His Fiancée Betrayed Him Publicly—Then the Mafia Boss Chose the Woman Everyone Mocked
Chapter 6
The next week was the most dangerous period of Elena’s life.
She discovered an anonymous threat in her apartment mailbox.
No signature.
Just one sentence.
Walk away from Adrian.
She showed it to him.
His expression changed immediately.
“You’re moving.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
He looked frustrated.
“This isn’t a discussion.”
She stared back.
“I am not hiding because someone wants me scared.”
Adrian was silent.
Then he said,
“Fine.”
“But you stay somewhere secure.”
“Your house?”
“My guesthouse.”
Elena almost laughed.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
She agreed.
That night, she moved into the guesthouse on Adrian’s property.
It was comfortable.
Too comfortable.
She began feeling guilty.
“You don’t have to do this,” she told him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because I care about you.”
She froze.
Adrian seemed equally surprised by the words.
He walked away before she could answer.
For several days, they avoided the subject.
Instead, they worked.
The investigation uncovered more.
Marco had been manipulating internal contracts.
Isabella’s father had been buying influence.
And a former Moretti executive had secretly promised several competitors access to company assets.
Adrian’s empire was under attack from inside.
But the biggest discovery came from Elena.
She found an old contract from Adrian’s father.
It contained a clause that gave voting control of the company to the spouse of the Moretti family heir if certain conditions were met.
Elena stared at it.
“Why would his father do this?”
Adrian read the clause.
“To protect the company from internal disputes.”
“And Isabella knew.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at him.
“She wasn’t just trying to marry you.”
“She was trying to gain control.”
Adrian nodded.
The public betrayal suddenly made sense.
Isabella had already known about the clause.
She had planned to marry Adrian.
Then force him into a scandal.
Then use the scandal to pressure the board.
She had expected him to collapse.
He hadn’t.
Instead, he had found Elena.
Adrian closed the contract.
“She underestimated you.”
Elena frowned.
“Me?”
“She thought you were invisible.”
Elena smiled sadly.
“Most people do.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I don’t.”
The words stayed between them.
Then he stepped closer.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
She stared at him.
“That’s not a good idea.”
“I know.”
“You’re dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Your world is dangerous.”
“I know.”
She whispered,
“Then why?”
He answered simply.
“Because when everyone else wanted something from me, you wanted me to be okay.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“And I don’t know how to stop wanting that.”
