Chapter 4 The Vale Family

Maya remained silent for several seconds after reading the message.

Ask your new wife what Elena told her before she disappeared.

The words seemed harmless at first glance, yet they carried a weight that made her fingers tighten around the phone. Whoever had sent it knew about Elena's final conversation with her. More importantly, they knew that Maya had married Damien.

That meant someone had been watching them.

Damien held out his hand. "Give me the phone."

Maya passed it to him, still staring at the screen. "How did they know about Elena's warning?"

"I don't know."

"You keep saying that."

"Because I don't have an answer."

He slipped the phone into his pocket and glanced toward the parking garage entrance. His security team was already checking the surrounding area, but Maya noticed the way his eyes moved across the cameras, exits, and shadows.

He wasn't dismissing the threat.

He was calculating it.

"Whoever sent that message knows too much," she said.

Damien looked at her. "Which is why we're going to the Vale estate."

Maya frowned. "Your family?"

"My father needs to hear what happened from me."

"Will he tell you the truth?"

Damien's expression was unreadable. "Probably not."

"That's encouraging."

He almost smiled.

"Welcome to the Vale family."

The drive to the estate took nearly forty minutes.

For most of it, neither spoke. Maya sat beside Damien in the back of the SUV, watching the city disappear behind them as the streets became quieter and the buildings gave way to enormous properties hidden behind walls.

Eventually, curiosity overcame her.

"Why did you leave your family?"

Damien turned his head slightly.

Maya hadn't expected him to answer, but after several seconds, he said, "Because I couldn't live the way they wanted me to."

"Meaning?"

"They had plans for Adrian and me from the moment we were born. Which school we'd attend, who we'd associate with, what businesses we'd enter, eventually even who we'd marry."

Maya looked down at her wedding ring.

"So you weren't exactly interested in following instructions."

"No."

"Neither am I."

His eyes briefly met hers.

"That may become a problem."

"Why?"

"Because the Vale family doesn't like people who refuse to follow instructions."

Maya leaned back against the seat.

"Then they've definitely married the wrong woman."

This time, Damien actually smiled.

It lasted only a moment, but she saw it.

The sight caught her off guard.

She had spent the entire night seeing him as cold, arrogant, and impossible to read. That brief smile made him look younger, almost normal.

Then he looked away, and the wall returned.

The estate appeared ahead.

Maya stared through the window as the gates opened. The property was enormous, with manicured gardens, stone pathways, and security cameras positioned along the walls. Guards stood at intervals around the grounds.

She exhaled slowly.

"Your family lives like royalty."

"Powerful families tend to confuse privacy with isolation."

"And you?"

"I prefer smaller houses."

"Of course you do."

The SUV stopped before the mansion.

Damien got out first and waited while Maya stepped down.

The moment they entered the main hall, Maya felt the atmosphere change.

Several people were waiting.

At the center stood an older man with silver hair and an imposing presence. Beside him was an elegant woman whose expression remained carefully controlled.

Maya recognized them immediately.

Richard and Evelyn Vale.

Adrian's parents.

Damien's parents.

Richard's eyes went first to his son, then to Maya.

His expression hardened.

"What happened?"

"Adrian is missing," Damien replied.

Evelyn's composure cracked.

"What?"

"He disappeared before the ceremony."

Richard looked at Maya.

"And she?"

Damien's jaw tightened. "Her name is Maya."

"I know who she is."

"Then speak to her with respect."

Maya felt uncomfortable being defended by a man she had married only hours ago, especially in front of his parents.

Richard ignored the exchange.

"Where is Adrian?"

"We don't know."

"Have you contacted the police?"

"Not yet."

Richard's face darkened. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know who I can trust."

The room went silent.

Maya watched Richard closely.

The older man's expression barely changed, but she saw his fingers tighten around the head of his cane.

Damien noticed too.

"Adrian was investigating something before the wedding," he continued. "What was it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I expect you to stop making accusations without evidence."

Damien stepped closer.

"Someone sent me a photograph of Adrian. He's alive, but he's being held somewhere."

Evelyn covered her mouth.

Richard remained still.

Maya studied him.

Most people would have reacted immediately to seeing a photograph of their missing son tied up and injured.

Richard looked more concerned about what Damien might discover.

That bothered her.

Damien pulled out his phone and showed them the photograph.

Evelyn's face went pale.

Richard stared at the screen for several seconds before looking away.

"Who sent it?"

"We don't know."

"Then find out."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

"You knew Adrian was in trouble."

"I knew nothing."

"Then why did you tell security to increase the protection around the estate yesterday?"

Richard went quiet.

Maya looked at him.

He had no answer.

Evelyn stepped forward. "Richard, perhaps we should discuss this privately."

"No."

Damien's voice stopped her.

"If Adrian is missing, we're discussing it here."

His father stared at him.

"You've been gone for eight years, Damien. Don't return tonight and pretend you understand everything happening inside this family."

"I don't need eight years of history to know when someone is lying."

Richard's face hardened.

"Be careful."

"I am."

Maya felt the tension between them becoming almost unbearable.

Then Richard's gaze shifted to her.

"How did you become involved in this?"

Maya hesitated.

"I replaced Elena."

"We know that."

"I was asked to."

"By whom?"

"Representatives of your family."

Richard frowned.

"Which representatives?"

"I don't know their names."

His expression changed.

Damien immediately noticed.

"Why?"

Richard looked at him.

"Because I didn't authorize anyone to make such an arrangement."

Maya's heart skipped.

"What?"

Richard looked at her.

"Elena was supposed to marry Adrian. No one had permission to substitute another woman."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

"Then who arranged it?"

"I don't know."

Maya felt a chill.

The contract had carried the Vale family's name. The money had come through their representatives. She had assumed the family knew everything.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Someone had used the Vale family to bring her into this marriage without Richard's approval.

But why?

And why Damien?

A soft movement caught Maya's attention.

Someone was standing on the staircase.

A young woman watched them from the upper floor. She looked to be in her early twenties, dressed simply compared with the rest of the household. Her eyes were fixed on Damien, and there was something almost apologetic in them.

When Maya noticed her, the woman immediately turned away.

"Who is that?" Maya asked.

Evelyn looked toward the stairs.

"My niece, Clara."

Maya glanced back.

Clara was already gone.

Damien touched Maya's elbow.

"Come."

They left the main hall and climbed the stairs.

Maya waited until they were alone before speaking.

"Your father knows something."

"I know."

"Your mother knows something too."

"I know."

"And Clara looked terrified."

Damien stopped outside a bedroom.

"You're observant."

"I've had to be."

He opened the door.

Maya stepped inside.

The room was large and tastefully furnished, with a king-sized bed against one wall and a sitting area near the windows.

She looked at him.

"Whose room is this?"

"Mine when I stay here."

She immediately frowned.

"And where am I sleeping?"

"The bed."

"Where are you sleeping?"

"The sofa."

Maya stared at him.

"You expect me to believe you're going to sleep on that?"

"It's a sofa, not the floor."

She looked at the couch.

It was certainly large enough, but the idea still seemed strange.

"You don't have to."

"I do."

"Why?"

"Because you're uncomfortable enough already."

The answer caught her off guard.

Damien removed his watch and placed it on the table.

Maya watched him.

Despite everything she'd heard about him, he hadn't once tried to take advantage of their situation.

She turned toward the window.

"Damien."

"Hm?"

"About Elena."

He looked at her.

"She was afraid of you."

His expression didn't change.

"I know."

Maya turned around.

"You knew?"

"Elena never trusted me."

"Why?"

"Because she believed I was responsible for what happened to Adrian."

Maya's heart tightened.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know."

"Then what did she mean?"

Damien looked away.

"There are things about my family that you aren't ready to hear."

"Don't decide what I'm ready for."

His gaze returned to hers.

For a moment, neither spoke.

The distance between them suddenly felt much smaller.

Maya became aware of how close he was standing. His shirt was slightly loosened at the collar, and the hard expression he had worn all evening had softened with exhaustion.

She took a step backward.

Damien noticed.

He stopped immediately.

"You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Maya swallowed.

"I'm trying to."

His eyes remained on hers.

Then he stepped back, giving her space.

"Get some sleep."

He moved toward the sofa.

Maya watched him settle there.

She climbed onto the bed, pulling the covers around herself.

For the first time since the wedding, she felt something dangerously close to relief.

Not trust.

Not yet.

But perhaps the beginning of it.

She closed her eyes.

Then a thought struck her.

"Damien?"

He looked over.

"How did you know the message was meant to frighten us?"

He was quiet for a moment.

"Because whoever sent it wanted you to doubt me."

Maya frowned.

"Why?"

His expression hardened.

"That's what we need to find out."

Outside the bedroom, a floorboard creaked.

Neither of them noticed.

A shadow stood briefly beneath the door before disappearing down the corridor.

Inside, Maya stared at the ceiling.

She had entered the Vale family expecting a temporary marriage and an easy divorce.

Instead, she had walked into a mystery involving two missing people, a family divided by old secrets, and a husband who seemed to know far more than he was willing to reveal.

She touched her wedding ring.

Three months.

That was what she had agreed to.

But as she lay awake in Damien Vale's room, Maya began to suspect that whoever had arranged this marriage had never intended to let her leave after three months.