The Man Who Was Not Invited
Chapter 03 - The Man Who Was Not Invited
Adrian Cole had not been invited back to Hartwell Manor.
Three years earlier, Victoria had called him a distraction, a fortune hunter, and finally a traitor. She had sent back every letter he wrote to Evelyn after the accident. She had told him Evelyn wanted silence, that she remembered nothing, that seeing him would disturb her recovery.
He had believed none of it.
Still, belief did not open locked gates. Money did. Evidence did. A court order did. That morning, Adrian came with all three.
He stepped into the east drawing room in a gray suit darkened by rain, a leather folder under one arm, and a face that went pale the moment he saw Evelyn on the floor. She looked smaller than the woman he remembered, but her eyes were the same—green, stubborn, alive.
He dropped to his knees beside her without looking at Victoria. “Can you hear me?”
Evelyn tried to answer, but her throat closed. Adrian slid one hand carefully beneath her head and lifted it from the marble. His thumb brushed away a strand of damp hair from her cheek, and the gentleness of it almost broke her.
“I’m here,” he said. “You’re not alone anymore.”
Victoria recovered quickly. “Mr. Cole, you have no right to enter this house.”
Adrian did not look up. “I have every right.”
“This is a private medical matter.”
“Then why is her medicine unlabeled and spilled on the floor?”
Nora made a tiny sound. Victoria shot her a warning glance, but Adrian saw it.
He turned toward the maid. “What happened?”
Nora’s eyes filled. “I—I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do,” Evelyn whispered.
The room fell silent.
Victoria smiled like a blade. “Evelyn is confused. She has been confused for months. Poor child sees enemies everywhere.”
Adrian reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. “Then she won’t mind if I call Dr. Keller directly.”
Victoria’s expression tightened. “He is unavailable.”
“That’s strange. He was available thirty minutes ago when he told me he hasn’t prescribed anything in an amber bottle.”
Nora covered her mouth.
Evelyn’s chest rose and fell quickly. The returning memories pressed against her skull. Adrian. Letters. A promise by the fountain. A fight in the hallway. Victoria’s hand gripping her wrist at the top of the stairs.
Adrian’s eyes moved to the broken glass. “Nora, get a clean towel and call emergency services.”
“No one is calling anyone,” Victoria said.
Adrian finally stood, still holding Evelyn’s hand. “Try to stop us, and I’ll add obstruction to the list.”
“What list?”
May you like
He opened the leather folder.
“The one your lawyer should have warned you about.”
