Chapter 6 - The Woman Adrian Vale Refused to Love Became the Only Person He Could Trust
We spent the next two days preparing to enter the abandoned warehouse.
Adrian wanted to send his men.
I refused.
The original ledger contained handwritten notes, shipping numbers, and signatures.
I was the only person who knew what to look for.
Eventually, he agreed to let me accompany him.
But he insisted that I remain behind him at all times.
I found his concern irritating.
I also found it strangely comforting.
During those two days, something changed between us.
We began eating breakfast together.
He asked about my childhood.
I asked about his father.
He told me that Richard Vale had been a difficult man.
Brilliant.
Demanding.
Sometimes cruel.
But he had loved his son.
And Adrian had spent years trying to become the kind of man his father would have respected.
I told him about my mother.
About Ethan.
About the years we had struggled financially after our father's death.
For the first time, I saw something other than cold calculation in Adrian's eyes.
He understood loss.
Perhaps more than I wanted to admit.
One evening, I found him sitting alone in the library.
He was staring at an old photograph.
A younger Adrian stood beside his father.
Both were smiling.
I sat beside him.
"Do you miss him?"
"Every day."
I didn't know what to say.
So I simply sat there.
After a while, Adrian turned toward me.
"You're the first person in years who has asked me that without wanting something."
I looked at him.
"Maybe you should spend more time around people who don't want anything from you."
He smiled faintly.
"Perhaps."
For a moment, I thought he might reach for my hand.
But he didn't.
The following morning, we entered the warehouse.
The building was enormous, with broken windows and rusted machinery scattered across the floor.
My flashlight illuminated rows of abandoned shelves.
I followed the old shipping records in my memory.
Then I found it.
A metal cabinet hidden behind a damaged wall.
Inside was a thick paper ledger.
I opened it.
And immediately saw my father's handwriting.
There were dozens of entries.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
And one note that made my blood run cold.
RICHARD VALE — FINAL AUTHORIZATION.
I stared at the words.
"Adrian."
He came to my side.
"What is it?"
I showed him the page.
His face went pale.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he shook his head.
"My father never authorized these shipments."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
I turned another page.
There were signatures.
Several belonged to people who had been dead for years.
And one belonged to Adrian himself.
I looked up.
"Did you sign this?"
"No."
His expression became dangerous.
Someone had forged his signature.
Someone had been building a criminal operation under his family's name.
And someone had wanted the evidence buried.
Suddenly, a metallic crash echoed through the warehouse.
Marcus shouted from the entrance.
"Get down!"
Gunfire erupted.
Adrian grabbed me and pulled me behind a concrete pillar.
I clutched the ledger against my chest.
Men were moving through the warehouse.
Vanessa's men.
One of them shouted my name.
"Clara Bennett! Give us the book!"
Adrian drew his weapon.
I had never seen him like that.
His face was completely expressionless.
His movements were precise.
And for the first time, I understood why people feared him.
But then I noticed something.
One of the men wasn't aiming at Adrian.
He was aiming at me.
I froze.
Adrian saw him.
He moved before I could react.
May you like
The shot rang out.
And Adrian fell.
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