"Adrian… what aren't you telling me?"
Ariana's voice was barely above a whisper—
but it hit harder than a scream.
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
Adrian didn't answer.
And that silence—
Was answer enough.
Ariana's heart dropped.
"No…" she shook her head slowly, stepping back.
"No, don't do this. Not you…"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
His hands clenched at his sides.
"I was going to tell you," he said finally, his voice low.
"But you didn't," Ariana cut him off, her eyes filling with tears.
"You lied. Just like all of them."
"I didn't lie!" Adrian snapped, frustration breaking through.
"I was protecting you!"
"By hiding my child from me?!" she shouted.
Her voice echoed through the broken building.
For the first time—
Adrian had no immediate reply.
Because this time…
There was no excuse strong enough.
Ariana laughed bitterly, wiping her tears.
"Unbelievable," she whispered.
"I trusted you."
Adrian stepped forward, desperate now.
"And you still can," he said.
"Because I'm the only one who kept her safe."
Her.
The word froze everything.
Ariana's breath hitched.
"Her…?" she repeated softly.
Adrian closed his eyes for a moment—
Then looked at her.
"Yes," he said.
"Our child… is a girl."
Tears streamed down Ariana's face.
A daughter.
Alive.
All this time…
She had a daughter.
"Where is she?" Ariana asked, her voice trembling but urgent.
Adrian hesitated.
And that hesitation—
Lit a fire in Ariana's chest.
"Adrian!" she demanded.
Before he could answer—
A slow clap echoed through the room.
His mother.
"Touching," she said with a faint smile.
"A family reunion in the middle of chaos."
Adrian's expression turned lethal.
"You don't get to speak."
But she ignored him completely.
Instead, her gaze shifted to Ariana.
"Do you really think he kept the child out of kindness?" she asked softly.
Ariana froze.
"What do you mean…?"
The woman stepped closer, her voice smooth and dangerous.
"He didn't save the child for you," she said.
"He saved her… because she's valuable."
Ariana's heart stopped.
"Valuable…?"
Adrian's anger exploded.
"That's enough!"
But his mother continued, unfazed.
"She is the sole heir to everything," she said calmly.
"The true successor to the empire."
Silence.
Heavy. Crushing.
Ariana slowly turned back to Adrian.
"Is that true?" she whispered.
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
But his silence—
Spoke louder than anything.
Ariana felt something inside her break again.
"So even you…" her voice cracked,
"even you saw her as nothing more than power?"
"No!" Adrian stepped forward quickly.
"It started that way—but not anymore!"
Ariana shook her head, stepping back.
"I don't know what to believe anymore…"
Her world was spinning—
Truth and lies mixing into something unbearable.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast. Urgent.
One of the armed men rushed toward Adrian's mother.
"Ma'am," he said, slightly breathless,
"the girl has been moved."
Everything stopped.
Adrian's eyes snapped toward him.
"What did you just say?"
The man hesitated.
"She's no longer at the safe location."
Adrian's face darkened instantly.
"That's impossible."
But the man shook his head.
"We just got confirmation… someone took her."
Ariana's heart dropped to the floor.
"Took her…?" she whispered.
Her knees almost gave out.
"No… no, no—"
Adrian grabbed her before she could fall.
"Who took her?" he demanded, his voice deadly.
The man swallowed hard.
"We don't know… but they left a message."
Silence.
"What message?" Adrian asked.
The man looked straight at Ariana.
Then said—
"They said… if Ariana wants her daughter back…"
"Come alone."
Ariana froze.
Her blood ran cold.
Because this nightmare—
Was far from over.
Cliffhanger:
👉 The message ends with a symbol—
A symbol Ariana recognizes instantly…
A symbol from her past—
someone she thought she had already escaped. 😈
📌 1️⃣
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