Chapter 4
The forest road narrowed.
Tall trees leaned over both lanes, their branches shining black under the rain. There were no streetlights here, only headlights, taillights, and the occasional glow of security lamps far behind them near the estate gates.
Elena knew this road.
She had been driven down it earlier in the evening with a silk wrap over her bruised cheek and a warning not to embarrass the family.
The house behind them had looked like a wedding venue.
It was not.
It was a transaction.
Her stepmother called it an arrangement.
“A temporary solution,” she said while fastening Elena’s necklace with shaking hands. “You don’t understand what’s at stake.”
Elena understood enough.
The company was collapsing.
Creditors were circling.
A man had offered money.
And Elena had become the invoice.
Now she sat in Matthew Carranza’s SUV, watching armed-looking precision move around her without a single weapon shown.
The driver adjusted speed.
“Sir, side route is clear for three miles.”
Matthew asked, “Weather?”
“Poor visibility. Heavy rain. Road slick.”
“Good.”
Elena looked at him.
“Good?”
“Rain hides movement.”
“That is not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
His honesty startled her.
He looked at her then.
“I won’t lie to calm you.”
She swallowed.
“Everyone lies to calm me.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know me.”
“No,” he said. “But I know what people sound like when they’ve been managed instead of protected.”
Elena’s mouth trembled.
She hated that he was right.
The pursuing SUV flashed its high beams twice.
The driver’s eyes sharpened.
“Signal from rear vehicle.”
Matthew’s expression remained unreadable.
“Ignore it.”
“They’re closing again.”
“Let them see the formation.”
Ahead, the two convoy SUVs widened apart just enough to reveal another black vehicle waiting at a side road, angled with perfect patience.
The pursuers slowed.
Elena stared.
The road itself seemed to be answering Matthew.
She turned toward him.
“Who are you?”
His eyes remained on the rain-streaked window.
“The wrong car for them to chase.”
That was not an answer.
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But it was the first thing all night that made Elena feel the men behind her might be the ones in trouble.
Read Chapter 5 👉 Because Elena asked who Matthew was, and his answer made her realize he was hiding far more than a name.
