Chapter 4 The Hidden Files

Blood.

It soaked Adrian's crisp white shirt, staining it a dark crimson. The bullet had grazed his side-but not cleanly. Elara pressed a towel to the wound, hands trembling even though she tried to appear composed.

"I need a hospital," she said.

"No," he groaned. "They'll find me. Find you."

Her heart pounded like a war drum. "Then what do we do?"

He nodded weakly toward the bookshelf. "There's a panel. Third row. Pull the spine labeled Purgatory."

Elara hesitated. It sounded ridiculous-like something out of a spy film. But when she tugged the old leather-bound book, a low hiss whispered through the room. A section of the wall slid open, revealing a steel cabinet with biometric locks.

"Thumbprint," Adrian said, barely conscious now.

He pressed his blood-slicked hand to the scanner. The lock clicked. Inside were stacks of documents, hard drives, a handgun, and a photograph-tattered at the edges.

Elara picked it up. Her breath caught.

It was her.

Not just her-her with Savannah. Laughing. Arms entwined at a gala from two years ago.

Why would Adrian have this?

"Why do you have a photo of me and Savannah?" she demanded.

"She's not who you think she is," he murmured. "She's been working with Marcus Vale for years. They've been grooming you. Watching you."

The air thinned. Elara's ears rang.

"No," she whispered. "I knew her since college. She-she was my maid of honor."

"She was also the one who introduced you to Marcus."

Elara's hands curled into fists.

Could it be true?

Adrian motioned toward one of the hard drives. "There's a folder. Labeled Covenant. Everything is there. Emails, voice recordings. Proof."

"But why me?" she asked. "What do they want from me?"

Adrian's eyes opened again, darker this time. "Your company. Your name. And... something else."

She leaned in. "What?"

He looked at her-really looked-and for the first time, Elara saw it. The fear.

"They think you're the key to breaking me," he said.

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Elara is no longer just a pawn-she's the pressure point in a dangerous power play. But what exactly is Covenant, and why is Adrian's downfall tied so tightly to her life?