Chapter Two: The Devil in a Tailored Suit

Adrian’s POV

I disliked surprises.

They complicated business, exposed weaknesses, and gave people the foolish impression that they had control over situations they barely understood.

Unfortunately, Serena Hayes was shaping up to be one of the most inconvenient surprises of my life.

“She threatened to throw the envelope at you,” Marcus said from the driver’s seat.

I glanced at him. “She considered it.”

“She looked like she wanted to.”

“That is not the same thing.”

Marcus chuckled.

I turned towards the window, watching the city slide past us. My father had arranged this marriage long before his death, and I had spent the last three years trying to understand why he had considered it necessary.

The Hayes family had once controlled a valuable network of ports and shipping routes. When Richard Hayes died, that network fractured, and several men who had once been loyal to him began fighting over what remained.

My father had believed the arrangement would restore the balance.

He had also left instructions that the marriage must happen before the end of the year.

I had no intention of questioning a dead man’s judgement without understanding his reasons.

But Serena was not what I expected.

She had looked frightened when she read the letter, yet she had hidden it beneath anger so quickly that most people would have missed the difference.

She had not begged.

She had not tried to flatter me.

And she had looked me directly in the eye when she told me the agreement meant nothing to her.

It was irritating.

It was also interesting.

“Find out everything about her,” I told Marcus.

“Everything?”

“Her friends, her habits, where she goes, who she trusts. And find out why Richard Hayes left her in that house with a woman who clearly despises her.”

Marcus’s expression changed.

“You think her mother knows more than she’s saying?”

“I think everyone knows more than they’re saying.”

My phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

Leave the Hayes girl alone. Her father made the wrong enemies, and you’ll make the same mistake if you marry her.

I read it twice.

Then I deleted it.

“Problem?” Marcus asked.

“Not yet.”

I slipped the phone into my pocket.

Someone was watching the arrangement closely enough to know I had approached Serena. That meant the marriage was not simply about family loyalty or business.

It was about something someone wanted buried.

And if someone believed they could threaten me into abandoning the agreement, they had made a serious mistake.

That evening, I arrived at the Hayes residence shortly before seven.

The house looked expensive from the outside, but neglect showed in the small details: a broken garden light, weeds along the driveway, curtains that had not been properly cleaned in months.

A house built on old money and quietly falling apart.

Serena stood at the top of the staircase when I entered.

She wore a simple black dress, her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. She looked uncomfortable, but her chin was raised.

Her mother sat in the living room, gripping a glass of wine.

“You’re late,” Serena said.

I checked my watch.

“I’m three minutes early.”

“Then you’re three minutes too early.”

Marcus coughed to hide a laugh.

I looked at Serena. “Do you always greet guests this warmly?”

“Only the ones who arrive with marriage contracts.”

Before I could respond, her mother stood.

“Adrian, darling. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Her voice was sweet enough to make me suspicious.

I shook her hand.

“Mrs Hayes.”

“Please, call me Evelyn.”

“Mrs Hayes will do.”

Serena’s lips twitched.

Interesting.

We sat down, and Evelyn began explaining how fortunate Serena was to have attracted the attention of a family like mine.

Serena stared at her as if she were listening to a stranger describe someone else’s life.

Then I asked the question that mattered.

“Where is Richard’s original agreement?”

Evelyn’s glass stopped halfway to her mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The signed document. The one he kept in his private study.”

For the first time that evening, she looked genuinely afraid.

Serena noticed.

So did I.

“I believe,” I continued, “that someone removed it before his death.”

Evelyn recovered quickly. “My husband kept many documents. I cannot remember every piece of paper he owned.”

“Of course.”

I rose from my chair.

“Then perhaps Serena can help me search his study.”

Her mother immediately objected.

“That room is locked.”

Serena turned towards her.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

The words came out too quickly.

I watched Serena’s expression change. Curiosity replaced irritation, and something in her eyes told me she had wondered about that locked room for years.

“Where’s the key?” she asked.

Evelyn said nothing.

I reached into my pocket and placed a small brass key on the table.

“I found this among your father’s belongings.”

Serena stared at it.

“How did you get that?”

“Your father gave it to mine.”

I offered her my hand.

“Shall we?”

She looked at my hand as if it were a trap.

Then she stood without taking it.

“Don’t mistake this for trust, Blackwood.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Miss Hayes.”

Together, we walked towards the locked study.

Neither of us noticed Evelyn quietly reaching for her phone.

Her fingers trembled as she typed a message.

He’s found the key. We need to act tonight.

I stared at the envelope, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I had spent my entire life trying to escape my father’s shadow.

Now his final secret had found me.

And it had a name.

Adrian Blackwood.