Chapter 3: The Betrayal
Adrian didn’t leave the hospital that night.
He stayed in the private suite with Lena and Sophia, only stepping out briefly to make calls. Lena could hear him speaking in low, sharp tones in the hallway. She knew he was already investigating.
When he returned to the room hours later, his expression was darker than she had ever seen it.
“I spoke with my head of security,” he said, sitting beside her bed. “The man you saw at the gala — the one with the silver serpent ring — his name is Marcus Hale. He’s been with my company for four years.”
Lena felt her stomach twist.
“He followed me the night I left,” she said. “I saw him in the rearview mirror. He was driving one of your cars.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“I had him removed from the property the moment we left the conference room. But I want to know why he was there in the first place. And who gave him orders.”
Lena hesitated, then spoke the words she had been holding back for months.
“The night I left, I overheard two men talking outside your study. They said a pregnant wife would make you vulnerable. That an heir could be used against you.”
Adrian went very still.
“Did you recognize their voices?”
Lena shook her head.
“One of them sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I was too scared to stay and listen longer.”
Adrian leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Someone inside my circle knew you were pregnant before I did,” he said. “And they tried to use that information against me.”
He looked at her.
“And they almost succeeded.”
Lena looked down at Sophia, who was sleeping peacefully in the bassinet beside the bed.
“I didn’t know who to trust,” she whispered. “I thought if I stayed, they would use our baby to hurt you. I thought leaving was the only way to keep her safe.”
Adrian reached out and gently took her hand.
“You did what you thought was right,” he said. “But from now on, we face this together.”
Lena looked at him, searching his face for any sign of anger or blame.
She found none.
Only determination.
May you like
And something else — something warm that made her chest ache.
For the first time in eight months, Lena allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to carry this burden alone anymore.
