Adrian's POV
My phone won't stop ringing.
I'm twenty minutes from the hotel, stopped at a red light, and David has called five times. I finally answer.
"Tell me you didn't sleep with Richard Chase's daughter." His voice is pure panic.
My silence is answer enough.
"Jesus Christ, Adrian." He sounds like he wants to strangle me. "Do you have any idea what you've done? If Chase finds out—"
"He won't." I grip the steering wheel harder. "She was drugged. She won't even remember."
"Drugged?" David's voice rises. "And you thought sleeping with her was the right move?"
"I didn't—" I stop. Because I did. I made that choice. "It just happened."
"Things don't just happen to you. You're the most controlled person I know." He pauses. "What's her name?"
"Elena."
"You remember her name." He sounds almost sad. "Adrian, you're in trouble. Real trouble."
The light turns green. I drive, but my hands are shaking. I never shake.
"I left before she woke up. Left a note. She'll forget about it."
"A note saying what?"
"That it was a mistake."
David groans. "You're an idiot. A complete—" His voice cuts off. "Hold on. I'm getting an email. From an anonymous sender."
Something cold slides down my spine. "What kind of email?"
"It's... oh God." His voice goes flat. "Adrian, someone sent me a video."
My car swerves. I pull over to the shoulder, heart hammering. "What video?"
"Of you. And Elena Chase. In your hotel room." He sounds sick. "Adrian, someone was recording you. Someone has proof of what happened last night."
The world tilts sideways.
Someone recorded us. Someone watched. Someone has evidence that could destroy everything.
"Send it to me," I say through numb lips.
"Adrian—"
"Send it. Now."
Thirty seconds later, my phone buzzes. I open the video file with hands that won't stop shaking.
It's grainy but clear enough. Shows my hotel room. Shows Elena stumbling in. Shows me catching her, carrying her to the sofa, sitting beside her.
Shows everything that happened after.
I watch myself touch her with a tenderness I didn't know I was capable of. Watch her look at me like I'm her savior instead of the bastard everyone knows. Watch us fall into something that felt real for exactly three hours.
Then I see the timestamp.
The video started recording at 9:47 PM.
I didn't get back to my room until 10:15. I remember checking my watch when I left the gala, annoyed by how long Richard's speech ran.
Someone set up that camera before I even met Elena.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone planned this. Knew Elena would end up in my room. Knew we'd be alone together. Recorded everything to use as leverage.
"David." My voice sounds strange. "This was a setup."
"I know." He sounds grim. "The question is—setup by who? And what do they want?"
My phone buzzes again. Another email from the same anonymous sender.
This one has a message: Enjoyed the show, Mr. Wolfe. I'm sure the board of directors would too. Don't worry—your secret is safe with me. For now. —A Friend
"They're blackmailing me," I say out loud.
"Both of you," David corrects. "Elena's in that video too. Whoever has this can destroy you both."
I close my eyes, trying to think past the panic. "Could it be Richard Chase? Setting me up to sabotage the acquisition?"
"Maybe. Or Vanessa Chase—she called me this morning asking about Elena. Said her sister disappeared from the gala." David pauses. "Adrian, what if they drugged Elena specifically to put her in your room? What if this whole thing was designed to trap you?"
The pieces click together in my head, each one worse than the last.
Vanessa gives Elena a drink. Elena gets drugged. Someone guides her to my floor—to my room specifically. I find her, bring her inside, and the camera catches everything.
Perfect blackmail material.
But who benefits? Richard gets leverage over me. Vanessa gets... what? Her sister humiliated?
Unless Vanessa wants something else entirely.
My phone rings. Unknown number. I almost don't answer, but something makes me pick up.
"Adrian Wolfe." The voice is female, distorted by a voice changer. "I have something you want."
"Who is this?"
"Someone with a very interesting video." She laughs. "You looked so gentle with her. So caring. Not at all like the Ice King everyone fears. The press would love this story—ruthless CEO takes advantage of drunk girl from family he's destroying."
My blood turns to ice. "What do you want?"
"Right now? Nothing. I'm just letting you know I exist. That I'm watching." Another laugh. "Oh, and Adrian? Elena received the same video. She knows someone's watching. She knows she's trapped."
"If you hurt her—"
"You'll what? Come after me? You don't even know who I am." The voice turns sharp. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to finish acquiring Chase Technologies. You're going to destroy Richard Chase like you planned. And when I need you to do something for me, you'll do it. No questions. No hesitation. Or the video goes public and you both burn."
"I won't—"
"You will. Because if you don't, Elena Chase's life is over. Her father will disown her. The media will call her a whore. Every company in New York will blacklist her." A pause. "But you don't care about that, do you? You only care about your empire. Your reputation. Your precious control."
She's right. She's completely right, and I hate it.
"Leave Elena out of this. She's innocent."
"Is she?" The voice sounds amused. "Or did she plan this too? Did she drug herself, stumble to your room, and seduce you to stop the acquisition? Are you sure she's the victim here?"
Doubt creeps in like poison. Elena is Richard Chase's daughter. She works for Chase Technologies. She had everything to gain from trapping me.
But I remember her fear. Her tears. The way she begged me not to call anyone because she was terrified.
That wasn't an act.
Was it?
"Think about it, Adrian. Who benefits most from you looking like a monster? Who gets sympathy points while you get destroyed?" The caller's voice drops. "Maybe Elena Chase is smarter than you think."
"She was drugged—"
"By who? Do you have proof? Or are you just believing the sad story of a girl who needed something from you?"
My head is spinning. Nothing makes sense. But the doubt is there now, planted and growing.
"I'll be in touch," the voice says. "Don't disappoint me, Mr. Wolfe. And don't try to find me. You won't succeed."
The line goes dead.
I sit in my car on the side of the highway, watching traffic blur past, and realize I'm trapped.
Someone has a video that proves I slept with Elena Chase. Someone is threatening to use it to destroy us both. And I can't tell if Elena is a victim or part of the scheme.
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number: Check your rearview mirror.
I look up into the mirror and freeze.
There's a car behind me. Black SUV with tinted windows. And taped to their windshield is a printout—a screenshot from the video showing me and Elena together.
They're here. Right now. Watching me.
I reach for my door handle, ready to confront them.
The SUV's engine roars to life. They reverse fast, spin around, and disappear into traffic before I can even unbuckle my seatbelt.
But they left something on my hood.
I get out, grab it. It's a manila envelope.
Inside are three things:
First, a USB drive labeled "Full Video—Unedited."
Second, a photograph of Elena leaving the hotel this morning, looking devastated.
Third, a note in typed text: She's pregnant. You have four weeks to decide if you want to keep your empire or your child. Choose wisely.
The world stops.
Pregnant.
Elena is pregnant with my child.
And someone knew before I did.