Chapter 29: Man on Fire

Adrian

I don’t remember the last time I slept. Each time I try to sleep I'm haunted with dreams of Selene and John together, her moans as he pleasures her as I watch . And she looks at me and smiles her sultry smile . I wake up shaking and feeling like my heart is being broken in too.

My eyes are burning, my shirt’s wrinkled, and I haven’t shaved. I look more like a man who’s lost a fortune rather than one of the most powerful names in New York finance. But I don’t care.

Because I’ve lost something far more valuable.

Her, Selene , the woman who had consumed my thoughts every waking second of the day. And her silence is killing me, I feel like I'm unravelling from the inside out.

And someone did this on purpose. I can't get over the extent Bianca has gone to fuck up my life.

“Sir, we ran the image through three databases,” my head of security, Miles, says from the other end of the call. “We’ve got a hit. He’s not concierge at the hotel. Name’s Marco Ventura. Former private contractor. Shady résumé—military-adjacent. He was paid through a shell corporation… tied to a holding group we traced back to Bianca’s father’s company.”

I squeeze the bridge of my nose.

Of course. Why am I surprised, that bitch will stoop to levels even I can't fathom.

This wasn’t just a drunken mistake or a lover’s spat. It was a fucking well planned operation. A play designed to destroy me and rip Selene from my life like a pawn off the board.

I grip the edge of my desk, knuckles white. “Find him. I don’t care how much it costs. I want his face in front of me.”

“Yes, sir. Working on it.”

I end the call and turn to my laptop, replaying the footage of myself in the hallway from that night—raw, wild-eyed, devastated. If only she saw this instead of the staged scene in that bed.

My phone buzzes again, and my heart leaps in my chest in a hope that it could possibly be Selene.

It's not her though.

Never her, I wish she would just speak to me even if it's to yell profanities at me. Anything would be better then this silence. I don't even know when I fell in love with her, just that weekend together that we shared and I knew I'd never find anyone like her. I know I'm completely head over heels for her. My body craves her in ways I never knew possible.

It’s Bianca.

I let it ring thrice, then pick up.

“What the hell do you want now Bianca?”

“I heard you’ve been busy,” she says lightly, like this is some goddamn game.

“Bianca we both know that you drugged me. Did you think I'd just believe that I willingly slept with you again?."

“Allegedly,” she purrs. “You can’t prove it was me.”

“Oh, but I can prove your fathers company paid the man who did. And when I do, you’re both done. You hear me? I will destroy your father and you . You’re not taking anything else from me.”

Her voice hardens. “You really think Selene’s going to believe you? After that video? After what she saw?”

I don’t answer.

Because I don’t know honestly.

I want to believe she’ll listen. That she knows me, even though we haven't been together that long. That the bond I feel is shared and not one sided. But if she did, why hasn’t she called? I know she is hurt and believes that I've played her and betrayed her. But anything but this silence would be better. I wish she would just pick up, I want to hear her voice so badly .

Bianca’s silence stretches.

“She’s not coming back, Adrian,” she says eventually. “Not to you in any case. You had your chance—and you blew it. You let yourself be vulnerable. That was your mistake. Come back to me, let's get married and raise our baby together. ”

I hang up, I'm done with this bitch.

No more calls. No more games, I will not sit hear and listen to her bullshit .

I open a new message and start recording .

Selene. I know you don’t want to hear from me. But you need to see this for yourself. This wasn’t me playing you or anything . It was a setup. Please meet me. Just once. Let me know where and I’ll give you the truth—and then I’ll disappear after you that if that’s what you want after that. But please give me a chance to show you what I've found. Don't throw what we have away. I know that we just met, but believe me when I say I'm in love with you. I want you like I've never wanted anyone else.

I hesitate and don’t hit send.

Not yet, my finger hovers over the send button.

Because desperation won’t win her back.

But evidence might.

And I’ll burn the world down to find it. I think ill be able to get it all in the next day or two and I can show her what happened and try to convince her to give us a chance .

I call my IT guy and ask him if he would be able to track Selenes phone . I need a location , so I can fly to her and show her in person if she still keeps avoiding me calls and texts . I decide to send it in the end . The evidence will come soon enough and I will have her back with me.