The mansion had a strange kind of quiet.
Not peaceful. Not calm.
The kind of quiet that felt like it was hiding something.
Elena was halfway down the staircase when a shout shattered the silence.
"You can't keep me away from him!"
Her heart jumped.
That voice didn't belong to anyone in the house.
She rushed toward the entrance hall.
A woman stood near the open doors, held back by security. She was beautiful, but not in a calm way ,her hair was messy, eyes red, emotions spilling over like she'd been holding them in for too long.
Adrian stood in front of her.
Still. Cold. In control.
"I warned you not to come here," he said.
The woman let out a broken laugh. "So it's true? You replaced me already?"
Elena stopped walking.
Replaced?
The woman's gaze landed on her.
Fury flashed in her eyes.
"So this is her? The new wife?"
Elena felt her throat close.
Adrian's voice dropped. "That's enough."
"Enough?" the woman snapped. "After everything we had? After everything I lost for you?"
Security tried to pull her back, but she resisted.
She looked straight at Elena.
"You don't know him," she said, voice shaking. "You think this house means safety? You have no idea what kind of life you just walked into."
Elena's chest tightened.
"Take her out," Adrian ordered.
But the woman shouted louder.
"Tell her the truth! Tell her what happened that night!"
A glass ornament fell from a nearby table and shattered as she struggled.
Security dragged her toward the door.
"This isn't over!" she screamed. "You can bury the past, Adrian, but you can't erase it!"
The doors slammed shut behind her.
Silence.
Heavy and suffocating.
Elena turned slowly toward Adrian.
"Who was she?" she asked.
"A mistake," he said.
"That didn't sound like a mistake," she whispered.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
He walked past her like the conversation didn't matter.
Like she didn't deserve answers.
Elena stood frozen, heart pounding.
Her mind replayed the woman's words.
Replaced. Truth. That night.
And then
From outside, just before the car door shut
The woman's voice echoed through the gate one last time.
"Ask him about the accident!"
Elena's breath caught.
But the next words hit harder.
"Ask him why his last wife didn't survive!"
The gate slammed shut.
Elena turned toward Adrian slowly.
But he didn't look at her.
And he didn't deny it.