Chapter 2 - The Silent Interrogation
The classical music continued to play, but for Adrian, the sound had completely faded into a deafening silence. He stood up slowly, towering over Claire. His tailored black suit seemed to absorb the light in the room, his presence growing increasingly suffocating. He kept his large hand tightly closed around the silver pocket watch.
Take Nora to the west wing, Adrian commanded without looking away from Claire. Marco, escort your sister to my private study.
Marco swallowed hard, his athletic frame tense. Yes, boss. He gently reached down and picked up Nora, who was busy trying to gather her scattered crayons from the polished marble. Marco smiled tightly at his niece, masking his rising panic, and handed her to one of the trusted female household staff members.
Claire did not protest. She knew that running from Adrian Cole was an impossible task. She smoothed her champagne-colored gown with trembling hands and followed her brother down the long, brightly lit corridor toward the back of the mansion.
Adrian’s private study was a masterpiece of masculine elegance. Deep mahogany walls, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and a massive marble fireplace dominated the room. The large windows overlooked the manicured gardens, where bright outdoor lighting illuminated the perfectly trimmed hedges.
Adrian walked into the room a moment after them, closing the heavy wooden doors. The click of the lock sounded like a final judgment. He walked over to his massive desk and gently placed the silver pocket watch onto the polished wood.
Marco stood by the door, his posture rigidly disciplined, though his fair skin was slick with a cold sweat. Claire stood in the center of the room, looking delicate and incredibly vulnerable in her elegant dress.
Four years ago, Adrian began, his voice dangerously calm and controlled, I stood in the pouring rain and watched them lower my brother’s casket into the ground. It was a closed casket because the car explosion left almost nothing behind. But I personally placed this exact watch inside before they sealed it.
He took a slow step toward Claire. His intense gray eyes missed nothing—not the way her breathing hitched, not the way her blue-gray eyes darted toward the door.
So I will ask you one more time, Claire, Adrian said, stopping a few feet away from her. How does your daughter have a watch that has been buried under six feet of dirt for four years? And why did she call my brother her father?
Claire looked at Marco for help, but her brother remained perfectly still, staring straight ahead. She was completely on her own.
Because James didn't die in that crash, Claire whispered, her voice shaking violently.
Adrian’s sharply masculine features tightened. A muscle feathered in his strong jaw. He was a man who prided himself on knowing every secret in the city, on controlling every variable. To be told that his own brother had faked his death was a psychological blow he had never anticipated.
Explain, Adrian demanded.
Claire took a deep breath, trying to steady her trembling hands. I met James five years ago. Long before Marco started working for your security team. James was charming, but he was always terrified. He told me he was involved in dangerous family business. When I found out I was pregnant with Nora, James panicked. He said his father—your father—would never allow him to walk away from the syndicate to live a normal life with me.
Adrian’s gray eyes darkened. His father had been a ruthless, unforgiving man who demanded absolute loyalty. The old man had passed away two years ago, leaving the empire entirely in Adrian’s capable hands.
James staged the accident, Claire continued, her voice growing slightly stronger. He paid a medical examiner to fake the dental records. He came to my apartment the night of the crash, soaking wet and shaking. He handed me that silver watch. He said it was the only thing of value he kept, a promise that he would take care of us.
Where is he now? Adrian asked, his tone flat and unreadable.
Claire’s expressive blue-gray eyes filled with fresh tears. Her delicate feminine features crumpled in profound sorrow. I don't know. We moved to a quiet town upstate. We lived a quiet, hidden life. He was a wonderful father to Nora for the first three years. But a year ago, he kissed us goodbye, went to the grocery store, and never came back.
Adrian stared at her. His mind was calculating a thousand different possibilities. If James was alive, it meant the Cole family legacy was compromised. It meant the grief Adrian had carried for four years was built on a lie.
And you? Adrian shifted his intense gaze to Marco. Did you know your sister was hiding the ghost of my brother?
Marco stepped forward, his expression disciplined but earnest. I found out a year ago, boss. When James vanished. Claire was desperate and out of money. She called me for help. I brought them here, got Claire a job managing the estate's event planning, and kept them close to protect them. I swear on my life, Adrian, I only kept the secret to keep my sister safe.
Adrian turned his back on them, walking toward the large windows. He looked out at the bright gardens, his powerful muscular build tense beneath his tailored black suit. The revelation changed everything. Nora was his niece. The fearless little girl with the bright blue eyes and the gold bow carried his family’s blood.
He turned back to face Claire. His expression shifted from cold anger to a fierce, territorial protectiveness that he could not entirely suppress.
May you like
You and Nora are not leaving this estate, Adrian stated, his voice absolute. You will be moved into the East Wing. You will have full protection. If James is out there, and he abandoned you, he is either running from a new threat, or he is the threat. Until I find out the truth, you belong to my family.
Claire felt a strange mixture of relief and absolute terror. She looked into Adrian’s intense gray eyes and realized that her quiet, hidden life was officially over. She had just been claimed by the most powerful man in the country.
