CHAPTER 3 — The Fall of Adrian Vale
By sunrise, Adrian Vale’s name was everywhere.
Not in celebration.
Not in admiration.
In scandal.
The same newspapers that once praised his success were now reporting his downfall.
Fraud investigations.
Financial crimes.
Corporate betrayal.
The man who loved appearing powerful had become a public example of arrogance destroying itself.
But Adrian still believed he could escape.
Because men like him always believed there was one more door.
One more person to manipulate.
One more lie that could save them.
He found me three days later.
Not at the estate.
Not behind locked doors.
But in my father’s headquarters.
A place where Adrian had never belonged.
He stood outside the glass conference room looking smaller than I remembered.
“You planned this.”
I looked up from the documents in front of me.
“No.”
I closed the folder.
“You planned this.”
His jaw tightened.
“You recorded me.”
“I protected myself.”
“You destroyed everything I built.”
I stared at him.
“No, Adrian.”
My voice remained calm.
“You destroyed everything when you decided hurting me was easier than admitting you were wrong.”
For the first time, he looked ashamed.
But I knew him too well.
His regret was not for what he did.
It was for losing.
“I loved you.”
The words almost made me laugh.
Almost.
“You loved having control over me.”
His silence answered everything.
Then the conference room doors opened.
My father walked in.
Adrian immediately straightened.
The old Adrian returned.
The businessman.
The performer.
“Mr. Harrington, surely we can discuss this privately.”
My father looked at him.
“You had privacy.”
A pause.
“You used it to become cruel.”
Adrian had no response.
My father placed a document on the table.
“The divorce settlement.”
Adrian looked down.
His hands shook.
“You’re taking everything?”
“No.”
My father calmly replied.
“You’re keeping exactly what you earned.”
Adrian looked confused.
“Meaning?”
“The consequences.”
Meanwhile, Vanessa disappeared.
The woman who once sat on my sofa drinking champagne was suddenly nowhere to be found.
But people always leave traces.
Especially people who believe they are clever.
Her messages revealed everything.
She had manipulated Adrian.
Encouraged his cruelty.
Created lies.
And secretly planned to leave him once his money was secured.
The woman he destroyed his marriage for…
Never loved him.
She only loved his wallet.
When Adrian discovered that truth, something inside him finally broke.
Not because he lost me.
May you like
But because he realized he had been used.
The same way he had used me.
