Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Adrian’s POV

The rain swallowed me the moment I stepped down the lane.

Cold water soaked through my clothes instantly as I walked down the narrow hill road. Behind me, the door finally got shut, the sound disappeared into the storm.

My car waited at the bottom of the hill. I climbed inside and gripped the steering wheel. For a long moment, I just breathed.

My hands were shaking. The drive through the long roads felt endless. The wind nearly pushed the car off the road curves, and the wipers of my car struggled against the downpour.

Then my phone buzzed.

Unknown number. Encrypted channel. A single message appeared on the screen. ‘You shouldn’t have warned her.’

A chill runned down my spine.

I deleted the message. But my pulse accelerated. There were only two people who could know what I did tonight. One of them was my father.

The other person — I didn’t even want to finish that thought. I pressed harder on the accelerator. The lights of the next town finally appeared through the not so heavy rain. I pulled over near somewhere around and shut off the engine.

Silence filled the car except for the distant roar of the ocean. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes, my mind drifting back to her.

Three years. It took me three long years to find her. Three years of pretending I didn’t know she was alive somewhere in the same world we all lived in and now, I’ve dragged her back into the fire she barely escaped.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I was the poison but it was clear that someone inside Voss Global was trying to use her name to bury me and if they should succeed…she will go down with me again.

I couldn’t let that happen. At least, not again. That way, I can begin to pay her back for how much and how long I’ve punished her.

I thought of what she might be doing. She may probably be staring at the envelope right now. I could picture it perfectly.

Her bare feet on the wooden floor, the rain beating her windows and her fingers pausing over the envelope seal, contemplating whether to open it or throw it in the bin.

Inside that envelope were three pages — an audit log, her old credentials and her digital signature, including a timestamp that was from two weeks ago.

After a few minutes, I stepped out of my car and checked into a small hotel. It was pretty late while I was taken to my room. I locked the door and walked to the window, staring out at the rain droplets that slid down the glass.

Somewhere out there, Victor is already planning his next move. He knew I had disappeared. He knew I had broken his formation.

I sighed, going to pour a glass of whiskey. The reflection of the dark sea stared back at me from the glass.

“Leona,” I murmured quietly, twirling the glass.

Morning came. The building in front of me smelt like money always. The first thing u noticed was the faint and chill air conditioning that was definitely masking the rottenness underneath.

The projectors and screens flashed with market updates, assistants and staffs whispered in corners, other areas, phones were glued to ears like something else.

The glass lobby was the same as always; gleaming, polished, glass walls and the NIN exciting company logo.

“Mr. Voss,” the receptionist stammered, rushing after me.“the board is waiting upstairs.”

Of course they were. They should always wait for me.

The elevator gave a ding open sound and the chaos hit me. Many voices speaking together at the same time, accusations flying left, right and center in the room. Power was dressed in suits.

I stepped into the boardroom and the next moment, everything quieted, everything paused.

The table was lined with faces that once smiled for cameras. There were investors, legal advisors, department heads and now they stared at me like I was one of the fallen stars.

“Adrian,” one of the senior board members began. “the press is destroying us. The stock dropped eight points overnight. The SEC wants your statement by Friday.”

I sat down on the CEO seat. “I’m aware,” I cut him off.

“Your father assured us—”

“My father does not speak for me,” I interrupted with a steady voice.

Silence filled the room instantly. No one could meet my eyes. One of them named Victor, his presence hangs heavier than any of them. He was everywhere without being anywhere. He was the the invisible string-puller, the ghost in the system dictating bonuses, burying careers under NDAs. He built this empire from blood and numbers. I inherited his shadow and that shadow was starting to swallow me whole.

When the meeting finally broke, Cassandra slipped into my office without knocking. Her face had the perfect sharp lines. She was different from the others because she had a strong poise and control.

She wore a dark green suit, her hair tied in an upward bun. “You look tired,” she said smoothly, setting a tablet on my desk. “Which is not surprising since you’re trending everywhere.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered.

She tapped the screen, pulling up a crisis report. “We’ve drafted three possible statements. Option one positions you as the victim of internal sabotage. Option two blames a rogue employee. Option three—”

“I don’t need to read them,” I interrupted her. “Just tell me how bad it is.”

Her lips twitched a little, almost a smile. “Bad enough that even Victor is nervous. He’s been calling every hour.”

Of course he has.

She hesitated, then allowed her gaze slip up to mine. “There’s another variable.”

“Which is?”

She folds her arms. “Leona Grace.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I forced my expression to remain neutral.

“What about her?”

“She’s in New York.”

I should have known. Cassandra always knew things. She always finds out.

“She arrived this morning,” she continued. “Very public. There were cameras at JFK, journalists tagging her alongside your name. You knew?”

I nodded slowly. “I did.”

A flicker in her eyes. Was it jealousy? Fear? It was gone quickly.

“This complicates things, Adrian. The narrative is fragile. The last thing we need is your ex-girlfriend walking into Manhattan like the ghost of your crimes.”

“She is not a ghost,” I said quietly. “She’s my warning.”

Cassandra let out a soft humorless laugh. “You always loved dramatics.” She leaned forward, her fingertips grazing the desk. “You think she’s innocent. I know better.”

“What exactly do you know?”

Her gaze held mine for a long, deliberate moment before she straightened. “Some ghosts don’t return to haunt you. They come back to finish what they started.”

Then she was gone, only leaving a faint trace of perfume in the air.

Evening fell. The boardroom again. Victor was absent, of course. He never appears when he was the one pulling the strings.

Cassandra sat opposite me, tablet glowing. The other executives talked on about liability, damage control, meaningless repetition. Then, the door suddenly opened.

The room stopped moving and breathing. She walked in. Leona Grace. Lila Grant. Whatever name she was wearing now.

Her hair was shorter and dyed darker, compared to what I saw yesterday. Her eyes were lined sharper and her brown suit was tailored to a perfection armor.

I almost forgot to breathe. Aside from the fact that she was beautiful, she looked commanding. Everyone else stared at her the same way.

“Miss Grant,” the chairman stammered, standing up. “this is a—”

“I am aware,” she cut him off, her voice sharp and commanding. “And yet, here I am.”

She strode to the table like it belonged to her since two lives ago. She didn’t afraid of anything or of anyone in the boardroom.

The executives present wanted to whisper amongst themselves but they couldn’t. Maybe they were afraid she’d do something to her because her aura definitely screamed that she could be dangerous.

She slid a folder onto the polished surface of the magnified table. “This,” she pointed, “….is your missing audit trail. Transactions tied to your investigation. The same ones you blamed me for three years ago.”

Cassandra’s fingers twitched, but Leona never glanced at her. There some others here too that knew about what happened while others didn’t. Those others stared at her in admiration like she was one of a shining star in the heavens.

Leona’s eyes suddenly locked on mine. “If you want to save this company,” she said slowly and deliberately, “start by admitting who really runs it and who has been hiding behind it.”

Board members exchanged uneasy glances. Someone muttered Victor’s name under their breath.

I should speak. I should actually say something. Maybe defend myself or deny the allegations and accusations. I could but I couldn’t. So I just watched everything unfold instead.

There was some kind of calm anger in her eyes and how straightened her spine was. She was no longer the girl that I broke. This one had become something else, something more dangerous.

When the chairman dismissed everyone, the room became empty very quickly. Cassandra left last, her heels clicking like clockwork on the marble floor. She did that intentionally because Leona was here or maybe I thought too much.

Leona moved deliberately, gathering her papers. I followed her. The elevator doors opened and she stepped in. I caught them before the elevator closed, slipping in beside her. There were two other workers in the same elevator.

The heat, silence and tension between us could make a dough from scratch. My heartbeat drummed in my ears, it was always like that with her.

I cleared my throat first. “You shouldn’t have come back,” I murmured to her hearing.

“I didn’t come back for you,” she replied, her voice flat.

I didn’t say she did or maybe I hoped that she actually did come because of me but she just made that clear.

I could see how she hated to be in the same elevator with me, how she hated to stand beside me, how she hated to speak with me.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Leona.” I sighed.

“You didn’t just hurt me, Adrian,” she said, her eyes straight ahead. “You ended me.”

The elevator dinged and she stepped out, walking ahead without looking back. Her words were quiet and lethal. They rang in my head throughout.