CHAPTER 7: The Midnight Meeting
The rain fell heavily over the abandoned shipping container yard at the city docks. The air smelled of saltwater and rusted metal.
I arrived alone, wearing a dark raincoat, keeping one hand inside my pocket where a small tracking device was active, transmitting my location to Marcus—just in case.
Adrian emerged from the shadows of a rusted warehouse. He looked nothing like the polished billionaire I had married. His suit was wrinkled, his hair messily unkempt, and dark circles shadowed his bloodshot eyes.
“You actually came,” Adrian said, his voice bitter.
“You mentioned Project Aegis,” I replied coldly, staying ten paces away. “Where did you get that name?”
Adrian pulled a yellowed paper document from his coat. “Vanessa found it. While I was moving assets into her accounts, she tapped into an old encrypted server that belonged to my father. My father wasn't a teacher, Evelyn. He built your father's wealth. And your father killed him when he demanded his share of the company!”
“You don't have proof of that, Adrian,” I said, though my voice lacked conviction.
“I have the original patent filings!” Adrian shouted, his voice echoing off the shipping containers. “Your father stole everything from my family! When I met you, I thought it was fate. But then I found out who you really were. I realized Richard Laurent gave me scraps of my own father's fortune while keeping me under his thumb!”
“So that’s why you abused me?” I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “That’s why you let Vanessa humiliate me? Because you were getting revenge on my father through me?”
Adrian sneered. “You were the leverage! I was going to drain your family’s resources through Vale Corp, throw you away, and rebuild my father’s legacy! But you ruined it!”
He pulled a small metallic device from his pocket—a high-capacity flash drive. “Everything is on here. The stolen patents, the altered police reports from 2004, and the offshore account paths. If I press send, this uploads directly to the Department of Justice.”
“What do you want, Adrian?” I asked softly.
May you like
“I want my company back. I want fifty million dollars. And I want your father on his knees.”
Before I could answer, a gunshot echoed through the storm.
