approached.
"Sir. Motion detected again."
Adrian nodded once. "Set lockdown protocol."
"Right away."
"Elena," he said, turning back to her, "stay beside me. Don't leave my line of sight."
And just like that, the mansion shifted.
Lights dimmed.
Steel barriers slid over the windows.
Doors sealed with a low mechanical hum.
The Vale Estate, which always felt like a palace, suddenly felt like a fortress under siege.
They ended up in the central living room while Victor and the guards swept the grounds. Adrian stood near the glass wall, watching the dark woods beyond the property. His entire body was tension and control and barely anchored rage.
Elena approached slowly.
"Is this… normal for you?"
"No." His voice came low. "But I knew the day would come."
"Who is it?" she asked. "Who are you expecting?"
He didn't answer right away. Then...
"A man who once swore he'd destroy everything I love."
Her throat tightened. "And do you… love anything?"
His eyes turned toward her.
Slow.
Intense.
"That's why he's coming."
The words felt like a confession he didn't mean to give. She took a step closer without realizing it.
"Adrian… why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because the moment you walked into my life, you became a target." His voice cracked, not breaking, but bending under pressure. "And I'd rather be hated for silence than responsible for your fear."
Elena's breath shook.
She moved toward him. "I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be."
He almost whispered it.
"Because when it comes to you, I don't think rationally anymore."
Before she could respond...
A loud bang echoed from the west side of the house.
Adrian's body snapped alert.
Victor's voice yelled from somewhere down the hall, "South wall breach!"
Adrian grabbed Elena's arm. "Stay behind me."
Her pulse thundered as he pulled her against him, shielding her with his body as shadows moved outside the glass.
The mansion lights flickered.
Glass trembled.
Something or someone hit the outer barrier hard enough to make the wall shake.
Elena pressed closer to Adrian without thinking.
He held her tighter.
Too tight.
"Adrian," she whispered, "what's happening?"
He exhaled shakily.
A rare, human fear threaded through his voice.
"He found us."
The breach alarms blared through the mansion. Guards shouted from the hall. Victor's voice barked orders. The world spun into frantic motion.
Adrian pulled Elena toward the panic corridor hidden behind a carved panel, but halfway there, something slammed against the side entrance the sound so violent Elena jumped.
He steadied her instantly, one hand on her back, the other gripping her wrist like a lifeline.
"Elena," he said, voice low and urgent, "if anything happens to me, you run. Don't look back. Don't argue. Just run."
Her heart splintered. "I'm not leaving you."
"Elena..."
"No." Her voice cracked. "You don't get to decide that alone."
He stared at her, breath uneven. Torn between duty and instinct. Between fear and something deeper.
Then the lights cut out.
Darkness swallowed the room whole for a heartbeat before the red emergency lights clicked on.
Shadows stretched across the walls.
Footsteps echoed just outside the hall.
Slow. Heavy.
Too calm to be a guard's.
Elena's blood ran cold.
Adrian stepped in front of her again, jaw set, shoulders squared, the perfect image of a man ready to tear the world apart to protect one person.
"Elena," he murmured, eyes locked on the door, "stay behind me. No matter what happens."
She nodded, even though her heart hammered so hard she could barely breathe.
The footsteps stopped.
Right outside the room.
Then...
A voice Elena didn't recognize spoke through the crack in the door. Low. Mocking. Familiar to Adrian in a way that made him go still as stone.
"Hello, brother."