Chapter 4 The Car in the Shadows

Morning light crept through the thin curtains, pale and cold. It wasn't the golden warmth of new beginnings, but the kind of gray light that only made exhaustion sharper. I hadn't slept. Every time I closed my eyes, Adrian's voice played again and again, etched into my bones, chasing me through every corner of my mind.

Beside me, my daughter stirred, a small cough breaking the silence. My body tensed at the sound, but I turned quickly, smoothing her damp hair and forcing a smile as her eyes blinked open.

"Mama, why are you awake already?" she whispered, her voice scratchy, hoarse.

"Just thinking," I lied, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart. You need your rest."

She closed her eyes, her lashes fluttering against pale skin. I stayed there a moment longer, watching the fragile rise and fall of her chest. My heart clenched so tightly it hurt. She could never know. He could never know.

By the time I left for work, the sun was up, but the street felt heavy, weighed down by the night that still clung to the corners. I wrapped my coat tighter, my boots crunching against cracked pavement. The air smelled of damp concrete and fried food from the stall on the corner. For one blessed second, it was almost normal.

Then I saw it.

A black car.

Sleek. Immaculate. Parked across from my building.

My feet faltered. The car was too clean, too polished for this neighborhood. The tinted windows stared back like dark, unblinking eyes. A low hum of the engine reached me, steady, patient.

My heart thudded hard against my ribs.

Adrian.

I forced myself to keep walking, fast, my breath clouding in the cold air. I refused to look again, refused to give whoever sat behind that glass the satisfaction of knowing I had noticed. But I felt it-the weight of eyes on me, sharp as a blade pressed to the back of my neck.

By the time I reached the bus stop, my palms were damp and my pulse refused to slow. He hadn't just shown up once. He was watching. Waiting.

All morning at the bar, I threw myself into work with frantic energy, scrubbing, serving, smiling until my cheeks ached. But I couldn't shake the feeling that any second, the door would open and the shadows would spill in with him.

And then it happened.

The door creaked. The noise in the bar dimmed instantly, as if someone had drawn the air out of the room. Conversations faltered. Heads turned.

And there he was.

Adrian Moretti.

He walked in as the world bent to him. His black suit cut sharply against the dingy walls, his stride steady, commanding. Two men in dark coats followed him, eyes sweeping the room like wolves scenting prey. The contrast was so stark it made the bar look smaller, dirtier, like we were all standing in the presence of someone who didn't belong in places like this but owned them anyway.

And then his eyes found me.

Storm-colored. Unflinching.

My hand tightened around the tray I was carrying. The glasses rattled, my knuckles whitening. I forced myself to look away, to focus on the table in front of me, but my body betrayed me. My chest tightened, my breath shortened, and when the shadow fell across the counter, I didn't need to look up to know.

"You're avoiding me," Adrian said, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

"Congratulations. You noticed."

My words came out sharper than I intended, but it was the only shield I had. My hands trembled as I set the tray down, the glassware clinking too loudly in the quiet.

He leaned closer, not enough to touch, but close enough that his scent invaded my lungs-smoke, spice, danger. It wasn't cologne. It was him. The air shifted around him, bending to his presence, making every nerve in my body scream.

"You think you can shut me out forever?"

I looked up, meeting his gaze head-on with every ounce of defiance I could scrape together. "I don't think. I know."

Something flickered in his eyes then, quick and unreadable. His expression didn't crack, but the edges of control tightened. His jaw flexed. The man the city feared was there for a fraction of a second before the mask slid back into place.

"I don't take hints, Elena," he said softly. "I take answers."

My chest burned. The bar felt too small, every eye heavy on us, but none of them dared interrupt. I slammed the tray onto the counter harder than necessary, the sharp clang drawing startled glances.

"Here's your answer: leave me the hell alone."

The words hung in the air, bold and reckless.

For a second, silence swallowed the room. Adrian's expression hardened, his gaze darkening until I swore I could feel the weight of it on my skin. And then-he smiled.

Not kind. Not gentle. A smile that was soft, dangerous, promising a storm.

"We'll see."

I spun on my heel, my face hot, my chest heaving. I stormed toward the back room, my fists clenched so tightly my nails bit crescents into my palms. The door swung shut behind me, cutting me off from the weight of his presence, but it didn't matter. He lingered anyway, in my pulse, in my breath.

And then I heard it.

Low. Muted. A voice from the bar floor, one of the men at his side.

"Boss, you sure she's not hiding something? She's too protective."

The words froze me where I stood. My blood turned to ice, my lungs locking.

Because he was right.

And if Adrian Moretti ever discovered the truth I'd been guarding all these years, everything-my daughter, my fragile world, the lies I had built like armor would collapse.