Chapter 19 THE BLACKMAIL
POV: Selena
I knew something was wrong the moment the estate went quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet. This was sharp and controlled, like a room where everyone had decided to stop breathing at the same time. The staff moved faster, spoke less. Security doubled in the halls. Doors closed that usually stayed open.
Whatever was happening, it was big.
I was in the guest house, trying to concentrate on work that no longer mattered, when my phone buzzed. It was Bella.
Stay where you are. Things are exploding inside the main house.
My stomach clenched.
I stood and paced, unable to sit still. Every instinct in me screamed that Adrian was at the center of it. Diana. The photos. The threat.
The waiting was torture.
An hour passed. Then another.
Finally, raised voices carried across the estate. Not loud enough to make out words, but angry enough to feel. I pressed my hands together, grounding myself, reminding myself that this was not my fight.
But it was. Even if no one wanted to admit it.
I found out later exactly how it unfolded.
Adrian did not ease into the confrontation. He never did.
He walked straight into the sitting room where Diana, her parents, and Senator De Luca were gathered, his jaw tight, his patience already spent.
“Enough,” he said. “I know about the photos.”
Diana’s mother stiffened. Her father smiled like a man who had already won.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Diana said lightly, her voice smooth, practiced.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Adrian replied. “The pictures. The threats. The attempt to corner me into a proposal.”
Diana stood and walked toward him slowly. “Adrian, you’re being dramatic.”
She reached for his arm. He stepped back.
Her smile faltered for half a second. Just long enough.
“I would never hurt you,” she said. “Why would I need to threaten you when we are already meant to be together?”
Her father cleared his throat. “This is being blown out of proportion.”
“Is it?” Adrian shot back. “Because blackmail feels very proportional to me.”
Senator De Luca slammed his hand on the table. “Lower your voice.”
“No,” Adrian said. “I’ve been quiet my entire life. That ends now.”
The room froze.
Diana’s mother spoke calmly. “Adrian, this marriage solves everything. The scandal disappears. The foundation survives. Selena disappears from the narrative entirely.”
That was when Adrian lost it.
“You do not get to use her as leverage,” he said. “She did nothing wrong.”
Diana tilted her head, studying him. “You care an awful lot about her.”
Adrian said nothing.
She smiled then. Small. Secret. Satisfied.
Senator De Luca stood. “This ends today. You will marry Diana. It is the cleanest solution.”
Adrian laughed once, sharp and bitter. “You taught me to value integrity. Or was that just another campaign slogan?”
“This is politics,” his father snapped. “You don’t get to be sentimental.”
“I refuse,” Adrian said clearly. “I will not marry her. Not now. Not ever.”
Silence crashed into the room.
Diana’s smile vanished. Her eyes hardened.
“You’re making a mistake,” her father said.
“No,” Adrian replied. “You did.”
He turned and walked out.
That was the moment everything shifted.
I did not witness any of that directly, but I felt it when Adrian stormed into the guest house an hour later.
The door flew open so hard it hit the wall.
“Pack your things,” he said.
I jumped to my feet. “What?”
“We’re leaving,” he continued, already pacing. “Now.”
“Leaving where?” I asked, my heart racing.
“Somewhere they can’t manipulate us,” he said. “Somewhere we can think clearly.”
My mouth went dry. “Adrian, what happened?”
He stopped in front of me, his eyes intense, unguarded.
“I refused,” he said. “I refused to marry her.”
The weight of that statement crushed the air out of my lungs.
“And your father?” I asked.
“He thinks I’m destroying the family,” Adrian replied. “Diana thinks I’m bluffing. Her parents are furious.”
“And the photos?” I pressed.
“They’ll release them if they think it helps,” he said. “Which is why we’re removing you from the board entirely.”
I shook my head. “I won’t run.”
“This isn’t running,” he said. “This is protecting you.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this,” I said.
“I know,” he replied. “But I’m doing it anyway.”
I searched his face, looking for doubt. For hesitation.
There was none.
“Where are we going?” I asked quietly.
“Somewhere off the map,” he said. “A place my father doesn’t control.”
Fear and excitement tangled in my chest.
“This will make things worse,” I said.
“Yes,” he agreed. “But at least they’ll be honest.”
I swallowed hard. “What about Diana?”
His expression hardened. “She showed me exactly who she is.”
“And us?” I asked, before I could stop myself.
His gaze softened, just slightly. “That depends on you.”
That terrified me more than the threats ever had.
I moved quickly, packing only what I needed. My hands trembled, but my mind was clear.
When I stepped outside with my bag, the estate looked different. Smaller. Less powerful.
Adrian was already in the car, engine running.
As I climbed in, I glanced back once.
This place had nearly broken me.
But it had also revealed who my enemies were.
And who my ally might be.
Adrian pulled onto the road without looking back.
Whatever waited ahead, there was no turning back now.