Chapter 4: The Stranger at the Door

I didn't sleep that night.

The photograph was still open on my phone.

Ethan stood in front of the Blackwood Group building, surrounded by men who looked like they belonged in a room where ordinary people weren't allowed.

But that wasn't what frightened me most.

It was the message.

Ask him who he is.

I stared at the photograph again.

There was something different about Ethan in the picture.

He wasn't the quiet man I had met in the café.

He looked confident.

Powerful.

Almost untouchable.

Who was he?

I heard footsteps outside my bedroom.

I quickly locked my phone and placed it beneath my pillow.

The footsteps stopped.

A knock followed.

"Jasmine?"

Ethan.

I didn't answer immediately.

"Are you awake?"

"Yes."

The door opened slightly.

He stood in the doorway.

"You should sleep."

"I was about to."

His eyes moved around the room before settling on me.

"Did you receive another call?"

"No."

It was technically true.

I hadn't received another call.

Just a photograph.

He nodded.

"Good."

He started to leave.

"Ethan."

He stopped.

I held my phone tightly beneath the blanket.

"Who owns Blackwood Group?"

His shoulders stiffened.

For a moment, he didn't turn around.

Then he looked at me.

"Why are you asking?"

"I saw the name."

"Where?"

"I searched it."

It was another lie.

His eyes stayed on mine.

"Blackwood Group is a large company."

"I know."

"What exactly do you want to know?"

"Who owns it?"

He paused.

Then answered.

"The Blackwood family."

I studied his face.

"Your family?"

His expression didn't change.

"Yes."

I nodded slowly.

"So your family is wealthy."

"Wealthy isn't the word I'd use."

"What word would you use?"

He looked away.

"Complicated."

Before I could ask another question, there was a loud knock at the front door downstairs.

Ethan's entire body stiffened.

He looked toward the hallway.

Another knock.

This one harder.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"I don't know."

He walked quickly toward the stairs.

I followed.

"Ethan, wait."

He turned around.

"Stay here."

"Why?"

"Just stay here, Jasmine."

There was something in his voice that made me stop.

He went downstairs.

I remained halfway down the staircase, watching him approach the door.

The knocking came again.

Three times.

Ethan opened the door.

A man stood outside.

He was tall, dressed in a dark coat, with rainwater dripping from his hair.

He looked at Ethan.

Then his eyes moved toward me.

His expression changed.

"You married her."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"How did you find me?"

The stranger smiled.

"You know I always find you."

I gripped the railing.

Ethan stepped outside and partially closed the door behind him.

"Leave."

"We need to talk."

"Not here."

The stranger glanced toward me.

"She's already involved."

Ethan's voice became dangerously quiet.

"Don't look at her."

The stranger laughed.

"You really think you can protect her?"

I couldn't hear the rest of their conversation.

The rain grew heavier.

Then the stranger suddenly looked directly at me.

"Jasmine!"

Ethan turned.

"What are you doing?"

The stranger ignored him.

"Do you know who you married?"

My heart pounded.

Ethan stepped toward him.

"That's enough."

The stranger looked back at Ethan.

"She deserves to know."

Ethan grabbed his arm.

"Get out of here."

The stranger pulled away.

"Ask him about the night in San Francisco."

Ethan froze.

The stranger smiled.

"Ask him what happened that night."

Then he walked away.

Ethan stood in the doorway, watching him disappear into the rain.

After a few seconds, he closed the door.

I was still standing on the stairs.

"What happened in San Francisco?"

He looked at me.

"Nothing."

"Then why did he mention it?"

"He was trying to confuse you."

"What happened there?"

"Nothing you need to know."

I laughed bitterly.

"That's your answer to everything."

He walked toward me.

"Jasmine, trust me."

I stepped back.

"I don't even know who I'm supposed to trust anymore."

His expression softened.

"I know this is difficult."

"No, Ethan."

I looked directly into his eyes.

"It's difficult because you keep giving me reasons not to trust you."

He didn't respond.

I walked upstairs.

When I reached my bedroom, I locked the door.

Then I pulled my phone from beneath my pillow.

I opened the photograph again.

This time, I zoomed in.

There was a man standing slightly behind Ethan.

I recognized him.

He was the stranger who had come to our house.

My heart began racing.

But there was something else.

A small detail I hadn't noticed before.

Pinned to the man's jacket was a silver emblem.

A black wolf surrounded by a circle.

I had seen that symbol before.

On the documents Ethan gave me when we signed our marriage contract.

I pulled the contract from my drawer.

There it was.

The same black wolf.

I stared at it.

Why would the same symbol appear on a photograph connected to Blackwood Group and on our marriage contract?

I turned the contract over.

There was nothing on the back.

Then I noticed something.

A tiny line of writing at the bottom of the final page.

I had never seen it before.

I brought the paper closer to the lamp.

My heart stopped.

It wasn't part of the contract.

It looked handwritten.

Three words.

He chose you.

I stared at the words.

Then I heard something outside my bedroom window.

A soft tap.

I slowly turned around.

Another tap.

I walked toward the curtains.

My hand reached for them.

Then my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

One new message.

I opened it.

You should have never married him.

I looked toward the window again.

The curtains moved slightly.

Someone was standing outside.

And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.

The stranger at the door wasn't the only person watching me.