Chapter 5 The knock came just past midnight.

The knock hit just after midnight. Layla shot up in her bed, her heart shaking in the dark. For a second, she thought maybe she was dreaming, but then there it was again, another knock. Three firm raps. No hesitation. No fear.

She rose, barefoot, every instinct screaming against it. Her apartment was locked. Her alarm system armed. But worries still crooked in her stomach, a feeling she knew all too well.

She quietly approached the door and looked through the keyhole.

It was Adrian.

She caught her breath. He seemed worn out. His jacket was not zips, his tie missing, and his hair was a mess from scrape up his fingers through it too much. He just stood there, not making a sound or knocking again.Just stood there, eyes heavy with something unreadable.

She opened the door.

They both stayed quiet.

The silence felt heavier than any argument.

After a moment, he finally spoke up, "I had to see you."

Layla crossed her arms, struggling to keep her voice steady. "For what, Adrian? To ask questions when you already have your answers?"

His face showed surprise for a second. "No. I... honestly don't know what I'm doing. But I can't sleep."I can't think. All I see is you. And that message. And my father's face when I asked him about Thomas Hart."

She froze. "You asked him?"

He nodded. "He told me to leave it alone. Said it was before my time. That it had nothing to do with me."

"But it does," she whispered. "Because of me."Adrian tightened his jaw.

"He said Thomas Hart was a liability. That he got too close to something and paid the price."

Layla stepped back, like the words physically hit her. "Is that what I am now? A liability?" "No," Adrian quickly said, stepping into her apartment before she could shut him out. "That's not what I meant."

She looked at him, her eyes tired and her voice weak.

"Then what do you mean, Adrian? Because I can't keep living in the shadows of what people think they know. I didn't choose my last name. But I chose this life. This work. I've tried to outrun the past, bury it under something good. And now..."

"Now it's here," he finished quietly. "Catching up to both of us."

They stood inches apart.The atmosphere in the room was intense, but it wasn't just about anger or fear. It was longing, too. The kind that made everything else ache.

Layla shook her head. "You should go. Before we both do something we regret."

But Adrian didn't move.

Instead, he said, "Do you regret me?"

She didn't answer. Couldn't.

He stepped closer. "Because I regret nothing about the way I look at you. I regret nothing about that night on the balcony, or this café, or any moment you let me close."

She swallowed hard, voice breaking. "Even now?"

"Yes. Especially now."

Then, suddenly, his phone buzzed again.

Another blocked number.

He didn't look. Just turned it off, eyes locked on hers.

Layla's voice dropped. "You're being watched."

"I know."

"And you still came?"

His answer was soft. "Always."

She let out a breath. "You're a fool."

He smiled faintly. "For you? Probably."

Something broke between them some invisible thread that had kept them from falling too fast. In that moment, it snapped.

Layla grabbed his collar and pulled him down into a kiss that tasted of fear and defiance and too many unsaid truths. His hands buried in her hair, hers clutched his shirt like he was the last real thing in the world.But just like that, she stepped back. Out of breath. Trembling.

"We can't," she said quietly."Not until you know everything."

Adrian touched her cheek, gently. "Then tell me."

She hesitated.

Then she said it quietly, but with no hesitation.

"My father didn't just work in finance. He was investigating the Blackwells. Your company. Your family. He was close to uncovering something... and then he was discredited. Ruined. My mother left. I was sent to live with relatives in Detroit until the dust settled. I never saw him again."

Adrian staggered back like she'd hit him.

"I thought your father was the one who leaked insider trades."

"He wasn't," she said. "He was framed."

The air was heavy with betrayal and confusion, filled with questions that neither of them could sort out.

Adrian winced. "You really think I'm like him?"

"No," she said fast. "I think you're the first Blackwell who's actually thought about what that name means. That's why I can't hate you."

He stared at her, surprised.

"And you think my father-"

"I know your father had something to do with it."Then said the last thing she expected.

"Then help me bring him down."

Layla was in shock. "What do you mean?"

"I have to get to the bottom of this," Adrian replied. "I want to know everything about my dad, your dad, the foundation, the company ,all of it. I don't care what it takes. I need to understand what he did, and I believe you're the only one who can help me figure it out."

She was at a loss for words.Could barely breathe.

"Adrian"

"I don't want to be part of this legacy if it's built on ruins. And if I lose everything trying to find the truth... then so be it."

A silence fell between them.

Then Layla said, voice shaking, "I might have something. Something my dad left behind. Files. Names. But it's not safe."

His gaze darkened. "Then we protect it. Together."She glanced at him as if she was just noticing him for the first time.

Not the billionaire.

Not the heir.

Just the man willing to burn his world to the ground for the truth.

And for her.The lights in her apartment flickered out of nowhere.Then

It was pitch black.

The sounds of the city faded away. The heater cut off. The light from her laptop went out.

Adrian quickly turned to the window.

She saw a black SUV just sitting there across the street.No headlights. No movement.

Layla's voice was a whisper. "They're watching."

Adrian pulled her close. "Then we don't wait."

A loud knock echoed through the apartment door-harder than before.

Not a visitor.

Not a friend.

Three raps.

A pause.

Then again.

Adrian backed her toward the bedroom. "Do you have a back exit?"

She nodded, heart pounding like a drumbeat of war.

Another knock. Louder.

She reached for her phone.

No signal.

Adrian grabbed his jacket. "You trust me?"

I really don't have a choice.

Yeah, he replied, his eyes full of fire."You do."

The third knock didn't come.

Instead,

The door handle turned.

And they both realized, too late-

Whoever was on the other side... had a key.

The handle clicked.

Adrian quickly reached out and took Layla's hand, pulling her toward the bedroom. His heart was shaking and he could feel every feeling kicking in.This wasn't pretend. Someone had access. Someone was inside her world already.

"How do they have a key?" he whispered.

Layla's face was pale. "Only the landlord. And... and one other person."

"Who?"

She hesitated. "My uncle. My dad's brother. He paid for this place after Dad vanished. Said it was to keep me safe."

Adrian tightened his jaw. That was a lie.The front door creaked open.

Footsteps. Heavy. Deliberate. Two sets.

Adrian moved fast, pulling open the bedroom closet. "Get in."

"No."

"Layla"

"I'm not hiding. Not again."

The fear in her voice wasn't just from the danger outside. It was old. Worn. From years of pretending not to notice the way the world spun on secrets and silence. But tonight, it had cracked.

He reached for her face. "Then we fight."The bedroom door creaked open.

Adrian moved in front of Layla as two figures appeared in the entrance. They were dressed in black, and their faces were hidden by shadows and hoods. But the shine of something metallic in one of their hands told a different story.Not a robbery.

Not a warning.

A message.

The taller one spoke first. "Adrian Blackwell. You should've stayed on your side of the fence."

Adrian didn't flinch. "Too late for that."

The second figure stepped forward. "She's not part of this."

But Layla raised her chin. "I am."

Adrian shifted slightly to shield her. "If you touch her-"

What did you say? the first man asked, tilting his head.

"Throw a lawsuit at us? Call your father?"

Adrian laughed once-dark and humorless.If you really knew me, you'd realize he's the last person I'd reach out to.

There was a beat of silence. Then,

"We're not here for blood. Yet."

One of them tossed something at Adrian's feet. A manila folder. Thick.

Adrian didn't move.

"Read it," the man said. "Decide what side you're on. Because after tonight, there won't be a middle."

Layla stared at the folder like it might explode.

"And if I don't?" Adrian asked coldly.

The man turned toward the door. "Then she disappears. Just like her father."

They walked out.

No theatrics. No violence. Just the kind of threat that etched itself into bone.

.Adrian held his breath until he heard the front door shut, the sound ringing through the apartment like a gunshot.Then silence.

Layla stepped forward slowly, staring at the folder. "What is that?"He bent down to grab it, his hands shaking a bit. I have no idea.But they want me to believe it."

He opened it.

And what he saw made the blood drain from his face.

Photos. Of him. Of Layla. Of his father in meetings with people Adrian had never seen before, but recognized instantly. Political power brokers. Judges. Blackmail.

And at the very top-

A single document.

With Layla's father's name.

Marked: Confidential Witness Agreement – Sealed.

Adrian's voice was a whisper.

"Oh my God... your father wasn't just framed."

Layla blinked.

"He was killed because he tried to expose them."