Chapter 155: Adeline

Adeline's POV

The walk into Royal and Associates felt different this morning. It wasn't the walk of shame or feigned indifference. I walked in, knowing I was about to take down one of the men that made sure my life didn't go as it was supposed to.

I respected Richard, and I never for once thought that he had a hand in my circumstances. He was a good lawyer, and I respected him even more after he handled his niece, Vanessa, when she started acting out.

I never thought he was a green snake hiding under green grass.

People whispered as we passed, and I knew it was because of two things. One was my noticeable absence ever since the smear campaign in the media against Zara and me started. Two being the fact that this was the first time Percy and I were shamelessly flaunting our relationship.

We never kept our relationship a secret, but we did make it a point to not remind everyone. He was the owner of the law firm, and I was an employee of his. Workplace romance was not prohibited, but it wasn't actively encouraged either.

As the leader, he found the balance between doing whatever he liked while still leading by example.

Percy was at my side; his presence was a dominating force in his fitted suit.

Behind us, Alex and Silas moved like shadows, their eyes scanning for the trackers we knew were now part of the game. I was ready to switch the whole game up by confronting him directly.

The boardroom doors swung open, and for a second, time seemed to reset when they saw us.

Richard must have called a meeting because they were all there, around the same mahogany table and the same smell of expensive coffee.

At the head of the table sat Richard Sterling, looking smug, his hands folded over a leather-bound folder. He better not get used to being at the end because he was going down fast.

He thought he was winning. He thought that as we stood there, the dead man’s switch was currently rewriting the history of my kidnapping, turning Hart Whitmore into a criminal and me into a fraud that was a result of said crime.

"Adeline, Percy," Sterling said, his voice a smooth fatherly purr. "I’m surprised to see you. I thought you’d be busy packing your bags for a long retreat after the... unfortunate developments that have happened. Percy, I'm sure you know I'll take good care of the company in your absence."

Percy smirked at him. "Oh, I have no doubt about that."

"Except we’re not here for one last look, Richard," I said, taking my seat at the far end. "We’re here to discuss the audit."

"Ah, yes. The audit by Mr. Crawford," Sterling chuckled, glancing at the other partners. "I’m afraid we’ve had our own IT experts look into the server. It seems there was a significant amount of corruption in the files. It appears your father, Hart Whitmore, was involved in some rather dark financial dealings. Dealings that resulted in your disappearance as a way to hide the trail. It’s a tragedy, really."

I felt Percy’s hand grip the edge of the table in strength, and I knew he was this close to snapping. I placed my hand over his, a silent command to wait.

"Corruption?" I asked, tilting my head. "That’s a very specific word, Richard. Especially since Rowan Crawford spent the last eight hours watching you and your friends at the Kozlov Consulate try to upload those forgeries into our system."

The smugness on Sterling’s face didn't vanish, but it stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about. The evidence is the evidence."

"You’re right," I said, leaning forward. "The evidence is exactly what it is. You stole from my father. He fired you. You used his own money to pay a gang to take me because you were too small of a man to handle being caught. And when you couldn't pay the rest of the bill, you left me with the said gang."

"You’re making things up." Sterling sneered, but I could see that he was getting scared. "No one will believe the word of a mere partner over a founding member of the board. My reputation is untouchable."

"Founding member of my own law firm? Richard, I think you're forgetting yourself."

"Is it?" I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it on the table. "Percy?"

Percy looked at the clock on the wall. "Now."

In the lower level of the penthouse, I knew Rowan was hitting enter on a pre-packaged digital bomb.

"While you were busy bragging, Richard," I said coldly. "Rowan was bypassing your hack. He mirrored your hack and used it to track the source back to your private terminal and the Kozlov servers."

Suddenly, every phone in the room began to buzz. One by one, the partners at the table pulled them out. Their faces went from confusion to absolute horror.

"What is this?" Arthur gasped, staring at his screen.

"It’s a coordinated document dump to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Bar Association," I said. "It includes the original 1999 ledgers, the wire transfers you signed, and the digital recording of your conversation with Chloe St. James at the auction. It also includes the real-time log of the hack you just attempted."

Sterling lunged for his phone, his face turning a sickly shade of purple. "You... you can't! This will destroy the firm’s valuation!"

"No," Percy intervened. "It destroys you and you alone. You think I built my firm based on your reputation. We’ve already issued a statement as the majority owners. We’re cooperating with the authorities to root out decades-old corruption within the legacy Whitmore branch. The firm stays clean. You go to a cage."

The boardroom was in chaos. Partners were standing and trying to distance themselves from the man who was now the most hated lawyer in New York.

Richard Sterling looked at me, and I saw him for the small, bitter thief he had always been. "You think you’ve won? Ilya is still out there. He will burn this city down before he lets you take his assets."

"Let him try," I said, standing up. I looked at the platinum ring on my finger. "He’s been fighting a ghost for twenty-six years. He’s never fought an Akilov and a Whitmore at the same time."

Percy stood beside me, his hand settling on the small of my back. He looked at Silas. "Take Mr. Sterling to the lobby. The FBI is waiting by the elevators. I believe they have a very long list of questions about 1999."

As Sterling was led out in handcuffs, the silence that returned to the boardroom was different. It was the silence of a house that had finally been cleaned of its rot.

I looked at the empty seat at the head of the table and realized that I was very satisfied. It was a long way coming, but it was definitely worth it. Ilya would soon be isolated enough for him to slip up.