Chapter 2 - THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
I woke up in a room I had never seen before.
The ceiling was dark wood.
The walls smelled like cedar.
Everything around me looked expensive.
But strangely peaceful.
For the first time in hours, I wasn’t afraid.
Then I remembered.
Marcus.
The apartment.
The chase.
The Velvet Crown.
I sat up too quickly.
Pain shot through my ribs.
A voice stopped me.
“Don’t move too fast.”
I looked toward the window.
Adrien Viscari sat in a chair.
Not close.
Not threatening.
Just watching.
“You’re awake.”
I stared at him.
“Where am I?”
“My home.”
My eyes widened.
“You brought me here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he answered.
“Because someone wanted you hurt.”
I looked away.
“I don’t even know you.”
“No.”
His voice softened slightly.
“But someone who does know you tried to destroy you.”
I looked back at him.
“What did Marcus mean about my mother?”
Adrien’s expression changed.
Like that question confirmed something he feared.
Before he could answer, the door opened.
A man entered carrying an envelope.
“Adrien.”
He looked serious.
“We searched Blake’s apartment.”
Adrien stood.
“What did you find?”
The man handed him the envelope.
Adrien opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
And the moment I saw it…
My entire world stopped.
It was me.
Twelve years old.
Standing outside my childhood home.
I remembered that day.
I remembered the blue jacket I was wearing.
I remembered holding my mother’s old necklace.
But there was something I didn’t remember.
Someone standing behind me.
A woman.
Her face had been scratched away.
Violently.
Like someone wanted to erase her from existence.
I flipped the photograph over.
There was writing.
A message.
FIND THE GIRL BEFORE VISCARI LEARNS SHE SURVIVED.
My hands started shaking.
“Survived?”
Adrien stared at the words.
Then he looked at me.
“Lena.”
His voice was different.
“What was your mother’s name?”
I opened my mouth.
But I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
A memory buried for twenty years.
A woman crying.
A man shouting.
A promise whispered in the dark.
“Don’t tell anyone who you are.”
I looked at Adrien.
“My mother’s name was…”
Before I could finish—
The window exploded.
Gunshots filled the room.
Adrien moved instantly.
He grabbed me and pulled me behind the heavy wooden table.
Glass covered the floor.
Someone was shooting at us.
“Stay down.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
More bullets hit the wall.
I looked at him.
“Who is doing this?”
Adrien checked the weapon hidden beneath his jacket.
Then he looked at the shattered window.
May you like
And whispered:
“Someone who thought you were dead.”
