Chapter 3 - My Fiancé Was Hiding a Second Life
I drove home through the snow with my hands gripping the steering wheel.
Adrian's words kept repeating in my head.
Your mother's death wasn't natural.
I had spent three years mourning my mother.
I had sat beside her hospital bed.
I had watched the machines.
I had watched her breathe more slowly.
The doctors had told me her heart had simply failed.
I had believed them.
How could that have been a lie?
When I reached my apartment, Ryan was waiting.
He stood beside the kitchen counter holding two glasses of wine.
He smiled.
“I figured we could talk.”
I didn't take the glass.
“What do you want?”
He looked hurt.
“Why are you acting like I'm your enemy?”
“Because I'm starting to wonder.”
His expression hardened for half a second.
Then he recovered.
“Did someone tell you something?”
My pulse quickened.
“Who?”
“Your friend?”
“My friend?”
“Forget it.”
“No.”
He walked toward me.
“Emily, we've been under stress.”
“We?”
“You've been distant.”
I almost laughed.
“I'm distant?”
“Yes.”
“You disappeared last night.”
“I already apologized.”
“No, you didn't.”
He sighed.
“Fine. I'm sorry.”
The words sounded empty.
I stared at him.
“Where were you?”
“Out.”
“With who?”
“Friends.”
“What friends?”
He looked irritated.
“Why are you interrogating me?”
“Because you came home smelling like expensive perfume.”
Silence.
Ryan looked at his shirt.
Then back at me.
“You're imagining things.”
“I smelled it.”
“You work around patients all day.”
“Don't insult me.”
He stared at me.
Then his phone buzzed.
His face changed.
I saw it.
Fear.
He turned away.
“What is it?”
“Work.”
“At midnight?”
“I'm handling something.”
“What kind of work?”
“Business.”
Ryan had never owned a business.
Not officially.
I stepped closer.
“Show me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it's private.”
I took his phone.
He grabbed my wrist.
Hard.
I froze.
So did he.
He released me immediately.
“Sorry.”
His breathing was uneven.
“I shouldn't have done that.”
I looked at him.
For the first time, I was afraid of him.
Not because he had hurt me.
Because I suddenly realized he could.
“Emily.”
I stepped backward.
“I need space.”
He didn't argue.
He left.
The moment the door closed, I opened my laptop.
I searched Ryan Cole.
Thousands of ordinary results.
Then I searched with Victor Bellini.
One result appeared.
A charity foundation.
Ryan's name was listed as a financial consultant.
I clicked.
The page vanished.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered.
“Emily, don't trust Ryan.”
“Who is this?”
“He isn't who he says he is.”
“What do you know?”
“I worked for Victor.”
I sat down.
“How do you know my name?”
“Because everyone in his organization does.”
“What organization?”
“Your fiancé works for them.”
The line went dead.
I immediately called Adrian.
He answered on the first ring.
“What happened?”
I told him.
He listened without interrupting.
Then he said, “Come to my house.”
“No.”
“I need you somewhere protected.”
“I can protect myself.”
“Emily.”
“Adrian, I need facts.”
“You're about to get them.”
Twenty minutes later, a black SUV arrived.
I hesitated before getting inside.
His security chief opened the door.
“Ms. Parker.”
“Where's Adrian?”
“Waiting.”
The Duca estate was unlike anything I'd imagined.
It wasn't a flashy mansion.
It was an enormous stone property surrounded by trees and security cameras.
The gates closed behind me.
Adrian stood inside the library.
He had changed into a black sweater.
He looked less like a crime lord and more like a man carrying too many secrets.
He pointed to a chair.
“Sit.”
I remained standing.
“Tell me about Ryan.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Ryan Cole is not his real name.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“He was born Ryan Bellini.”
I stared at him.
“Bellini?”
“Victor's nephew.”
“No.”
“I verified it.”
“You're lying.”
“I don't lie to you.”
“Why would Ryan pretend to be someone else?”
Adrian placed a folder on the desk.
Inside were photographs.
Ryan with Victor.
Ryan entering a nightclub.
Ryan meeting men I had seen in the alley.
Then another photograph.
Me.
Walking into the hospital.
My stomach twisted.
“How long have they been watching me?”
“Six months.”
“Six months?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they believe your father hid something before he died.”
“What?”
“We don't know.”
“So this entire relationship—”
Adrian said nothing.
I closed my eyes.
My chest hurt.
“Did Ryan ever love me?”
Adrian's silence answered more than words could.
I felt tears fall.
“I was going to marry him.”
“I know.”
“I gave him everything.”
“I know.”
“I thought he was my future.”
Adrian stepped toward me.
“Emily.”
I wiped my face.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
I looked at him.
“Did you know before last night?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three months.”
I stared at him.
“And you never warned me?”
“I couldn't approach you without putting you in greater danger.”
“You could have told me.”
“I tried.”
“What do you mean?”
“Three times.”
I remembered.
A strange black car outside my apartment.
A warning note under my windshield.
A blocked number calling at three in the morning.
I had assumed they were scams.
Adrian looked down.
“Your father saved my life when I was seventeen.”
I looked up.
“He did?”
“Yes.”
Adrian's voice softened.
“He taught me that power isn't about how many people fear you. It's about how many people you refuse to abandon.”
I stared at him.
“Then why are people afraid of you?”
“Because I failed to follow his advice.”
There was sadness in his eyes.
It made him look human.
I whispered, “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“That's not true.”
“I want you alive.”
“Why?”
He took one slow breath.
“Because when I thought I was dying in that alley, you were the only person who looked at me and saw a man instead of a monster.”
My heart beat faster.
“That shouldn't matter.”
“It does.”
Before I could respond, the door opened.
His security chief rushed in.
“Boss.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“We found the missing ledger.”
The room went silent.
“Where?”
“With Ryan.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Impossible.”
The security chief looked at me.
“Your fiancé is meeting Victor tonight.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“When?”
“Now.”
Adrian reached for his coat.
I stood.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“I need answers.”
“It isn't safe.”
“Neither is staying here alone.”
He stared at me.
Finally, he nodded.
“You stay beside me.”
The convoy left the estate.
I watched Chicago pass through the window.
For the first time, I realized something terrifying.
May you like
My fiancé had never been the man I thought he was.
And the man I had every reason to fear was becoming the only person I trusted.
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