chapter 9

CHAPTER 9: THE SECOND DOCUMENT

Mia POV

I could not forget the photo.

Richard and James - Brothers forever. 1998.

If my father and Adrian's father were best friends, brothers even, then everything Adrian told me was a lie. Or everything he believed was a lie.

That night, I could not sleep. Adrian was in the shower. The sound of the water gave me courage.

I walked quietly into his study. It was dark, clean, and cold. Just like him when he wanted to hide something.

I opened the drawers one by one. Most of them were empty, or filled with normal company papers.

Then I found one drawer that was locked.

My heart started beating fast. Why would Adrian lock one drawer in his own house?

I took a hairpin from my hair and tried to open it. My hands were shaking. After three tries, it clicked open.

Inside was not money. It was not jewelry. It was a single document, folded carefully, as if someone had read it a thousand times.

It was a will.

I opened it and read it slowly.

"I, Richard Carter, leave half of my company, Carter Group, to my brother, James Cole, and his family..."

My eyes widened.

My father had left half of his company to Adrian's father in 1998. But someone had crossed out James's name with a black pen. And written over it: "VOID."

Who crossed it out? When? Why?

I heard footsteps behind me. The shower had stopped.

I quickly tried to fold the will and put it back, but it was too late.

Adrian stood at the door, his hair still wet, a towel around his waist. His eyes went straight to the paper in my hand.

"Mia," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "What are you doing in here?"

I held the will behind my back. "Trying to find the truth."

Adrian POV

She found it. She was never supposed to find it.

That will was the reason I started this whole revenge plan. It was the proof that Richard Carter promised my father half of everything, then took it all back.

I walked closer to her, slowly. I could see fear in her eyes, but also courage. She did not run. Mia never ran.

"Mia, give me that paper," I said.

"No," she said. "Not until you tell me the truth. Did my father write this? Did he really promise your father half of the company?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes. He wrote it. James Cole was not just his friend, Mia. He was his brother. Not by blood, but by choice. They built Carter Group together. Your father had the money. My father had the ideas. They promised to share everything forever."

"Then what happened?" Mia whispered.

"Your father got greedy," I said. "He changed the will. He crossed out my father's name. He told everyone my father tried to steal from him. He framed him for fraud. My father lost everything. He lost his company. He lost his name. He lost his brother."

Mia's eyes filled with tears. "Then why did you marry me? For revenge against my father, or for revenge against me?"

I did not answer. I could not answer.

Because I did not know the answer anymore.

When I married her, it was for revenge. But now, when I saw her crying, holding that will, all I wanted to do was hold her and tell her it was not her fault.

Mia POV

Adrian did not answer my question. He just stood there, looking at me like a man who was fighting with himself.

I put the will back on the table. My voice was shaking, but I forced myself to speak.

"Adrian, you told me my father stole a contract from your father. But this will says my father gave him everything and then took it back. Which story is true?"

Adrian finally spoke, his voice breaking. "Both are true, Mia. Your father stole the contract and he broke the promise. He destroyed my father twice. Once in business, and once in the heart."

He sat down on the chair, his head in his hands. For the first time, the cold billionaire looked tired. He looked broken.

"I have hated your father for ten years," he said. "I have planned this revenge for ten years. And then you came, in the rain, in your wedding dress, and you ruined all my plans."

"How did I ruin your plans?" I asked.

He looked up at me. His eyes were red.

"Because I was supposed to use you and leave you. That was the plan. But I cannot... I cannot stop thinking about you. I cannot stop bringing you tea at night. I cannot stop wanting to protect you. Mia, you are ruining my revenge."

I stood there, frozen.

He had just admitted it. He was falling for me.

And I was falling for him too.

I walked to him slowly and sat on the floor beside him, just like he had sat beside me the night before.

"Adrian," I said softly. "If we are going to find the real truth, we have to do it together. Not as enemies. Not as a contract. As... partners."

He looked at me for a long time. Then he took my hand. Not for the cameras. Not for the contract. Just because he wanted to.

"Partners," he said. "Okay, Mia Carter. Partners."

Outside, the rain started again. But inside the study, for the first time, we were not hiding from each other.

We were on the same side.