Adrian's POV
"Amelia White. Twenty-eight. Dating her boyfriend of three years." Trey, my secretary, handed me a couple of photos.
I dropped Amelia's file and stared at the pictures. Brian Cordy. White. Blonde. Blue eyes. 5'6, maybe.
"What did you find out about him?"
"He works at one of our subsidiaries, Cane Foods."
I paused. "You don't say."
To think her boyfriend was one of my employees.
"He takes cooking classes during weekends.
I scoffed. "Cooking classes?"
Trey nodded. "His dream is to become a chef."
I leaned back, amused. "A chef?"
I looked at him. "She's dating a wannabe chef?"
"They seem serious," he said.
I crumpled the photo in my hand. "Of course they are."
I stared at the file in his hand. "What's that?"
He handed me the file. "Emily Harper, Amelia's best friend."
I pulled out the document and scanned through. Photos of a brunette with brown eyes spilled from the envelope.
"They met in college and have been close ever since. Emily owns a restaurant close to where Brian works," Trey said.
I glanced at the file. "It says here she has a record?"
He nodded. "Troubled childhood. She got in with the wrong crowd and went to juvie for breaking and entering."
I stared at the mugshot of the brunette. "Hmm."
"Do you think Amelia knows?" I asked.
He nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
I stared at him. "Why?"
"Miss White volunteers in foster homes twice a month." He paused. "From what I've seen, everyone loves her."
I set the file down. "Looks like she's fooled you too."
I remembered the way she'd stood up for the waitress at the lounge. "She's got the whole world fooled."
No one knew Amelia White better than I did.
I grabbed Brian's dossier, scanning through it for the second time.
He was…normal. A boring job. A dream he could never achieve. Painfully average.
Was this what she was really settling for?
I glanced at the brunette. They'd been friends for years and were still going strong. She had people she could trust.
A best friend and a loving boyfriend.
I shook my head in disbelief.
"I found out something else," Trey said.
"What is it?"
"Miss White has a fifty-thousand-dollar student loan debt."
And yet she offered to reimburse the two-thousand-dollar champagne on behalf of the waitress.
What the hell was she trying to prove?
I leaned back in my chair. "I don't buy it."
Trey raised a brow. "Sir?"
There was no way she turned out intact…not after everything she—we—went through. That would make everything I went through meaningless.
I closed my eyes, memories of the fiery red hair and green eyes haunting me. The look in her eyes when I fired her subordinate.
Or the heated look when I saw her scar. She didn't want anyone to see it—a secret from her past she desperately tried to hide.
The way she adjusted her dress multiple times in the lounge. The resigned look as she signed the contract.
Was that because of her debt? Why then did she quit in the first place?
Why offer to pay off a stranger's debt when she was yet to pay off hers? Why wear so many masks?
It was no surprise she'd managed to fool everyone. But not me.
I knew the real Amelia. The one she buried beneath the many masks she wore. The Amelia I knew couldn't save anyone.
She's perfected the art of abandonment. I should know—I was her masterpiece.
I glanced at Brian's picture. I wondered how long he'd last if he knew the real her.
I grabbed my phone and dialed a number. I picked up one of Amelia's pictures and stared at it.
Those green eyes had softened over the years.
A soft click. "Hello?"
I dropped the picture. "Miss White."
"It's a bit late to be calling, Mr. Cane," she said.
I smirked. "Need I remind you the ink has yet to dry?"
She sighed. "What can I do you for…sir?"
I picked up Brian's picture.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," I muttered.
A pause. "What?"
"7am. My office tomorrow."
"I have a meeting with my team. I can't just—"
"Sure you can." I cut in. "I'm sure Mr. Robinson won't mind now, will he?"
Another pause, longer this time. "Yes, sir."
My smile grew wider. "See you bright and early tomorrow, Miss White."
She ended the call without another word.
I dangled Brian's picture in my hand, my mind reeling.
"What are you thinking, boss?" Trey asked.
I stared at him. "He gets to sleep beside her and call it love."
I scoffed. "Doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"I-I don't understand."
She ruined me. I needed her to be broken—so I wouldn't be alone in it.
"Dig deeper into the boyfriend. I want to know everything you can find out about him—secrets he doesn't want anyone to know."
He bowed politely. "Understood."
"Trey," I called.
He paused. "Yes, sir?"
"And the best friend. I want to know everything."
"Consider it done."
I walked toward the balcony, the cold air digging into my suit. I sipped my whiskey, sighing in satisfaction.
I found her—the girl who made Adrian Cane. The girl who abandoned a terrified boy when he needed her the most.
Now, I would return the favor.
I would take everything from her like she did to me—just to see what remained.