Chapter 2: The Contract
Camille had never seen her father frightened.
Not when competitors sued him.
Not when a major supplier collapsed.
Not when the company nearly lost its flagship account three years earlier.
Victor always had the same response.
He would straighten his expensive suit, adjust his cufflinks, and tell everyone in the room that fear was expensive.
But now Monica’s phone was still pressed to her ear.
And she was shaking.
“What did he say?”” Camille demanded.
Monica swallowed.
“He said not to let Mr. Adrian leave.””
Camille stared at Adrian.
“Why?””
Monica didn’t answer.
“Monica.””
“He didn’t explain.””
Camille turned toward Adrian.
“You arranged this?””
Adrian calmly flipped through the contract.
“No.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“You don't have to believe anything.””
He stopped on a page.
His eyes moved across a paragraph.
Then he looked at Monica.
“Who drafted this?””
Monica hesitated.
“Our corporate legal team.””
“Who approved it?””
“My father.””
Adrian nodded.
“And you?””
“I processed the store-side documentation.””
Camille stepped between them.
“This is ridiculous.””
Adrian looked up.
“Is it?””
“You come in here dressed like that, start touching confidential documents, order my manager around, and suddenly you’re some mysterious investor?””
Adrian closed the folder.
“I didn't say mysterious.””
“You said your father knows you.””
“I said your father knows me.””
Camille’s eyes narrowed.
“You think you’re intimidating?””
“No.””
“Then why are you acting like you own this place?””
Adrian glanced around.
“I don’t.””
He paused.
“Not yet.””
Camille scoffed.
“You’re insane.””
One of the guards shifted uneasily.
Monica quietly lowered her phone.
“Ms. Camille…”
“What now?””
“Your father is coming here.””
Camille’s expression changed.
“He’s coming here?””
Monica nodded.
“He said he’s already on his way.””
Adrian looked at his watch.
“He should be here soon.””
Camille stared at him.
“You knew?””
“I expected him.””
“How?””
Adrian gave her a faint smile.
“Because I told him to come.””
Camille’s jaw tightened.
She reached for the contract folder.
Adrian moved it out of reach.
“Give it back.””
“No.””
“That is company property.””
“It contains my name.””
“It contains confidential information.””
“And you shouldn't have thrown it on the counter.””
Camille stepped closer.
“I’m warning you.””
Adrian’s voice remained quiet.
“Don’t.””
Something about the single word stopped her.
Not because it was loud.
Because it wasn't.
Camille slowly backed away.
Monica watched the exchange with growing confusion.
She looked at the folder.
“Mr. Adrian…”
He looked at her.
“Who exactly are you?””
Adrian said nothing.
Camille suddenly laughed.
“There. You see? He won’t answer.””
She turned toward the guards.
“Take him outside.””
The guards hesitated.
Camille pointed at Adrian.
“Now.””
The first guard stepped forward.
“Sir, please.””
Adrian looked at him.
“I understand.””
He placed the folder on the counter.
Then he reached into his coat.
Camille’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing?””
Adrian pulled out his phone.
Nothing more.
He unlocked it.
A single message appeared.
*TRANSFER COMPLETE.*
Beneath it was another notification.
*$400,000,000 — AUTHORIZATION PENDING FINAL SIGNATURE.*
Camille stared at the screen.
Her face changed.
“That’s fake.””
Adrian locked the phone.
“Of course.””
She blinked.
“What?””
“If believing it’s fake makes you comfortable, believe it.””
Camille looked at Monica.
“Call the bank.””
Monica’s voice trembled.
“Which bank?””
“The corporate bank.””
Adrian quietly said, “You won’t need to.””
Camille turned.
“Why?””
“Because the bank already called your father.””
Silence.
The guard nearest Adrian lowered his hand from his radio.
Monica stared at the floor.
Camille’s confidence began to fracture.
“You’re lying.””
Adrian shook his head.
“No.””
“You don’t have that kind of money.””
“I didn't say I did.””
“You just showed me a four-hundred-million-dollar transfer.””
“An authorization.””
“That’s the same thing.””
“No.””
Adrian tapped the folder.
“It isn’t.””
Camille looked down.
For the first time, she noticed something she had overlooked.
The buyer's corporate seal.
It wasn't a bank.
It wasn't a private equity company.
It wasn't one of the investment firms she knew.
It was a holding company.
A name she had never heard before.
But Monica had.
Monica suddenly whispered:
“Oh my God.””
Camille turned.
“What?””
Monica stared at the document.
“I've seen this company before.””
“Where?””
“In the board reports.””
Camille frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.”” Monica shook her head.
“It’s listed as a silent institutional partner.””
Adrian watched her carefully.
Monica continued.
“They've been buying shares.””
“How many?””
Monica looked at the folder.
Then at Adrian.
“I don't know.””
Adrian answered for her.
“Forty-nine percent.””
Camille stopped breathing.
“That’s impossible.””
“Forty-nine point eight,” Adrian corrected.
She stared at him.
“You own almost half of my family’s company?””
“No.””
Adrian leaned against the counter.
“I own the right to decide who controls the other half.””
Camille’s face went pale.
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then the elevator doors at the rear of the store opened.
Everyone turned.
But nobody stepped out.
A second later, Monica’s phone buzzed.
She read the message.
Her eyes widened.
“What?””
Camille grabbed her wrist.
“What does it say?””
Monica slowly raised her eyes.
“Your father says the acquisition isn't the emergency.””
Camille frowned.
“Then what is?””
Monica looked directly at Adrian.
“He says the emergency is that Mr. Adrian has the original contract.””
Adrian’s fingers tightened around the folder.
For the first time, his calm expression cracked.
Just slightly.
May you like
Because he knew exactly which original contract Victor meant.
And somewhere behind the closed glass doors, a car had just screeched to a stop.
