Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Scar
By evening, the snowstorm had become worse.
The estate disappeared behind a curtain of white.
Madison sat near the bedroom window with a blanket around her shoulders, watching security lights disappear and reappear as the wind shifted.
She had spent hours trying to understand how her life had changed in less than twenty-four hours.
Yesterday morning, she had been Connor’s girlfriend.
Yesterday morning, she had believed she had a home.
Now she was lying in a stranger’s mansion, pregnant, injured, and surrounded by people who carried guns.
She heard a knock.
Lucia entered carrying a tray.
“Soup.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That wasn’t a question.”
Madison looked at her.
“You always this bossy?”
Lucia sat the tray down.
“Yes.”
Madison almost smiled.
Lucia noticed.
“Good.”
“What?”
“You smiled.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Madison shook her head.
“Who is your brother?”
Lucia went still.
“Adrien?”
“Yes.”
“You know exactly who he is.”
“I don’t.”
Lucia sighed.
“My brother owns several legitimate businesses.”
“And?”
“And he also controls businesses that are not discussed in polite company.”
Madison stared.
“You mean organized crime.”
Lucia gave her a measured look.
“I mean my brother has enemies.”
“Many.”
“And you were found almost dead on a road after his convoy had just left a meeting with one of them.”
Madison’s stomach tightened.
“Versani.”
Lucia nodded.
“Who are they?”
“People who want what my family has.”
“What does your family have?”
“Power.”
Madison laughed bitterly.
“You dragged a random pregnant woman from a ditch and brought her to a crime family mansion.”
“Private estate.”
“Does that distinction really matter?”
“To my brother? Very much.”
Footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Adrien appeared.
Lucia stood immediately.
“We need to talk.”
He glanced at Madison.
“Not here.”
“She has a right to know.”
Adrien’s face hardened.
“Lucia.”
“She heard the men.”
Madison looked between them.
“He’s right.”
“What was in my car?”
Adrien walked toward the window.
“The storm shifted your vehicle during the crash.”
“The trunk opened.”
“A case fell out.”
“What case?”
“A black metal case.”
Madison frowned.
“I’ve never seen it.”
Adrien looked at her.
“That is the problem.”
“What was inside?”
“Documents.”
“What kind of documents?”
“The kind people kill for.”
Madison stared at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I believe you.”
“Then why am I here?”
“Because the people looking for that case may believe you took it.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then send me home.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because the roads are still closed.”
“That’s temporary.”
“Yes.”
“So once they open, I leave.”
Adrien did not answer.
Madison narrowed her eyes.
“Why aren’t you saying yes?”
“Because by then someone may already be waiting for you.”
“For me?”
“Or for the case.”
Madison swallowed.
“Did you find it?”
Adrien said nothing.
She understood.
“You did.”
He gave a slight nod.
“And?”
“We found it under the passenger seat.”
Her heart raced.
“What was inside?”
“Evidence.”
“Against who?”
“People inside my organization.”
Madison looked down.
She was beginning to understand.
Someone close to Adrien was betraying him.
Someone had arranged the meeting with Versani.
Someone had planted the case in her vehicle.
And if the case had not been there, she would never have been involved.
“Why would anyone use my car?”
Adrien’s expression became colder.
“That is what we are trying to find out.”
Madison thought of Connor.
Then frowned.
No.
Impossible.
She forced the thought away.
Connor was a coward.
A liar.
But a criminal?
She did not know.
That night Madison barely slept.
At 3:14 a.m., she woke to voices outside her room.
“No.”
Adrien.
“That’s not possible.”
Another man spoke.
“Boss, we traced the vehicle.”
“What did you find?”
“The car was registered to Madison Reed.”
Adrien said nothing.
“The lease is in her name.”
“Anyone connected to her?”
“Parents deceased.”
“Friends?”
“One close friend. Camila Torres.”
“Work?”
“A translation firm.”
Adrien’s voice lowered.
“Dig deeper.”
Madison quietly opened the door.
Adrien noticed immediately.
Their eyes met.
The other man froze.
“Leave.”
The guard disappeared.
Adrien stepped closer.
“You should be asleep.”
“I heard my name.”
“You were not supposed to.”
Madison crossed her arms.
“You investigated me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed to know whether you were involved.”
“I told you I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then what did you find?”
Adrien hesitated.
“You worked for a company called Northstar Translations.”
“Yes.”
“You translated legal material.”
“Sometimes.”
“Did you handle documents related to a company called Mancini Logistics?”
Madison frowned.
“I think so.”
Adrien studied her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means some clients were large corporations.”
“Do you remember one of them?”
“No.”
“Try.”
Madison closed her eyes.
A strange memory surfaced.
A shipment document.
A handwritten number.
A signature.
Her eyes opened.
“There was one file.”
Adrien’s posture changed.
“What file?”
“I don’t remember the company name.”
“What did it contain?”
“Transfer records.”
“Between companies.”
“Several.”
Adrien went silent.
Madison stared.
“What?”
“That document was stolen six months ago.”
“I didn’t steal it.”
“I know.”
“Then why does it matter?”
“Because the case we found in your car contains the missing pages.”
Madison’s mouth went dry.
Someone had used her.
But why?
Adrien stepped closer.
“Do you remember anyone asking you about that file?”
“One person.”
“Who?”
Madison thought.
“Connor.”
Silence.
Adrien’s eyes sharpened.
“Your boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
“What did he ask?”
“He wanted to know whether I could translate a particular name.”
“Which name?”
“I don’t know.”
“Madison.”
“I genuinely don’t remember.”
He watched her.
Then asked:
“Did he ever mention the Mancini family?”
“No.”
“Versani?”
“No.”
“Jess?”
Madison looked up sharply.
“How do you know her name?”
Adrien’s expression changed subtly.
That was enough.
“You investigated him too.”
“Yes.”
“What did you find?”
“His real name is not Connor Hayes.”
Madison felt the floor disappear beneath her.
“What?”
“He was born Connor Vance.”
“His father was Daniel Vance.”
“Daniel Vance?”
Adrien nodded.
“One of my family’s former accountants.”
Madison’s face went pale.
The room seemed smaller.
Connor had not been random.
Two years.
Two years of dating.
Two years of living together.
Two years of telling her he worked in finance.
Two years of knowing her habits.
Two years of knowing her family history.
Madison whispered:
“Why would he date me?”
Adrien did not answer immediately.
Then:
“That is what we need to find out.”
The next morning, another surprise arrived.
A woman wearing a fur-lined coat entered the estate.
She was beautiful.
Elegant.
Cold.
She walked directly to Adrien.
“You were careless.”
Adrien’s eyes darkened.
“Vivienne.”
She looked past him.
Then at Madison.
For one long second, nobody spoke.
Vivienne smiled.
“So this is the woman.”
Madison stiffened.
“What woman?”
Vivienne looked at Adrien.
“You brought her here.”
“She was injured.”
“You never bring strangers into the estate.”
Adrien’s voice hardened.
“She was dying.”
“And now?”
“Now she stays until it is safe.”
Vivienne’s smile disappeared.
“She cannot stay.”
Madison stood.
“I’m right here.”
Vivienne examined her.
“You have no idea what you walked into.”
Madison answered:
“Apparently neither did I.”
Adrien stepped between them.
“That is enough.”
Vivienne looked at him.
“You are making a mistake.”
“Leave.”
She did.
But before walking out, she glanced at Madison one more time.
It was not anger in her eyes.
It was recognition.
And Madison knew with sudden certainty that Vivienne had seen her before.
Not at the estate.
Not on the highway.
May you like
Somewhere else.
Somewhere Madison herself could not remember.
