Chapter Nine: The Information Begins

Felix was waiting for me when I arrived at my office.

He had a folder in his hands and a look on his face that I was starting to recognize. Something between excitement and fear.

"What?" I asked.

"I verified the first batch. The account numbers you gave me."

"And?"

"They're real. All of them."

I set down my bag. I walked to my desk. I sat.

"Show me."

He opened the folder. Bank statements. Transfer records. Account summaries. Julian's name on every page.

"How much?" I asked.

"Fourteen million. Hidden across six accounts. Three different countries."

I studied the documents. The numbers matched what I remembered. The dates were right. The names were right.

"He's been moving money for years," Felix said. "Even before you were together."

"He was always planning. I just didn't see it."

Felix shifted his weight. "How did you know? The accounts. The transfers. This isn't information you find by accident."

I didn't look up. "I told you. I paid attention."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. He didn't push. That was one thing I liked about Felix. He knew when to stop.

"The team is going to verify the rest," he said. "It'll take a few days. Maybe a week."

"Good."

"Do you want me to tell Mr. Kane?"

"I'll tell him."

Felix left. I stayed at my desk. I read through the documents again. Every page. Every number. I knew Julian was a liar. I knew he was a thief. But seeing it in black and white—seeing the years of deception laid out in columns and figures—it did something to me.

Not anger. Something colder.

I closed the folder. I stood. I walked to Adrian's office.

He was on the phone. He saw me in the doorway and held up a finger. I waited.

"Fine," he said into the phone. "Send me the details. I'll review them tonight." He hung up. He looked at me. "You have something."

"Felix verified the accounts. Fourteen million. Six accounts. Three countries."

Adrian leaned back in his chair. He didn't look surprised. He looked satisfied.

"That's more than I expected."

"He's been planning this since before we met."

Adrian nodded. "That tracks. Julian doesn't do anything without a motive."

I sat across from him. I set the folder on his desk.

"There's more," I said. "The accounts are connected to shell companies. The shell companies are connected to Ashford Holdings. It's a web. If we pull one thread, the whole thing could unravel."

"That's the idea."

"But we have to be careful. If we move too fast, he'll know. He'll hide the money. He'll cover his tracks."

Adrian studied me. "You've thought about this."

"I've thought about nothing else."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "What do you want to do?"

I blinked. "You're asking me?"

"You're the one with the information. You're the one who knows him. You should be the one to decide."

I considered this. I hadn't expected him to hand me control. I'd expected him to take charge. To tell me what to do. But he was sitting there, waiting.

"We start slow," I said. "We freeze the smallest account first. See how he reacts. If he doesn't notice, we move to the next one."

"And if he notices?"

"Then we know he's watching. We adjust."

Adrian nodded slowly. "That's a good plan."

"I know."

He almost smiled. Almost.

"One more thing," I said.

"What?"

"When we freeze the first account, I want to be there. I want to see his face when he realizes what's happening."

Adrian held my gaze. "You want to watch him suffer."

"I want to watch him lose. There's a difference."

He didn't argue. He just nodded.

"I'll arrange it," he said.

---

The first account was frozen two days later.

Felix flagged the transfer. Adrian's team made a call. The bank complied. Four hundred thousand dollars disappeared from Julian's reach in a matter of hours.

I didn't see his face. But I heard about it.

Sloane told me. She'd been monitoring his communications. He'd called his lawyer. He'd called the bank. He'd called Mira. He'd yelled at all three.

"He's panicking," Sloane said. "He doesn't know what happened."

"Good."

"He's also hiring an investigator. He wants to know who's behind it."

I looked at her. "Let him investigate."

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "You're not worried?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he won't find anything. Adrian's team doesn't leave tracks."

Sloane considered this. Then she nodded. "You're right. They don't."

She left. I stayed at my desk. I thought about Julian. I thought about the look on his face when he realized his money was gone. I thought about the panic in his voice.

I felt nothing.

That bothered me more than anything else.

---

That night, Adrian found me on the balcony.

I was standing at the railing, looking at the city. The air was cold. I didn't care.

"You should be inside," he said.

"I'm fine."

"You're freezing."

"I'm fine."

He didn't argue. He just stood beside me. He didn't say anything. He just waited.

"I thought I'd feel something," I said.

"About Julian?"

"About any of it. The money. The accounts. The plan. I thought I'd feel satisfied. Or angry. Or something."

"And you don't?"

"No."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "It's not about him anymore."

I looked at him. "What?"

"The revenge. It's not about him. It's about you. What you're building. Who you're becoming."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

"You're not the same person who walked into my office," he said. "You're not the same person who fell off that balcony."

I stared at him. "How do you know about the balcony?"

He didn't answer. He just looked at me. That same unnamed something crossed his face. It was there and gone.

"Adrian."

"Go inside, Elena. It's cold."

He turned and walked away.

I stood there for a long time. The city lights blurred. The wind picked up. I didn't move.

He knew about the balcony.

He shouldn't have known about the balcony.

I didn't tell him.