Cade leaned his forearms against the bar, his dark eyes locked on Adeline.
"Using me comes with a price," Cade murmured, his voice a low scrape against the noise of the lounge.
Adeline did not flinch. She picked up her tote bag and stood up. "Send the bill to Evan."
She turned and walked away, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor, leaving Cade staring at the empty space she had occupied.
The next morning, the sun glared off the glass facade of the Strong Group headquarters. Adeline pushed through the revolving doors. She wore a sharp, tailored black suit, the fabric cutting a severe silhouette.
Her access badge beeped green at the lobby turnstile—Evan, still shaken by the previous night, had not revoked it. The receptionist at the front desk looked up. Her eyes widened, darting nervously between Adeline and the elevators. She opened her mouth to speak, but Adeline walked past her without breaking stride.
The prepaid SIM she had slipped into her phone that morning finally latched onto a signal; as she stepped into the elevator, the device vibrated frantically. A barrage of notifications flooded the screen. She opened the company Slack channel.
Martin Adler, the department head, had posted a photo in the general chat. It showed Evan and Piper standing in the breakroom, Evan's arm wrapped tightly around Piper's waist. The caption read: Welcome to our future boss lady!
Beneath it, Sarah Jennings had replied: Guess someone's eight-year investment went bankrupt. Time to pack up the desk.
Adeline stared at the screen. A cold, hard smile touched her lips. She flipped the phone to silent and slid it into her pocket.
The elevator dinged. The doors slid open to the open-plan office.
The low hum of typing and chatter died instantly. Thirty heads snapped up. The silence was absolute, heavy with morbid curiosity.
Sarah Jennings stepped out from her cubicle, holding a ceramic coffee mug. She planted herself in the middle of the aisle, blocking Adeline's path.
"Wow," Sarah said, feigning shock. "I cannot believe you actually showed up today. Do you have no shame?"
Adeline stopped. She looked Sarah up and down, her expression completely flat.
"Your perfume smells like cheap car air freshener," Adeline said, her voice carrying clearly across the silent floor. "It is giving me a migraine. Move."
Sarah's face flushed a violent red. She opened her mouth to snap back, but the glass door of the breakroom swung open.
Evan walked out, his hand resting on the small of Piper's back. Piper wore a bright pink designer dress that looked entirely out of place in a corporate office.
Evan froze when he saw Adeline. His jaw clenched. The memory of being tied to the chair flashed in his eyes, making his hands curl into fists.
Piper's eyes lit up. She stepped away from Evan, her heels clicking loudly as she strutted up to Adeline. She tilted her chin up, radiating the smugness of a victor.
"Adeline, right?" Piper said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Evan told me so much about you. Thank you for keeping him company all these years until I was ready."
A few stifled giggles erupted from the surrounding cubicles.
Adeline did not react. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. She squirted a generous amount into her palm and rubbed her hands together slowly, the alcohol scent cutting through the stale office air.
"You are welcome," Adeline said, her tone perfectly conversational. "Recycling trash is every citizen's duty."
A loud snort came from the IT desk. Piper's smile shattered. Her face turned pale, then red. She spun around, looking at Evan with wide, victimized eyes.
Evan's face flickered—a splinter of doubt cracking through his fury—but the terror of bankruptcy snuffed it out. He stormed forward. He pointed a finger inches from Adeline's face.
"Watch your mouth," Evan hissed. "If you disrespect the woman who holds the key to the Stafford family backing again, I will have security throw you out."
Adeline's thumb rubbed against her index finger. She looked past Evan, locking eyes with Piper.
Adeline switched to flawless, upper-crust French. "Comment se porte le vieux chêne dans le jardin sud du domaine? A-t-il survécu à la tempête de l'hiver dernier?"
Piper stared at her, her eyes going blank. Panic flared in her chest. She swallowed hard, gripping the strap of her purse. "I... I have not been back to the estate in a while."
Adeline stepped closer, switching back to English. Her voice was sharp, demanding. "Then tell me why the Stafford family representative missed the September charity gala for three consecutive years. Attendance is mandatory for all core members and their proxies."
Piper broke out in a cold sweat. She took a step back, her heel catching on the edge of the carpet. She stumbled backward, crashing heavily into Evan's chest.
Evan caught her, glaring at Adeline with pure hatred. "You are fired! Pack your things and get out!"
Adeline slapped his hand away. She pulled out a crisp white envelope and slammed it against Evan's chest.
"That severance agreement you shoved at me? I never signed it. This is my resignation, effective immediately. I am not going down with a sinking ship."
She turned and walked to her desk. She pulled open the bottom drawer and retrieved three encrypted hard drives. They held the core architecture she had built in secret—code Evan had never traced back to her. She dropped them into her bag.
Martin Adler rushed forward, his face pale. "You cannot take company property!"
Adeline zipped her bag shut. She looked at Martin, her eyes dead. "Check the Q3 offshore vendor invoices, Martin. The ones you routed to your brother-in-law's shell company. Touch my bag, and the SEC gets an email."
Martin froze as if he had been shot. He backed away slowly, his hands raised.
Adeline slung her bag over her shoulder. She walked down the center aisle, her heels striking the floor like a gavel. She did not look back as she walked out the glass doors, leaving the Strong Group in complete, stunned silence.
