Chapter 3 - THE MAN WITH GRAY HAIR
I barely slept that night.
I sat in the armchair beside Sophie’s bed, the crumpled note clutched in my hand, watching her breathe, watching the door, watching every shadow that stretched across the floor.
By dawn, I had made up my mind.
I would not let this happen to her. I would not wait for them to strike again.
I carried Sophie downstairs when she woke up. I made her pancakes with extra blueberries, the way she liked them. I sat across from her at the kitchen table and watched her push food around on her plate, quiet and withdrawn.
“Sophie,” I said gently. “Can I ask you something?”
She looked up at me with big, solemn eyes.
“About the man?” she whispered.
My heart ached. I nodded slowly.
“Yes, baby. About the man you heard them talking about. Can you tell me anything else? Anything at all?”
Sophie set her fork down. She twisted her small hands together in her lap.
“He was on the phone,” she said quietly. “Vanessa held it really close. But I heard his voice. It was deep. And he sounded really old.”
“Did he say anything else that you remember?”
She thought for a moment. Her little forehead crinkled in concentration.
“He said… make sure she doesn’t survive. And then he said… no loose ends. And then he told Vanessa… don’t forget the will.”
My stomach twisted.
The will. Again.
“Did he say his name?” I asked. “Or did Vanessa call him anything?”
Sophie shook her head.
“She just called him Sir. And Uncle. Once. She said ‘Yes, Uncle Silas.’”
The plate in my hand nearly slipped.
Uncle Silas.
Silas Hale. Vanessa’s great-uncle. One of the wealthiest, most ruthless men in the state. A man who had built his fortune on secrets, threats, and getting exactly what he wanted — no matter the cost.
I stood up slowly. My mind was racing.
Silas Hale. Of course.
Vanessa was his only living relative. If she married me, she would gain access to my family’s fortune through marriage. But if Sophie died… and Vanessa married me… everything would eventually belong to Vanessa. And through her… to Silas.
He had been planning this from the very beginning.
He had sent Vanessa to me. He had orchestrated the entire engagement. And then, when he realized Sophie stood in the way… he had ordered Vanessa to kill her.
I pulled out my phone and called Martin. He answered immediately.
“Adrian. I was just about to call you.”
“Silas Hale,” I said. “Tell me everything.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
“Adrian… Silas Hale is dangerous. Extremely dangerous. You don’t get to be worth billions by playing fair. If you’re saying he’s involved in this… you need to walk away. Let the police handle it.”
“The police won’t touch him,” I said. “He owns judges. He owns lawyers. He owns half the city. We both know that.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
“I want proof,” I said. “I want to know where he’s been meeting Vanessa. I want phone records. I want bank transfers. Anything that connects him to this.”
“I’ll dig,” Martin said. “But Adrian… be careful. If Silas wants that little girl dead… he won’t stop sending Vanessa. He’ll come himself eventually.”
“I’m counting on it,” I said.
I hung up.
I turned around.
Sophie was standing in the doorway. She was clutching her stuffed rabbit to her chest, staring up at me with wide, frightened eyes.
“Is he coming here?” she whispered. “Is the man with gray hair coming to hurt me?”
I knelt down in front of her. I took her hands in mine.
“No one is ever going to hurt you,” I promised. “Not Vanessa. Not Silas. No one. I will keep you safe if it’s the last thing I do.”
Sophie looked at me. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Why do they hate me, Daddy? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My heart shattered into a million pieces.
“I know you didn’t. And they don’t hate you, baby. They’re just greedy. They care more about money than they care about anything else. That’s their fault. Not yours.”
I picked her up and held her close.
But as I carried her toward the front door, I knew something terrible.
Silas had sent Vanessa to kill Sophie. Vanessa had failed.
And Silas Hale was not a man who accepted failure.
May you like
He would come to finish the job himself.
And I had to be ready.
