The storm had finally quieted, but the air between them hadn't.
The sound of the rain still lingered, dripping from the edges of Adrian's coat as he stood motionless by the doorway.
Elena hadn't moved either. Her eyes were red, her breathing shallow.
For the first time since her rebirth, she felt the weight of her two lives pressing down on her.
"You want to know why?" she said softly, breaking the silence.
Her voice trembled, but there was something sharp beneath the pain.
"Then listen carefully, Adrian."
She turned away, walking to the window where raindrops streaked down the glass.
"Five years ago, that accident wasn't an accident."
Adrian's breath caught.
"What do you mean?"
"I was followed that night." Her fingers clenched.
"There was another car—black, tinted, no plates. It hit me from behind before the truck came. Someone wanted me dead."
He froze.
"Elena… that's impossible. The investigation—"
"—was closed in three days," she cut in coldly. "By your company's own lawyers."
Her words hit him like thunder.
He took a step forward, disbelief and fury clashing in his chest.
"You think I would ever—"
"I don't know what to think anymore!" she shouted suddenly, tears spilling over.
"When I woke up in that hospital, everyone thought I was gone. So I let them. Because whoever wanted me dead still had power—and I couldn't protect our baby if I stayed."
Adrian's expression darkened. His voice dropped, hoarse.
"Who?"
Elena hesitated. Her gaze lowered.
"I don't have proof. But I have suspicion."
She turned to face him, her voice steady now, almost icy.
> "Your stepmother—Catherine Blackwood."
The name hit him like a blade.
Adrian's fists clenched.
"That woman—"
"She hated me, Adrian," Elena whispered. "From the day we married. I was the girl from nothing who took her family's empire's heir. She wanted me erased. She warned me once, remember? 'People like you don't belong next to a Blackwood.'"
Adrian's pulse pounded in his ears.
He remembered.
He remembered the dinner, the tension, his stepmother's smile.
And he remembered how, three nights later, Elena's car crashed.
His knees almost buckled.
All the fragments began to connect—the reports, the missing footage, the erased records.
"Elena…" he whispered, voice breaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She looked at him, tears glistening like broken glass.
"Because I did. And you didn't believe me."
---
For a long moment, the only sound was the rain.
Ethan had fallen asleep in the other room, unaware that the storm had merely moved indoors.
Adrian took a slow breath, pain carving across his features.
"Then this isn't over," he said quietly, almost to himself.
"I will find who did this."
He looked at her—haunted, guilty, resolute.
"And this time… I won't lose you again."
But Elena didn't answer.
She simply turned away, whispering under her breath,
> "You already did."
Outside, thunder rumbled once more—
not from the sky, but from the truth that had finally begun to awaken.
🌹 Chapter 10 Pacing & Structure Analysis (Webnovel Viral Beat Pattern)
Pacing Beat Function
1. Female Lead Reveals the Truth → Opens the new plot arc: conspiracy + revenge
2. Male Lead's Shock and Guilt → Creates an emotional climax and vulnerability moment
3. Stepmother Mentioned (Not Yet Appearing) → Plants the high-society conflict and future antagonist line
4. "I Don't Believe It" Reversal → Creates simultaneous repair and rupture in the relationship
5. Final Line Ending → Delivers high emotional resonance + strong sense of destiny
💬
Should Elena tell Adrian everything… or keep her silence?
👉 Tell me in the comments — I'm curious!
⚔️ Suspense Focus:
Who truly caused the fatal crash five years ago?
Hook Sentence:
> In the crash footage, a crest shimmered through the rain—Blackwood's.