Chapter 14 - THE SECRET ADRIAN HAD BEEN HIDING
Luca Moretti died eight years earlier.
A car crash.
Officially.
He was twenty-six.
Adrian was twenty-nine.
Philip had not yet married Ellie.
“What does Philip have to do with it?” Ellie asked.
Adrian poured two glasses of water.
Neither drank.
“Luca discovered Philip was using one of our logistics companies to move fraudulent invoices.”
“Eight years ago?”
“Yes.”
“So Philip was doing this before I met him.”
“Long before.”
“What happened?”
“Luca confronted him.”
Ellie closed her eyes.
“That seems to be a dangerous habit around Philip.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“Luca drove home that night. His brakes failed.”
Ellie stared.
“Was it investigated?”
“The car was destroyed before my people could inspect it properly.”
“You believed Philip did it.”
“I suspected.”
“Could you prove it?”
“No.”
“So when Dad contacted you…”
“I realized the patterns were similar.”
Ellie slowly understood.
“That’s why you came to the gala.”
“Yes.”
“You thought Philip had hurt my father and Luca.”
“Yes.”
“And the warehouse road?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I was checking one of Philip’s properties after receiving information from Vanessa.”
“So finding me really was an accident.”
“Yes.”
“But being there wasn’t.”
“No.”
Ellie sat.
The entire story connected.
Philip’s obsession with riverfront property.
Adrian’s interest.
Thomas’s investigation.
Luca’s death.
Vanessa’s fear.
Everyone had brushed against the same machine.
Ellie was simply the person Philip believed he owned completely.
“He thought I’d never question anything.”
Adrian nodded.
“He underestimated you.”
Ellie looked at him.
“You did too.”
“Yes.”
The answer surprised her.
“You’re supposed to argue.”
“I did underestimate you.”
“How?”
“I thought surviving him would be your biggest challenge.”
“And now?”
“Now I think figuring out what you want afterward will be harder.”
Ellie smiled faintly.
“That was almost wise.”
“Almost?”
“Don’t become arrogant.”
“Too late.”
Their relationship shifted that night.
Not into romance.
Not yet.
Into honesty.
Adrian told her things he rarely discussed.
His father.
Luca.
The reputation he inherited.
The businesses he had spent years trying to pull toward legitimacy.
Ellie told him about being sixteen and convinced she would become an illustrator.
About abandoning art because Philip called it impractical.
About how badly she wanted children once.
Then stopped wanting them with him.
Neither tried to fix the other.
At midnight, Adrian prepared to leave.
Ellie walked him to the door.
“Adrian?”
He turned.
She stepped closer.
Then kissed him.
Briefly.
Softly.
Her choice.
Adrian didn’t move until she pulled away.
Ellie smiled.
“You can respond.”
“I was being careful.”
“You’re terrible at this.”
“That has been mentioned.”
He kissed her.
Still gentle.
Still asking without words.
Then stopped.
“Goodnight, Ellie.”
She watched him leave.
Her heart felt terrifyingly alive.
The next morning, investigators made a major breakthrough.
A mechanic who had serviced Luca’s car eight years earlier came forward.
He had kept copies of old invoices.
Someone had paid him cash to disable a warning sensor.
He could identify the man.
It wasn’t Philip.
It was Martin Hughes.
Philip’s brother.
Martin was questioned again.
This time he broke.
He admitted Luca’s death had been ordered.
Not by him.
By Philip.
He also admitted Thomas Harper had been threatened but insisted Philip had not killed him.
“Thomas died naturally,” Martin said.
“Philip hated him, but he didn’t cause his heart attack.”
Ellie cried with relief.
It was a strange kind of relief.
Her father was still gone.
But not murdered.
One mystery closed.
Another opened.
Philip now faced possible charges connected to Luca’s death.
The manhunt intensified.
Then Adrian’s head of security entered the room.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found Philip.”
Ellie stood.
“Where?”
The man looked at her.
“Outside Chicago.”
“Where exactly?”
He hesitated.
“At Mrs. Harper’s house.”
Ellie’s heart stopped.
“My mother?”
“He’s inside.”
“Is she there?”
“Yes.”
“Is she okay?”
“We don’t know.”
Then Ellie’s phone rang.
Philip.
She answered.
His voice came through calmly.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Ellie closed her eyes.
“What do you want?”
“The only thing I ever wanted.”
May you like
“What?”
“You.”
