Chapter 2 — The Enemy Inside the House

After that night, Adrian began investigating.

He discovered that the photographs had been altered.

The hotel meeting had been deliberately arranged.

The young man in the photographs had been paid to appear near Elena.

And someone inside Vale Holdings had transferred a large amount of money to an offshore account connected to Marcus.

But Adrian’s investigation uncovered something worse.

The person behind everything was not Marcus.

It was his own uncle, Richard Vale.

Richard had been secretly moving company assets for years.

The merger with Elena’s family would expose his financial manipulation.

If the merger failed, Adrian’s grandfather would lose confidence in Adrian and Richard could take control of the company.

Elena had become the perfect scapegoat.

One evening, Adrian returned home earlier than usual.

He found Elena packing a suitcase.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving.”

Adrian stopped.

“Why?”

“Because your family will never accept me.”

“They don’t have to.”

Elena looked at him.

“And you?”

He was silent.

She continued,

“I know this marriage was never real to you. You defended me because the scandal damaged the company.”

Adrian’s expression changed.

“That’s not why.”

“Then why?”

For the first time, he didn’t have an answer.

Because somewhere between the quiet dinners and the late-night conversations, Elena had stopped being a business partner.

She had become the person he looked for when he came home.

The person whose silence bothered him.

The person whose sadness made him angry.

But before he could speak, the lights suddenly went out.

A crash came from downstairs.

Adrian immediately pushed Elena behind him.

“Stay here.”

They heard footsteps.

Then the sound of breaking glass.

Adrian rushed downstairs.

A man in black escaped through the back door.

On the floor was a broken glass containing a strange substance.

The police later confirmed that someone had attempted to poison Elena.

That was the moment Adrian stopped treating the situation as a family dispute.

Someone wanted her dead.

And he would find out who.

The next morning, Adrian called an emergency board meeting.

Richard expected him to discuss the failed merger.

Instead, Adrian projected financial records onto the screen.

“These transfers were made from Vale Holdings accounts.”

The room became silent.

Richard’s face changed.

Adrian continued.

“Twenty-seven million dollars disappeared over four years.”

His uncle stood.

“You’re accusing me?”

“I’m proving it.”

Adrian revealed everything.

The fake photographs.

The hotel setup.

The payments to the hired man.

The attempted poisoning.

And finally, the offshore accounts.

Richard realized the game was over.

But he had one last weapon.

He produced a document claiming that Elena’s father had previously committed financial fraud against Vale Holdings.

“If you want to destroy me,” Richard said, “you’ll have to explain why your wife’s family was already planning to betray ours.”

Adrian looked at Elena.

She was shocked.

Her father had always been an honest man.

But the document appeared authentic.

For the first time, doubt entered Adrian’s mind.

Richard smiled.

“Your wife isn’t the victim you think she is.”

Adrian walked toward the document.

Then Elena suddenly spoke.

“That’s not my father’s signature.”

Everyone turned toward her.

She pointed at one corner of the contract.

“My father always signed his name with a small mark underneath the final letter.”

Adrian examined it.

She was right.

The signature was forged.

Richard’s face turned pale.

Elena had unknowingly found the final piece of evidence.

Adrian looked at his uncle.

“You should have left my wife alone.”

Richard sneered.

“You’ve lost your mind because of her.”

Adrian’s voice was calm.

“No.”

He turned toward Elena.

“I finally know what matters.”

Richard was arrested that afternoon.

The scandal shook the Vale family.

But Adrian’s grandmother still refused to accept Elena.

She privately offered Elena money to leave.

Elena refused.

“I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?”

Elena looked toward the window.

“I want a life where no one decides my worth for me.”

When Adrian learned what had happened, he went to find her.

He stood outside the garden where she was sitting alone.

“Elena.”

She didn’t turn.

“Your family hates me.”

“I know.”

“They’ll never forgive you for choosing me.”

“I know.”

She finally looked at him.

“Then why are you still here?”

Adrian walked closer.

Because for the first time in his life, he was afraid.

Not of losing the company.

Not of losing his inheritance.

But of losing her.

“I don’t know when it happened,” he said quietly.

“But somewhere along the way, this stopped being a contract.”

Elena’s eyes filled with tears.

Adrian took a breath.

“I don’t want two years.”

He held out his hand.

“I want a lifetime.”