Chapter 6
“You said no.”
His smile disappeared.
“In front of five hundred people.”
“I was under pressure.”
“You planned it.”
Silence.
Elena placed a transcript of the recording before him.
Adrian looked down.
His face drained.
Charles Vale moved first.
“That recording was obtained illegally.”
Samantha answered calmly.
“We can discuss admissibility later. Right now, you have a larger problem.”
She distributed documents around the table.
Charles scanned the first page.
Then looked at Vincent.
“You bought the debt.”
Vincent slipped his hands into his pockets.
“I did.”
“For eighty-four million?”
“Eighty-one point six.”
Charles stared.
“You overpaid.”
Vincent smiled faintly.
“I can afford to.”
Elena almost rolled her eyes.
Even now.
Charles turned toward Henry.
“You said she wouldn’t involve him.”
Elena looked at her father.
Henry closed his eyes.
That hurt more than anything Adrian had done.
“You knew Vincent might interfere?”
Henry said nothing.
“Dad.”
“I was trying to save the company.”
“You were trying to save your chair.”
His head snapped up.
“I built Marlowe Shipping.”
“And when you nearly destroyed it, you used my marriage to hide what you did.”
“I was protecting your future.”
“My future?”
Her voice finally rose.
“You forged my signature.”
Margaret began crying.
“Elena, please.”
Elena turned.
Her mother flinched.
“You signed the authorization.”
“I thought—”
“You thought what?”
“That once you married Adrian, everything would settle down.”
Elena stared at her.
“You knew.”
Margaret covered her mouth.
That was answer enough.
Elena felt something inside her become very quiet.
Not broken.
Finished.
She removed her engagement ring.
Adrian watched.
She placed it on the table.
“You forgot this.”
“Elena, we should talk privately.”
“We had seven years to talk privately.”
His jaw tightened.
“You’re being emotional.”
Vincent moved.
Elena lifted one hand.
He stopped.
She looked at Adrian.
And smiled.
“Thank you.”
Adrian frowned.
“For what?”
“For saying no.”
Nobody moved.
“If you had married me, I might have spent another ten years believing you were someone you never were.”
“Elena—”
“You didn’t destroy my life this morning.”
She pushed the ring toward him.
“You accidentally gave it back.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“You think Moretti is better?”
There it was.
The attempt to make Vincent the subject.
Elena did not even look at him.
“This has nothing to do with Vincent.”
“It has everything to do with him.”
“No.”
She stepped closer to Adrian.
“This is the part you never understood about me.”