NATALIE'S POV
I stand outside Steele Tower at midnight, staring up at the dark windows of Adrian's office on the fiftieth floor.
Someone just told me to break into his private desk drawer. To find answers that will "change everything."
But breaking in means crossing a line I can't uncross. It means betraying Adrian even more than I already have.
My phone buzzes. Simone.
SIMONE: Where are you? You said you'd call after meeting Vivienne. I'm worried.
I type back quickly.
ME: I'm fine. Just handling something. I'll explain tomorrow.
SIMONE: Natalie, whatever you're thinking of doing—don't. Come to my place. We'll figure this out together.
But I can't involve Simone any more than I already have. This is my mess. My choice. My consequences.
I use my key card to enter the building. The night security guard—Paul, who's always kind to me—waves from his desk.
"Working late again, Ms. Cross?"
"Just forgot something important upstairs."
He doesn't question it. I'm here late all the time. I'm the dedicated assistant who never stops working.
If only he knew what I was really here to do.
The elevator ride to the fiftieth floor feels endless. When the doors open, the office is dark and empty. Just me and my guilt.
I walk to Adrian's office and unlock the door with the key he gave me months ago. Another piece of trust I'm about to shatter.
I sit in his chair—the expensive leather one that smells like his cologne—and reach underneath. My fingers find something taped there. A small key.
Just like the message said.
My hands shake as I unlock the bottom drawer of his desk.
Inside is a folder marked "MARCUS CROSS - CONFIDENTIAL."
My heart stops.
Adrian has a file on my father. He's been investigating Marcus this whole time.
I pull out the folder and start reading.
TWO HOURS EARLIER
Before I decided to break into Adrian's office, I went home and did something I should have done months ago.
I reviewed every single document I'd photographed for Marcus. Every file, every contract, every business deal I'd copied and sent to my father.
I spread them across my apartment floor, looking for the evidence Marcus promised would be there. Evidence of fraud. Of theft. Of criminal activity that would justify revenge.
But the more I read, the more confused I became.
Adrian's business deals were tough. He drove hard bargains. He demanded perfection from his partners. But nothing was illegal.
I found a contract where Adrian bought a failing company—but instead of gutting it for parts like Marcus said he would, Adrian invested millions to save it. He kept all the employees. He rebuilt the business from the ground up.
I found records of charity donations. Millions of dollars given anonymously to hospitals, schools, children's foundations. The same amount of money Marcus claimed Adrian stole.
I found emails between Adrian and his lawyers, discussing how to help a business partner who was struggling financially. Adrian gave the man an interest-free loan and extended deadlines. He showed mercy when he could have destroyed him.
This wasn't the ruthless criminal Marcus described.
This was a man who'd built his empire through hard work and smart decisions.
So where was the evidence of crimes? Where was the proof that justified everything I'd been doing?
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the messages I'd sent Marcus over the past three months. Hundreds of files. Dozens of reports.
And I realized something that made my blood run cold.
Marcus never responded with "this is the evidence we need" or "perfect, this proves he's guilty."
Instead, every response was the same: "Keep looking. Get me access to his accounts. Find the offshore files."
He wasn't looking for evidence of crimes.
He was looking for money.
I called him immediately.
"Did you find the account codes?" Marcus answered without even saying hello.
"I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest."
"We don't have time for—"
"Did Adrian Steele actually do anything illegal?" I interrupted. "Because I've been through everything, and I can't find any proof of what you told me."
Silence on the other end.
"The evidence is in his private accounts," Marcus finally said. "That's why I need the access codes. Once we're inside, we'll find everything."
"Or maybe there's nothing to find because you lied to me."
"I didn't lie—"
"Then explain why every business deal I've seen shows Adrian being fair and legal. Explain why he donates millions to charity. Explain why he helps people instead of destroying them."
"He's good at hiding his crimes, Natalie. That's what makes him dangerous."
But Marcus's voice sounded wrong. Defensive. Like he was making excuses.
"What really happened between you and Adrian's father?" I demanded. "What aren't you telling me?"
"I've told you everything—"
"No, you haven't. Because nothing adds up. Adrian's not the villain you described. So either you're lying about what he did, or..." I stopped, a terrible thought forming. "Or you're the villain in this story."
Marcus's voice turned ice cold. "You're getting too emotionally involved with him. That was the danger I warned you about. He's manipulating you, making you doubt the truth."
"The truth? You abandoned me for eighteen years and suddenly showed up demanding I help you destroy someone. You fed me stories about how the Steeles ruined us, but you've never shown me actual proof. And now you're desperately trying to access Adrian's money." My voice rose. "This isn't about justice. This is about theft. You want to rob him."
"I want what's owed to me!"
"Nothing is owed to you! You lost your business because of your own choices, and now you're trying to steal from someone who actually worked for what he has!"
"You ungrateful little—" Marcus caught himself. "After everything I've done for you—"
"You've done nothing for me. Mom did everything. She worked herself to death while you were off hiding from your own failures. And now you're using me the same way you used her—as a tool for your schemes."
"If you don't get me those codes by Friday, I'll tell Adrian everything. I'll tell him you've been spying on him for months. I'll tell him about the contract you signed to get close to him. I'll destroy you both."
"Go ahead," I said, surprising myself with my own courage. "Tell him. At least then I won't have to lie anymore."
I hung up before he could respond.
My hands shook as I stared at the documents spread across my floor. I'd been so stupid. So desperate and grieving and willing to believe the worst about someone I'd never met.
And now I'd been betraying Adrian for months based on lies.
That's when I decided to break into his desk. If Adrian had a file on Marcus, maybe it contained the real truth about what happened ten years ago.
Maybe it would show me who was really guilty.
PRESENT - ADRIAN'S OFFICE
I open the folder with trembling hands.
The first document is a police report from ten years ago. The death of Richard Steele, Adrian's father. Ruled a suicide.
But clipped to it is a private investigator's report from two years ago. It questions the suicide ruling. Points to evidence that was overlooked. Suggests possible foul play.
And names a suspect: Marcus Cross.
My vision blurs with tears.
The next document is worse. It's a financial record showing Marcus embezzled money from the Steele family business before it collapsed. He didn't just sabotage them—he stole from them first. Then destroyed the evidence by ruining the company.
Adrian's father discovered the theft. Confronted Marcus. And died three days later.
Marcus murdered him. Or caused his death. Either way, my father destroyed Adrian's entire family.
And I've been helping him.
I'm going to be sick.
I keep reading, because I have to know everything. Every terrible detail.
Then I find something that makes my world stop completely.
It's a background check. On me. Conducted six months ago, right before my interview.
Adrian knew who I was from the very beginning.
He knew I was Marcus Cross's daughter.
He hired me anyway.
But why? Why would he bring his enemy's daughter into his life? Into his bed? Into his heart?
Unless...
I flip to the last page and find my answer. It's a note in Adrian's handwriting.
"If she's innocent, I'll protect her from her father. If she's complicit, I'll use her to finally catch Marcus. Either way, keeping her close serves my purpose. But I never expected to care about her. I never expected her to matter. God help me, I think I'm falling in love with the daughter of the man who destroyed my family."
The note is dated two weeks ago.
He knows who I am.
He's known the entire time.
And he's falling in love with me anyway.
I'm still processing this when I hear footsteps in the hallway outside.
The office door opens.
Adrian stands there, very much not supposed to be here at midnight.
His eyes move from me to the open drawer to the folder in my hands.
"I see you found my file," he says quietly. "I was wondering when you would."
"You knew," I whisper. "You knew who I was from the beginning."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you say anything? Why did you hire me? Why did you—" My voice breaks. "Why did you give me the contract?"
Adrian steps into the office and closes the door behind him.
"Because I needed to know if you were like your father or if you were a victim of his manipulation." His gray eyes bore into mine. "I needed to know if I was falling in love with my enemy or with an innocent woman being used as a weapon."
"And?" My heart pounds. "What did you decide?"
He crosses the room until he's standing right in front of me.
"I decided," he says softly, "that it doesn't matter anymore. Because either way, I'm completely in love with you. And that's going to destroy us both."
Before I can respond, his phone rings.
He answers it, his eyes never leaving mine.
"What?" A pause. Then his face goes completely white. "When? Where?"
He lowers the phone slowly.
"Your father just turned himself in to the poli
ce. He's confessing to murdering my father." Adrian's voice is hollow. "And he's claiming you helped him plan it."