The leak

Serena’s POV:

Charles still held the printed page when I looked up at him.

“Adrian was there that night?” I said.

“And he never told you.

”

His jaw was tight.

“I know what the camera shows.

”

“He’s the one person you claim to trust without question. How do you explain this?”

“I’ll ask him myself.

”

“When? After he has time to come up with a story?”

Charles stepped into the room and shut the side door. The air felt heavier with only the two

of us inside. He looked at me like he was angry at the image, angry at the silence from his

friend, and angry at the way his body kept noticing mine no matter how hard he fought it.

“You don’t get to question the people closest to me,

” he said.

“I get to question everything that keeps me locked in this house.

”

He moved closer.

“You signed the contract. You live by my rules.

”

“Your rules change every time you look at me like that.

”

The words hung between us. His eyes dropped to my mouth and stayed there a second too

long. The hunger was back, but he kept his hands at his sides. He was fighting it. I could see

the fight on his face.

I turned away. I needed distance. I walked toward the bathroom to change for the night.

His voice stopped me.

“We are not finished.

”

“I need a minute.

”

“Take it. But the door stays open.

”

I left the door cracked and pulled my top over my head. I reached for a clean shirt from my

bag. When I turned, Charles was standing in the doorway. He had not looked away. His eyes

moved over my bare shoulders and the line of my back before I could cover myself. He did

not speak. He just stared like the sight of my skin was something he had no right to want and

could not stop wanting anyway.

I put the clean shirt on fast.

“You could have turned around.

”

“I could have,

” he said. His voice was rough.

“But I did not want to.

”

The tension between us felt thick enough to touch. He stayed in the doorway and I stayed by

the counter. Neither of us moved closer. Neither of us looked away first.

A hard knock on the main door broke the moment.

Charles stepped back and opened it. A staff member stood there looking nervous.

“Sir, Mr. Cross is downstairs. He says it’s urgent. Mr. Hale is with him.

”

Charles glanced at me once. The dark look in his eyes had shifted into something colder.

“Come with me.

”

I followed him down the stairs. My pulse was still too fast from the way he had watched me. I

forced it to slow down.

Adrian and Richard Hale waited in the study. Adrian’s face was calm as always. Richard held

a tablet in one hand.

Charles did not waste time.

“Speak.

”

Adrian met his eyes.

“A story is about to hit every major site. Someone leaked the marriage.

They have her real name. They have photos of her arriving at this house. The headline frames

it as you keeping the woman blamed for Daniel’s disappearance under your roof against her

will.

”

Charles’s expression did not change.

“When does it go live?”

“Less than an hour,

” Richard said.

“We need a response ready. Silence will make it look

worse. Confirmation means we have to explain the contract and the timing.

”

I felt the floor tilt under my feet. Public exposure meant the hunters who had looked for me

for three years would know exactly where to find me. It meant my father’s name would be

dragged back into the mess. It meant every person who still hated me would have fresh fuel.

Charles turned his head toward me.

“Did you contact anyone?”

“No.

”

“Did you send any messages from this house?”

“You took my phone the first night.

”

He looked back at Adrian.

“Find the source. I want a name before the story spreads.

”

Adrian nodded once.

“I already have people on it. The leak came with details that only a

short list of people inside this house could know.

”

Richard cleared his throat.

“There is more. The same source sent the press an old photo from

the night Daniel disappeared. It shows the two of them together. The sites are going to run it

with claims that she returned to finish what she started.

”

Charles’s hands curled into fists at his sides.

“Get me everything they plan to publish. Now.

”

Adrian and Richard left the study and the door closed.

Charles turned to me. The hunger from upstairs was gone. He was focused now.

“Someone in this house wants both of us destroyed in public,

” he said.

“When I find them, I’ll

end it. But first you are going to tell me every detail that still sits in that little head of yours

about that night. No more gaps. Start.

”

I opened my mouth to answer.

A loud crash came from the front of the house. Shouts followed. Running footsteps filled the

hallway.

Charles moved to the door and pulled it open.

A security man stood there breathing hard.

with armed men. They are already on the grounds.

”

“Sir, the front gate was forced. Three vehicles

Charles’s face went ice cold. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him.

“Get her to the panic room,

” he ordered the security man.

“Now.

”

Before the man could move, the power in the house cut out. Every light died at once.

Emergency lights flickered on in pale red strips along the floor.

I heard glass break somewhere in the dark.

Charles’s hand tightened around my wrist until it hurt.

A voice came from the shadows of the hallway.

“Charles. Step away from her. We only need the girl.

”

I knew that voice.

It belonged to the same man who had held up the photo of my father the night Charles found me.