She was rushing to the hospital to see her mother when strangers grabbed her and demanded documents she didn’t have. They left the girl at the gates of a mansion almost unconscious, thinking they had taught the sheikh a lesson β but his next move shocked everyone π³π±π«’
Elena had worked as a manager in Sheikh Adrian’s house for almost three years. She knew whom to open the doors for, how to negotiate with important guests and which topics were better not discussed in front of the master. But about Adrian’s own past she knew only one thing: once, even those who now called themselves his friends had feared him.
That evening Elena was rushing to the hospital to see her mother. The rain was flooding the road, and her phone had died back at the estate gates. She decided to cut through an empty street, not suspecting that she was already being watched.
A black car braked sharply beside her. Two men grabbed Elena and pinned her against a wall. One pulled a knife from his pocket, the other tore the emblem of Adrian’s family from her uniform.
β Where are the documents? β he demanded. β Don’t pretend you don’t know what we’re talking about.
β I have nothing. I just work in the master’s house, β Elena answered, trying not to show how badly her hands were shaking.
β Then why did he trust you with the keys?
She didn’t have time to answer. The attackers searched her bag and pockets, but found nothing except a hospital pass and an old photo of her mother. This only increased their anger. One of the men held a lighter to the crest on her uniform until the fabric began to smolder.
β Tell Adrian the next mark will be for him, β he said.
Elena tried to break free, but she was struck again. When they finally stepped back, deep scratches were left on her skin, forming one word: COLE. Then she was thrown down at the main gates of the estate, as if they wanted her to be found precisely there.
The head of security, Marcus, noticed her in the pouring rain and immediately called for help. A few minutes later Elena was carried into the mansion. Adrian came down himself, not yet knowing whom he would see.
β Who did this? β he asked, seeing the burned crest.
β It was the Cole family, β said Marcus. β But it seems they wanted you to find her exactly like this.
Adrian looked at the word on her skin. His face became motionless, and the people in the room involuntarily tensed and fell silent, feeling his gaze.
β They chose the wrong girl to send me a message, β he said, clenching his fists.
β What are you going to do? β asked Marcus.
Adrian took off his jacket and covered Elena with it. Then he turned to the guards.
β Call a doctor and take care of her.
In the mansion they still didn’t understand why, at the sight of a single mark, Adrian’s face had changed so sharply. But what the sheikh did next shocked everyone.π¨
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β Burn their house down, β Adrian ordered. β Let them understand what the crest of my family is worth.
Marcus didn’t move.
β It’s not only the Coles who live there. There are servants and children in the house.
Adrian turned pale, but his voice remained firm:
β Then get them out. And then find the one who gave the order to attack Elena.
An hour later Marcus returned with a folder. The documents the attackers were looking for had been kept all along by Elena’s mother. They proved that many years ago Adrian’s family had taken land from the Coles, and his father had forced them to be silent. Elena had accidentally found the papers and was going to hand them to a lawyer.
β So they didn’t want to frighten me, β Adrian said quietly. β They wanted the truth never to come out.
He looked at Elena, who had come to.
β The house will stay intact. And the whole city will see the documents.
In the morning Adrian handed the papers to journalists and the police, and publicly admitted his family’s guilt. The attackers were detained. Elena returned to her mother, and no longer wore the crest on her uniform.
Adrian lost part of his power, but for the first time in many years he stopped hiding behind fear.
