Chapter 7 - Adrian Took a Bullet for Me, but the Secret I Discovered at the Hospital Was Even More Shocking
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what had happened.
Adrian was on the floor.
Blood was spreading across his shirt.
I dropped beside him.
"Adrian!"
His eyes opened.
"Clara..."
"Don't move!"
Marcus and the other men returned fire.
The attackers retreated.
Someone shouted for an ambulance.
I pressed my hands against Adrian's wound.
His face was pale.
But he was still conscious.
"Look at me," I whispered.
He tried to smile.
"You're giving orders now?"
"Yes. And you're going to obey them."
He laughed weakly.
Then his eyes closed.
I screamed his name.
The ambulance arrived minutes later.
At the hospital, doctors rushed him into surgery.
I sat in the waiting room with blood on my hands.
Marcus stood beside me.
"He'll survive," he said.
I looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because Adrian Vale has survived worse."
I wanted to believe him.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the moment Adrian had stepped in front of me.
He had taken a bullet meant for me.
A man who had known me for less than a week had risked his life to protect me.
Why?
The question haunted me.
Hours passed.
Finally, a doctor emerged.
"He's stable."
I nearly collapsed with relief.
"Can I see him?"
"Briefly."
I entered the room.
Adrian was pale and exhausted.
His eyes opened when I approached.
"You're still here."
"Of course."
"You should have gone home."
I stared at him.
"You took a bullet for me."
"That was a poor decision."
I laughed through my tears.
"You're impossible."
He reached for my hand.
I took it.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said something that changed everything.
"Clara, there's something you need to know."
My heart began to race.
"What?"
"Your father didn't just investigate Vanessa."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"He worked for my father."
I stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"Your father was Richard Vale's accountant before he left the company."
I couldn't breathe.
My father had never told me.
Not once.
Adrian continued.
"He discovered the same financial discrepancies you found. He tried to expose them, but someone threatened his family."
I felt sick.
"Who?"
"We don't know yet."
I looked down at our joined hands.
Then I remembered the letter.
Richard Vale did not die because of an accident.
My father's words echoed in my mind.
"Adrian, I think Vanessa killed your father."
His expression hardened.
"I think so too."
We were silent for a long time.
Then he squeezed my hand.
"When I get out of here, we'll finish this."
I leaned closer.
"And after that?"
He looked at me.
"After that, you can decide whether you ever want to see me again."
I stared at him.
May you like
For the first time, Adrian Vale looked uncertain.
And I realized that the man who terrified an entire city was afraid of losing me.
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