The Hunt

Chapter 4

Adrian slammed the car door harder than he needed to.

The sound echoed in the empty street, sharp in the cold air. He didn’t care who heard it. His focus was already ahead on the building across the road, dark except for one light on the third floor.

“He’s here,” Adrian said into his phone.

“You’re sure?” the voice on the other end asked.

Adrian didn’t take his eyes off the window. “I didn’t come this far to be wrong.”

A pause. Then, “Be careful.”

Adrian ended the call.

Careful wasn’t the plan.

He crossed the street without looking back, shoes hitting the pavement in steady, controlled steps. His pulse wasn’t fast. It was steady. Too steady.

That was how he knew this wasn’t just anger anymore.

It had gone past that.

He wanted to see him.

No, he wanted to see him broken.

The thought settled deep, heavy and sharp. It didn’t feel good. It didn’t feel bad.

It just felt right.

The door to the building was unlocked. Of course it was.

Adrian pushed it open and stepped inside.

The air smelled faintly of dust and something old, like the place hadn’t been fully used in years. His footsteps echoed as he moved toward the stairs, not bothering with the elevator.

Too slow.

He took the steps two at a time.

Third floor.

He stopped at the top, his hand brushing the railing as he caught his balance.

There were only two doors.

One was closed. Dark.

The other

Light slipped out from underneath it.

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“You’re not even hiding,” he murmured.

Of course he wasn’t.

Lucien Moreau didn’t hide.

Even now.

Even after everything.

Adrian stepped forward, stopping right in front of the door.

For a second, he just stood there.

Listening.

Nothing.

No voices. No movement.

Just silence.

His hand lifted, then dropped again.

He didn’t knock.

He turned the handle.

Unlocked.

The door opened slowly, the hinges quiet.

Adrian stepped inside.

The first thing he noticed was the light.

Warm. Soft. Not harsh like he expected.

The second thing

Lucien.

Sitting on the edge of a table, sleeves rolled up, shirt slightly open at the collar. A glass in his hand. Half full.

He didn’t look up right away.

Like he already knew Adrian was there.

Adrian closed the door behind him, the click louder than it should have been.

“You took your time,” Lucien said.

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

Adrian didn’t move from where he stood.

“You’re not answering calls,” Adrian said. “People think you disappeared.”

Lucien took a slow sip from his glass before setting it down.

“Did you?”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“Did I do what?”

“Think I disappeared.”

Adrian let out a short breath.

“I knew you wouldn’t run.”

Lucien’s lips curved slightly.

“Good.”

That word hit harder than it should have.

Adrian pushed it aside and stepped further into the room.

“You picked an interesting place to hide,” he said, glancing around. The room was simple. Bare. No sign of panic. No sign of a man who had just lost everything.

“I’m not hiding,” Lucien said.

Adrian stopped a few steps away from him.

“No?” he asked. “Because from where I’m standing, your company is collapsing, your name is everywhere, and you’re sitting here like nothing happened.”

Lucien finally looked up.

Their eyes met.

And for a second

Adrian forgot what he was about to say.

Because Lucien didn’t look broken.

He didn’t look stressed.

He didn’t look anything close to what Adrian had imagined.

He looked…

Calm.

The realization hit hard.

Adrian’s chest tightened.

“That’s not possible,” he said quietly.

Lucien tilted his head slightly. “What isn’t?”

“This,” Adrian said, gesturing toward him. “You should be” He stopped.

Desperate.

Angry.

Fighting.

Anything but this.

Lucien’s gaze sharpened, like he could hear the words Adrian didn’t say.

“But I’m not,” he said.

No.

He wasn’t.

And that was the problem.

Adrian took another step closer.

“You lost everything overnight,” he said. “Your empire is falling apart, Lucien.”

Lucien held his gaze.

“And yet,” he said softly, “I’m still here.”

Something twisted inside Adrian.

Sharp.

Uncomfortable.

Because that wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

He was supposed to walk in here and see it.

The fall.

The break.

The moment Lucien finally looked like everyone else.

Instead

He looked exactly the same.

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“You’re not even trying to fix it,” he said.

Lucien’s eyes flickered slightly.

“What makes you think I’m not?”

“Because you’re here,” Adrian snapped. “Not in a boardroom. Not on calls. Not controlling the damage.”

Lucien leaned back slightly, resting his hands on the edge of the table.

“Maybe the damage is already controlled.”

Adrian let out a sharp laugh.

“Controlled?” he repeated. “Your stocks are crashing. Investors are pulling out. The media is tearing you apart.”

Lucien didn’t react.

“Are they?” he asked.

Adrian stared at him.

“You can’t seriously think this is nothing.”

“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Lucien said.

“Then what?”

A pause.

Lucien’s gaze didn’t leave his.

“A move.”

The word hung between them.

Adrian’s heart kicked once.

Hard.

“A move,” he repeated slowly. “You’re saying this is… planned?”

Lucien didn’t answer right away.

That was enough to answer.

Adrian shook his head slightly, trying to process it.

“No,” he said. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“No,” Adrian snapped. “No one destroys their own company like this.”

Lucien’s lips curved again.

“Are you sure about that?”

Adrian stepped closer again, frustration building.

“Stop,” he said. “Stop talking in circles.”

Lucien’s expression didn’t change.

“You came here for something,” he said. “What is it?”

Adrian froze for a second.

Because he knew the answer.

He just didn’t like it.

“I came to see it,” Adrian said finally.

“See what?”

Adrian’s voice dropped.

“You're losing.”

The words were sharp.

Clear.

Honest.

Lucien studied him for a long second.

“And?” he asked softly. “Do I look like I’m losing?”

No.

That was the problem.

Adrian clenched his jaw.

“You should be,” he said.

Lucien’s gaze dropped briefly to Adrian’s hands, then back up again.

“You want me to be,” he corrected.

Adrian didn’t deny it.

“Yes.”

The silence that followed wasn’t empty.

It was heavy.

Charged.

Because this wasn’t just about business anymore.

It hadn’t been for a while.

Adrian took another step closer without thinking.

Now they were close.

Too close.

“You don’t get to walk away from this like it’s nothing,” Adrian said quietly.

Lucien didn’t move.

“I’m not walking away.”

“Then what are you doing?” Adrian demanded.

Lucien leaned in slightly.

Close enough that Adrian could feel the shift in the air.

“Waiting,” he said.

“For what?”

Lucien’s gaze softened just a fraction.

“For you to catch up.”

The words hit harder than anything else.

Adrian’s breath caught for a second.

“That’s not funny,” he said.

“I’m not joking.”

Adrian searched his face.

Looking for something.

Anything.

A crack.

A lie.

He didn’t find it.

And that

That was what unsettled him the most.

“You planned this,” Adrian said slowly. “All of it.”

Lucien didn’t answer.

But his silence was loud.

Adrian ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping again.

“You’re insane,” he said.

“Maybe.”

“And you expect to recover from this?”

Lucien’s gaze stayed steady.

“I don’t expect,” he said. “I know.”

Of course he did.

Adrian let out a breath, something close to a laugh escaping him.

“You haven’t changed at all,” he said.

Lucien’s lips curved.

“Neither have you.”

That pulled Adrian’s focus back to him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lucien’s eyes dropped again, slower this time.

Taking him in.

“You’re still chasing me,” he said.

Adrian stilled.

“I’m not chasing you.”

“No?” Lucien asked softly.

“No,” Adrian said. “I’m hunting you.”

The words came out before he could stop them.

Raw.

Honest.

And something about the way Lucien reacted

Just a slight shift.

A flicker of something in his eyes

Made Adrian’s chest tighten again.

“Good,” Lucien said quietly.

Adrian frowned.

“Good?”

Lucien nodded once.

“I was hoping you would.”

A pause.

Then

“Because it means you’re finally ready.”

Adrian’s pulse picked up.

“For what?”

Lucien held his gaze.

And for the first time since Adrian walked in

There was something there.

Not calm.

Not control.

Something deeper.

Something dangerous.

“For the truth,” Lucien said.

The words settled between them, heavy and sharp.

Adrian’s mind raced.

“What truth?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached for his glass again, taking a slow sip like they had all the time in the world.

Like nothing had changed.

Adrian stepped closer again, frustration rising.

“Lucien”

“You should leave,” Lucien said suddenly.

Adrian froze.

“What?”

Lucien set the glass down.

“Before you get pulled into something you can’t control.”

Adrian let out a sharp breath.

“You think I’m scared?”

“No,” Lucien said. “I think you don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand.”

Lucien looked at him for a long second.

Then he shook his head.

“Not yet.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“You don’t get to decide that.”

Lucien’s gaze softened slightly.

“I already did.”

Silence filled the room again.

Heavy.

Unfinished.

Adrian stood there, every instinct telling him to push harder, demand more, break through whatever wall Lucien had built.

But something stopped him.

Something he didn’t like.

Because for the first time

It felt like he wasn’t the one in control.

Adrian took a slow step back.

Then another.

His eyes never left Lucien’s.

“This isn’t over,” he said.

Lucien’s lips curved slightly.

“I know.”

Adrian turned toward the door, his mind racing, questions piling up faster than he could answer them.

Just before he reached it

Lucien spoke again.

Soft.

Calm.

Like always.

“You didn’t come here just to see me broken.”

Adrian stopped.

His hand on the door.

“And you didn’t find what you were looking for,” Lucien added.

Adrian didn’t turn around.

“Not yet,” he said.

Lucien’s voice followed him, low and certain.

“You won’t.”

Adrian stepped out into the hallway, the door closing behind him with a quiet click.

He stood there for a second, breathing slow, steady, trying to make sense of what just happened.

He came to hunt.

To win.

To see Lucien fall.

Instead

He found him exactly the same.

Calm.

Waiting.

Like this was all part of something bigger.

Adrian’s jaw tightened as he walked toward the stairs.

“Fine,” he muttered.

“If this is a game…”

His grip tightened on the railing.

“…then I’ll finish it.”

Behind the door, Lucien didn’t move.

Didn’t follow.

Didn’t stop him.

And that

That was what stayed with Adrian the most.

Because a man who was losing

Didn’t sit still like that.

Didn’t wait.

Which meant one thing.

Adrian wasn’t hunting a broken man.

He was walking straight into something else.

Something he still didn’t understand.

And somehow

That made it worse.