CHAPTER 4 THE FAMILY THEY SCATTERED

Adrian’s expression changed instantly.

It happened so quickly that almost nobody noticed. But Oriana did.

For the first time since his return, the cold difference in his eyes cracked apart. Shock flashed across his face.

Then tension.

Then something far more dangerous.

Fear. The burned photograph remained between the stranger’s fingers as silence swallowed the room whole.

Livia frowned slightly. “What is it?”

Adrian didn’t answer. His gaze stayed locked on the photograph as if it had been pulled out of a grave.

The dangerous man tilted his head slightly. “So,” he murmured. “You recognize it.”

Mateo narrowed his eyes immediately. “Recognize what?”

Still no answer from Adrian. Oriana’s heartbeat quickened painfully as the maids continued holding her arms near the staircase. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

The stranger finally turned the photograph around slowly.

And the moment Oriana saw it

her breath caught. It was an old family picture.

Faded. Half burned. Destroyed around the edges. But the faces were still visible. A younger version of her mother stood smiling softly beside a tall man whose face had been scratched violently out of the picture.

And standing between them

was little Oriana.

No older than eight.

Her chest tightened instantly. She remembered this picture. It used to sit inside her mother’s bedroom drawer hidden beneath old clothes.

But.

How did this man have it? And why did Adrian look terrified?

Livia laughed awkwardly. “It’s just an old photo.”

“No,” the stranger replied softly. His eyes slowly moved toward Adrian. “It’s evidence.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted immediately. Mateo frowned deeper.

“Evidence of what?”

Still, Adrian remained silent.

That silence frightened Oriana more than anything else, because Adrian was never silent unless something truly mattered.

The stranger took one slow step forward. Then another.Until he stood directly in front of Adrian.

“You knew her family before the marriage,” he said calmly.

Livia blinked. “What?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “You’re mistaken.” “Am I?”

The stranger’s voice remained dangerously soft. “I spent years searching for what happened to the Valez's family after the fire.”

His eyes darkened. “And every road somehow led back to you.”

Fire? Oriana froze.

The fire. The one that killed her mother. The one that destroyed everything.

Pain felt all over her chest immediately. She remembered smoke. Screaming. Heat.Then darkness.

Her hands started trembling uncontrollably. Mateo looked between them in confusion. “What fire?”

Livia suddenly looked uneasy now.

“Adrian,” she whispered carefully.

But Adrian still refused to look at anyone except the stranger.

“You should leave,” Adrian said quietly.

The stranger smiled slightly.

But there was nothing pleasant about it.

“You don’t get to give me orders.”

The guards behind him moved a bit.

The room became suffocating.

Adrian’s mother finally stepped in nervously.

“Son, what is happening?” Adrian ignored her completely. The stranger lifted the burned photograph again.

“Do you want me to tell them,” he asked softly, “what your family did thirteen years ago?”

Oriana’s heart nearly stopped. Thirteen years ago. That was the exact year her mother died. The exact year her memories became broken and incomplete.

She stared at Adrian desperately. “What is he talking about?”

Adrian finally looked at her. And the guilt in his eyes this time was impossible to miss.

Cold fear spread through Oriana’s entire body. “No”

Mateo stepped closer sharply.

“Adrian.” No answer. “Tell me he’s lying.”

Still silence. Livia suddenly grabbed Adrian’s arm tightly. “Say something.”

But Adrian slowly pulled away from her touch.

His eyes moved back toward the stranger again. “You came here for revenge?”

“Not revenge.” The stranger’s voice lowered.

“The truth.”

Oriana’s breathing became uneven.

Pieces of forgotten memories flashed back painfully inside her mind.

Someone was ting that night downstairs.

A young Adrian was standing near the gate that night.

No. No, that wasn’t possible. Her head began hurting violently. The stranger noticed immediately.

His expression darkened.

“She doesn’t remember, does she?”

Adrian’s silence answered for him.

Mateo looked completely lost now.

“Remember what?”

The stranger finally turned toward Oriana fully. And for the first time, his voice softened slightly. “You were never supposed to marry Adrian.” The sentence hit like thunder.

Oriana stared at him blankly. “What…?”

“You were promised to another family long before your mother died.”

Livia laughs. “This is ridiculous.”

But nobody else laughed. Because Adrian still looked tense. Still looked guilty.

The stranger continued quietly. “The Valez family and mine had an agreement. A union that would protect both bloodlines.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Until your family suddenly burned to the ground.”

She felt dizzy. None of this made sense. “My mother never told me”

“She was going to.” The stranger’s jaw tightened. “But she died first.”

The room fell silent again.

Then Mateo suddenly looked at Adrian sharply. “You knew about this?”

Adrian finally spoke. “Yes.”

The single word exploded through the room.

Oriana felt her knees weaken. No, No no no “You knew?” Mateo demanded.

Adrian exhaled heavily. “My father handled it.”

“Handled what?” Oriana whispered brokenly. But deep inside her chest, she was already terrified of the answer.

The man slowly slipped the photograph back into his coat. Then he looked directly at Adrian.

“Tell her,” he said coldly. Adrian looked away. That was all the answer Oriana needed. Her tears fell harder instantly.

“You knew something happened to my family…”

Still silence.

“And you still married me?”

Livia looked alarmed now. “Adrian?”

But Adrian’s face remained cold and unreadable again.

The stranger laughed softly under his breath. “There it is,” he murmured.

“The famous Blackwood estate.”

Blackwood.

The name echoed inside Oriana’s head. Blackwood.

Why did the name suddenly feel familiar? Before she could think further one of the guards near the entrance suddenly rushed forward urgently.

“Boss.” The man turned slightly. The guard lowered his voice.

“We found the survivor.” Everything stopped. The man's eyes sharpened instantly.

Adrian went completely still. Mateo frowned. But Oriana

Her heart nearly burst from her chest when the guard finished speaking.

“He’s alive… and he remembers who started the fire.”