CHAPTER 5: The Mysterious Informant
By afternoon, Adrian Vale was a ruined man. His assets were frozen, his reputation was destroyed, and his name was dragged through every financial news network in the country.
I sat in my new office—the top floor of Vale Enterprises—staring at the city skyline. Victory should have felt sweet, but the text message from the night before continued to haunt me.
“Your father lied to you. Ask him why he really wanted Adrian destroyed.”
My desk phone rang. It was a secure line, bypassing my secretary.
I picked it up. “Evelyn Laurent.”
“Congratulations on taking back your throne, Evelyn,” a heavily distorted voice said through the speaker.
“Who is this?” I demanded.
“A friend who knows the truth,” the voice replied. “You think your father destroyed Adrian to avenge your honor. Ask yourself this: Why did Richard Laurent keep a secret ledger titled Project Aegis in his private safe? Why was Adrian’s father listed as his primary partner thirty years ago?”
My heart skipped a beat. “Adrian’s father died in a car accident twenty years ago. He was an school teacher.”
“Was he?” The voice chuckled. “Check the corporate registries from 2004. Search for Aegis Dynamics. Your father didn’t help Adrian rise because of you, Evelyn. He funded Adrian to keep him close... and to ensure Adrian never discovered who really killed his father.”
May you like
The line went dead.
I sat in silence, my hands cold. My father was a ruthlessly protective parent, but he was also a ruthless businessman. Was it possible my entire marriage was engineered not by me, but by my father?
