Vienna was colder than Elena expected.
The sharp winter air bit at her cheeks as she stepped out of the taxi, her coat wrapped tightly around her body. The city, elegant and reserved, was a labyrinth of cobbled alleys and timeworn facades. Her heart pounded as she approached the cafe Margot had named — Kaffeehaus Merten, a quiet corner café on a street that didn't exist on tourist maps.
Inside, the lighting was dim, amber-toned and quiet. Classical music played softly in the background. A man sat in the farthest booth, his back to the door. She would've recognized him anywhere.
Adrien Moreau.
Her stomach flipped. Seven years of absence hadn't aged him the way she expected. His hair was slightly longer, dusted with grey at the temples, and his jaw bore the faint shadow of a beard. But his eyes — that unmistakable steel blue — still held the same intensity she remembered from childhood photos and half-told stories.
He looked up as she approached, as if he already knew she was coming.
"Elena," he said calmly. "You found me."
"You weren't exactly hiding," she replied, sliding into the seat across from him.
His lips curved slightly. "No. I was waiting."
"For me?"
"For someone who still believed in the truth."
She leaned forward. "Then start talking. Why are you alive? Why fake your death? And why trap me in a contract tied to your legacy?"
Adrien folded his hands, his expression unreadable.
"You're not the first to ask. But you may be the last."
He paused, then spoke again — his voice softer now, almost tired.
"In 2018, I was given a choice. Betray the Moreau legacy, or become its scapegoat. I chose a third option — to disappear."
"Disappear?" Elena echoed. "By letting the world believe you were dead? Letting your own family grieve?"
Adrien's eyes narrowed. "You think Lucas grieved?"
The mention of his nephew's name set something flickering in his gaze — something dangerous.
Elena didn't respond.
Adrien leaned back. "Lucas knew I was alive. He helped me vanish."
"What?"
"He was the one who smuggled me out. Got me a new identity, a place to lie low. We were partners — at least, we were supposed to be."
"Then why is he pretending you're dead?" she asked. "Why force me into that contract and bind me to a lie?"
"Because he changed," Adrien said darkly. "Or maybe he never was who I thought he was."
Elena shook her head. "No. You're still not telling me everything. What did you do that was so bad you had to vanish? And what does Camille have to do with any of this?"
Adrien's jaw tightened. "Camille… Camille was never supposed to be part of it."
He hesitated, and for the first time, Elena saw something like real pain cross his face.
"She was working for them. For the board of trustees. She was sent to watch me — seduce me, if necessary. But something changed. She fell in love. So did I. And when the time came to betray me, she didn't."
Elena leaned in, eyes wide. "Betray you how?"
"They needed me out of the way. The board feared I would expose certain… dealings. The Moreau family fortune is stained, Elena. Drugs. Arms. False charities. Camille was supposed to trap me, record my admissions. Instead, she warned me."
"And Lucas?" Elena asked slowly.
Adrien's expression turned to ice. "Lucas was supposed to come with me. He wanted out too. Or so I believed. He helped fake my death. But the day after I vanished, he claimed my seat on the board. Inherited everything. Married into another powerful family."
Elena felt her breath leave her lungs.
So Lucas had betrayed Adrien — and yet, he had still lured her into the contract. Why?
She voiced the question aloud.
Adrien's gaze darkened.
"Because you're leverage," he said flatly. "Your father had information. Records of our dealings. I don't know how he got them, but Lucas feared he might release them. That contract silenced him. And when he died, you inherited the burden."
Elena's heart pounded. "Then why bring me here now? Why speak to me?"
"Because," Adrien said, lowering his voice, "the contract is about to become worthless. Lucas has run out of time. There's something coming. And I need your help to finish what I started."
A beat of silence passed.
"Help you how?" she asked.
"I need you to return to Paris," he said. "Pretend nothing happened. Keep playing the part of the bride-to-be. Get close to Lucas. And when the time comes, I'll give you the trigger."
"The trigger?" she echoed.
Adrien reached into his coat pocket and slid a small USB drive across the table.
"Everything you need to burn him down."
Elena stared at it. "Why me?"
"Because you're the only one he still underestimates," Adrien said quietly. "And because if you don't help me… he won't stop with your father."
Elena swallowed.
She picked up the drive.
---
Back in Paris, everything had changed — yet nothing had.
The estate was still cold, beautiful, and echoing with history. Lucas greeted her at the door with his usual charm, but there was a flicker in his eyes now. Suspicion. Or was it fear?
"Vienna suits you," he said, pouring her a glass of wine.
"I needed some air," she replied smoothly. "This house gets smaller by the day."
"Funny," he said, handing her the glass. "I always thought it felt larger… when empty."
Elena raised an eyebrow. "Expecting someone else?"
"Not at all," Lucas said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Just wondering what you've been up to."
She returned his smile. "Nothing dangerous. Yet."
---
That night, Elena waited until the house was still.
She crept into her father's study — long locked since his death, but recently unlocked by Lucas for "sentimental purposes." She knew better.
She plugged the USB drive into the old laptop tucked behind the bookshelf.
Instantly, files poured across the screen.
Bank accounts.
Transfer records.
Blueprints for shell companies.
Secret meetings between Lucas and blacklisted organizations.
Photos of Camille. Of Adrien.
And at the center of it all — a single document marked "FAMILIA."
It was a master plan. Not just for the Moreau fortune, but for a network of alliances built over decades. It named names. Politicians. Royal figures. Business tycoons.
And it was signed by Adrien.
No — not Adrien.
Lucas.
She understood then.
Lucas hadn't just betrayed Adrien. He had built a new empire on the ashes.
And now, she was standing on the edge of its foundations.
---
The next morning, Elena walked into the dining hall with the printed document in hand.
Lucas looked up from his paper. "You're early."
"I found something," she said, placing the file in front of him.
He glanced at it, then back at her. "What is this?"
"A confession. Yours."
Lucas didn't flinch. He set the paper down calmly and rose from his chair.
"And what do you plan to do with it?"
Elena looked him dead in the eye. "Burn it. If you tell me the truth. All of it. Now."
Lucas sighed.
Then — to her surprise — he nodded.
"Come with me."
---
He led her through the house, down a staircase she had never seen before, behind a false wall in the cellar.
The door opened to a steel room. Surveillance monitors. Maps. Files.
At the center — a table with a chessboard, half-played.
"This is where it started," Lucas said. "Where we planned the exit. Adrien and I."
He picked up a black king.
"He wanted to expose them. I wanted to lead them. We disagreed. He vanished. I inherited the mess."
"You didn't just inherit it," Elena said. "You built on it."
Lucas turned to her.
"You think Adrien is noble? He created the system. I only perfected it."
"He gave me the truth," she said. "And I choose it."
Lucas's expression darkened.
"Then you choose war."
"No," Elena said quietly. "I choose justice."
---
Outside, the morning sun rose over the Moreau estate.
And for the first time, Elena knew exactly what she had to do.