Chapter 9: The Last Person I Suspected
The room went completely still.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Simone’s words hung between us like smoke.
“Someone in this room told him.””
I looked at every person standing there.
Daniel.
Evelyn.
Simone.
Three people.
Three possibilities.
And suddenly, trust became impossible.
I hated that feeling.
The feeling of looking at people you knew and seeing strangers.
“Who?”” I asked.
Simone looked nervous.
“I don’t know.””
“Then why say it?””
“Because Marcus knew things he shouldn’t know.””
Evelyn crossed her arms.
“That doesn’t prove anyone here betrayed him.””
“No,” Simone said.
“But it proves someone close to Adrian is helping him.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked offended.
“You think it’s me?””
“I think nothing right now.””
That was the truth.
Because thinking had failed me before.
I trusted my instincts.
And my instincts had chosen the wrong people.
My phone buzzed.
A location.
Andre.
I looked at the address.
“I’m going.””
Evelyn immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“I need answers.””
“You need protection.””
“I’ve spent months sitting in this chair while everyone decided what was best for me.””
My voice was calm.
“But nobody asked what I wanted.””
The room became quiet.
Even Simone looked at me differently.
Not with pity.
With recognition.
For the first time, she saw the man beneath the illness.
The man she thought disappeared.
Daniel stepped forward.
“I’ll come with you.””
“No.””
He stopped.
“Adrian.””
“I need to know who I can trust.””
The words hurt him.
Good.
They should.
Everyone needed to understand what this had done to me.
I left alone.
The meeting place was an empty parking structure downtown.
Cold.
Quiet.
The perfect place for secrets.
Andre stood near a concrete pillar.
When he saw me, his expression changed.
Not because I was in a wheelchair.
Because he saw the disappointment on my face.
“You came.””
“Yes.””
He looked around.
“You shouldn’t have.””
I almost smiled.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Andre stepped closer.
“Adrian, you don’t understand what you’re involved in.””
“Then explain.””
He looked exhausted.
Like he had been fighting this battle alone.
“I found out about the plan months before you did.””
“What plan?””
“The plan to remove you.””
My face tightened.
“By who?””
He hesitated.
“Someone inside your company.””
“Who?””
Andre looked away.
“Your CFO.””
I froze.
“My CFO?””
“Yes.””
The man I trusted with my business.
The man who helped manage everything while I was sick.
Another name.
Another betrayal.
“Why?””
“Because your illness gave him an opportunity.””
I shook my head.
“Everyone saw me as an opportunity.””
Andre looked guilty.
“I did too.””
That confession surprised me.
“What?””
He swallowed.
“When you got sick, I was scared.””
I stared at him.
“I didn’t know if you would recover.””
“And?””
“And I made choices.””
The honesty was painful.
“But Marcus was already involved.””
I looked at him.
“How?””
Andre took a deep breath.
“Marcus wasn’t sent to Simone.””
My stomach tightened.
“Then who?””
Andre looked directly into my eyes.
“He was sent to you.””
The sentence hit like a wave.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Simone wasn’t the target.””
I waited.
“You were.””
The parking garage suddenly felt colder.
I thought about every moment.
Every conversation.
Every insult.
Every time Marcus looked at me.
He wasn’t trying to replace me.
He was trying to destroy me.
But why?
“What does he want?””
Andre looked down.
“Something your father left behind.””
My heart stopped.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“My father died years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then what?””
Andre stepped closer.
“Before he died, he created something.””
I stared at him.
“Created what?””
“A backup plan.””
“For what?””
Andre looked over his shoulder.
Then back at me.
“For the day someone tried to take your company.””
I felt a chill.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of Marcus?””
Andre shook his head.
“No.””
“Then who?””
Before he could answer, a car door slammed somewhere in the garage.
Andre’s face changed.
“Adrian, you need to leave.””
I turned.
“Who is here?””
His voice dropped.
“The person you should have been watching the entire time.””
Footsteps echoed through the parking structure.
Slow.
Confident.
Coming closer.
And then a familiar voice spoke from the darkness.
“Adrian.””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
It was the last person I expected.
May you like
The one person I never questioned.
The one person who had been standing beside me since the beginning.
