Chapter 6 - The Billionaire Chooses Evelyn in Front of Everyone
The next morning, Adrian made a decision that would become public before noon.
He canceled every planned appearance with Celeste.
Reporters noticed.
Rumors exploded.
Then Adrian walked into Cole Meridian headquarters beside Evelyn.
Cameras were waiting.
Someone had tipped them off.
A reporter shouted, “Mr. Cole, are you dating Evelyn Mercer?”
Adrian stopped.
Evelyn whispered, “Don't.”
He looked at her.
Then turned toward the cameras.
“Yes.”
The building erupted.
Evelyn stared at him.
“You could have lied.”
“I could have.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because I'm tired of being careful with you.”
The statement spread across every financial news network within minutes.
Celeste saw it on television.
She smiled sadly.
For the first time, she realized her sister had finally found someone who saw her.
Not as an accessory.
Not as a quiet helper.
Not as Celeste Mercer's little sister.
As Evelyn.
But the public did not respond kindly.
Social media accounts accused Evelyn of manipulating Adrian.
Articles called her opportunistic.
One headline read:
BILLIONAIRE ABANDONS FAMOUS CURATOR FOR UNKNOWN SISTER.
Evelyn read it.
Then laughed.
“Unknown?”
Adrian looked over.
“You hate it.”
“I find it funny.”
“You're lying.”
“Yes.”
He sat beside her.
“You don't have to become famous to deserve me.”
She looked at him.
“I don't want to become famous.”
“Good.”
“I want to keep working.”
“Then work.”
“What if people think I used you?”
“Let them.”
“What if it hurts the company?”
“Then we'll fix the company.”
“What if it hurts your family?”
He looked toward the window.
“It already has.”
Their relationship became public.
That should have destroyed Celeste's career.
Instead, something unexpected happened.
A group of artists publicly defended her.
The museum director reinstated the exhibition.
And then an anonymous donor paid the museum's missing funds.
Celeste recognized the handwriting on the donation letter.
It was her father’s.
Impossible again.
The letter had been written years ago and placed in a legal trust.
A lawyer contacted Celeste.
“Your father created a protected fund.”
“For what?”
“For the day the Mercer sisters needed it.”
Celeste broke down.
Her father had been preparing for this.
Meanwhile, Adrian confronted Northstar Development Consortium.
Their CEO, Daniel Voss, invited him to a private meeting.
“You've made a mistake.”
Adrian looked across the table.
“Which one?”
“Choosing Evelyn.”
Adrian's expression became cold.
“Say her name again.”
Daniel smiled.
“You're emotional.”
“No.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“I'm warning you.”
Voss laughed.
“You think money protects people.”
“No.”
Adrian stood.
“I think consequences do.”
The meeting ended.
That evening, Evelyn received a call.
A preservation site had collapsed.
Three workers were trapped.
She rushed there.
Adrian followed.
The building was unstable.
Firefighters told her to stay back.
But Evelyn saw a gap.
“I can get them.”
“No.”
“I know that structure.”
Adrian grabbed her arm.
“You're not going in.”
“This is my job.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
He looked at her.
She softened.
“Adrian.”
He released her.
“Come back.”
“I will.”
She entered.
Twenty minutes later, she returned with the first worker.
Then the second.
The third came out ten minutes later.
Adrian was waiting.
When she reached him, he pulled her into his arms.
“You're impossible.”
“You knew that.”
“I hate this job.”
“I love it.”
“I know.”
They kissed in the rain.
A dozen cameras captured it.
The next day, the narrative changed.
People saw Evelyn differently.
Not as the billionaire's girlfriend.
As a woman who ran toward danger to save strangers.
Her preservation firm received new clients.
Her work gained national attention.
But someone had orchestrated the collapse.
The structural supports had been deliberately weakened.
Evelyn found the same unusual bolts from the Pennsylvania mill.
The pattern was unmistakable.
Someone was following her work.
Worse, the documents showed that the construction company responsible for the building had received financing from Cole Meridian.
Adrian was furious.
Someone was using his company again.
He ordered a complete internal audit.
The results were devastating.
Victor had not been acting alone.
There were four executives involved.
One was Marcus Hale.
Adrian's most trusted chief of staff.
Adrian stared at the report.
“No.”
Marcus walked into the room.
“It's true.”
Adrian looked up slowly.
“How?”
Marcus's expression was exhausted.
“Your father.”
Silence.
“You've been working for him?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Marcus placed a photograph on the desk.
A woman stood beside him.
Vivian Cross.
Adrian's mother.
Alive.
Adrian's hands trembled.
“She died.”
Marcus shook his head.
“She disappeared.”
Evelyn entered.
She looked at the photograph.
Then at Adrian.
“Why would your mother fake her death?”
Marcus answered.
“Because she was the only person who knew the real architect of Northstar.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked toward the door.
“Your father's killer.”
Evelyn froze.
“My father?”
Marcus nodded.
“He didn't die in an accident.”
Adrian stared.
“Who killed him?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then said the name.
“Daniel Voss.”
Evelyn's world collapsed into silence.
Voss.
The same man threatening Adrian.
The same man connected to Northstar.
The same man who had profited from everything.
And now there was only one question.
Why had Vivian Cross protected the secret for nearly two decades?
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The answer was hidden in a letter she had left for Adrian.
And it would force him to choose between the woman he loved and the empire his family had built.
