Chapter 124 Falling Behind His Walls
Chapter 124 Falling Behind His Walls
Ginnie
I stood at the end of the hallway, staring at the closed door of Adrian's study.
He had gone to bed nearly an hour ago. The faint light beneath his bedroom door had disappeared some time ago, and the entire mansion had settled into the stillness that came with midnight.
Yet I remained awake.
I couldn't stop thinking about the deal Adrian had made with Varkos.
Adrian had refused to tell me anything.
He had made that painfully clear.
So if he wasn't going to tell me, I would find out myself.
I let out a shaky breath and began tiptoeing toward the study, my bare feet making almost no sound against the polished floor.
When I reached the door, I paused.
For one brief second, every instinct screamed at me to turn around and forget about this entire thing.
This was Adrian's private study for crying out loud.
He had warned me never to enter without his permission.
Before I could think twice, my hand curled around the handle. I slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind me.
Darkness greeted me the moment I stepped inside. Slowly, I walked toward the desk and switched on the lamp.
Warm light spread across the room.
Bookshelves lined the walls, while files and documents were arranged neatly across the desk. Everything sat perfectly in place, as though Adrian had measured the exact position of every single item.
This was Adrian's world.
A world he rarely allowed anyone into.
My gaze swept across the shelves before I walked toward them and began searching through the folders.
Nothing.
“Where did you put it?” I muttered under my breath.
I checked the cabinet beside the desk.
Still nothing.
My fingers moved more quickly through the files as frustration slowly began crawling beneath my skin.
Then a thought struck me.
Adrian always kept his most important documents inside the locked drawer beneath the second shelf. My eyes slowly moved toward it.
Before I realized what I was doing, I crossed the room. I crouched in front of the shelf, my fingers searching beneath the edge until they brushed against something small and metallic.
CLICK!
The sound sliced through the silence.
My heart jumped violently against my ribs as I glanced toward the door. Slowly, I turned back.
A black folder sat inside.
Carrying the folder back to the desk, I lowered myself into Adrian's chair and opened it.
The moment my eyes landed on the first page, every muscle in my body locked.
Adrian Veynas — Loan and Reconstruction Agreement With Varkos Draven.
My eyes moved slowly down the page. Then I saw the amount.
Six hundred million dollars.
“Holy shit!”
The words burst out before I could stop them. My hand immediately flew over my mouth. For several seconds, I sat frozen, listening for footsteps.
Nothing.
I slowly lowered my hand and my eyes returned to the document.
Adrian had given Varkos six hundred million dollars to rebuild the factory.
Why would Adrian give him such a huge amount of money?
He barely knew Varkos.
Unless...
My eyes moved to the next page.
The repayment terms were clearly stipulated to be one year. But then my eyes reached the additional clause.
My breath stopped.
“No…” The words barely left my lips. “This can’t be possible.”
The clause stated that if Varkos failed to repay the full six hundred million dollars within the agreed one-year period, Adrian would obtain controlling ownership of the Draven factory and all assets connected to it.
My fingers slowly tightened around the document as I turned to the next page.
Any attempt to transfer ownership, sell the factory, or refinance the debt without Adrian's written approval would constitute a breach of contract.
And in the event of a breach, Adrian would have the legal right to seize the factory and its associated assets.
So this wasn't a loan.
It was a trap.
A beautifully disguised trap by Adrian.
My eyes dropped to the bottom of the page. Varkos’s signature stared back at me.
“What a stupid fool,” I whispered. “Did he even read this before signing? Or had desperation blinded him so that he didn’t even realize what Adrian was doing—“
“What are you doing here?”
The voice behind me froze my blood. The contract slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor.
For one terrifying second, I couldn't move. Slowly, I lifted my gaze.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and he was dressed in nothing but a pair of dark trousers. His eyes moved from me to the document lying on the floor. Then they returned to me.
“I...” The words caught in my throat. “I wanted to know what was going on between you and Varkos.”
His jaw tightened.
“So you decided to search through my private documents?”
“I wasn't trying to—”
“Who gave you permission to break into my study?”
“I didn't break in.”
A quiet laugh escaped him, but there was no trace of humor in it.
“You entered without permission.” He took a step toward me. “What would you call it?”
Instinctively, I stepped back.
“Adrian...”
He kept moving closer, one step after another. Until my back hit the wall. My heart hammered against my ribs as he stopped in front of me.
Slowly, he leaned closer.
His hands lifted and landed against the wall on either side of my head, trapping me between his arms.
For one brief second, something in his expression changed. The anger was still there, but something else flickered beneath it.
Something that made my stomach tighten.
Before I could react, he leaned closer until his lips were only inches away from mine.
My lips parted slightly.
Was he going to kiss me?
The thought sent an unfamiliar shiver through my body.
My heart was beating so hard that I was certain he could hear it. Adrain’s eyes dropped briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes.
For one terrifying second, I was certain his lips were going to touch mine. Then, slowly, he pulled away.
I stared at him, my chest rising and falling heavily. He held my gaze for a long moment before the expression on his face disappeared.
“Never enter this study without my permission.” His voice dropped to a low dangerous whisper. “If I catch you doing this again, you won't like the consequences.”
Without another word, he bent down, picked up the contract from the floor, and placed it back inside the folder.
I watched as he carried it toward the drawer. Then he locked it, the metallic click echoing through the quiet room.
He turned and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him.
I remained against the wall, unable to move.
My heart was still racing.
Why?
Was it because he had caught me?
Or because, for some ridiculous reason…
I had wanted him to kiss me?
“No.” I quickly pushed myself away from the wall. “There’s no way I was falling for Adrian."
…right?