CHAPTER 3 The Enemy Inside
CHAPTER 3
The Enemy Inside
Adrian didn't sleep that night.
The ultrasound lay on his desk beside a stack of unfinished contracts, but for the first time in fifteen years, he couldn't force himself to read a single page.
Every number blurred together.
Every signature seemed meaningless.
His mind returned to only one image.
Sophia.
Standing in the penthouse doorway with tears she refused to let him see.
Carrying their child.
Alone.
At 5:30 a.m., he walked into the executive offices two hours before the first employees arrived.
Naomi was already there.
She looked up in surprise.
"You've never been here this early."
"I need every security report from the last six months."
She frowned.
"All of them?"
"Every email."
"Every visitor log."
"Every anonymous threat."
Without another question, she disappeared into the records room.
Forty minutes later, Adrian sat surrounded by thick binders.
Anonymous letters.
Screenshots of threatening emails.
Photos taken from a distance.
Someone had been watching Sophia for months.
Most messages carried the same sentence.
Leave Adrian Cole—or lose everything.
His jaw tightened.
He had believed separating from Sophia would end the threats.
Instead...
The messages had continued for another week.
No one had ever told him.
He looked toward Naomi.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
She hesitated.
"I was instructed not to."
"By who?"
Silence.
"Naomi."
She swallowed.
"The order came from Mr. Harrison."
Adrian froze.
Victor Harrison.
Chairman of Cole Urban Holdings.
His mentor.
The man who had treated him like a son after Adrian's father died.
"No..."
Naomi quietly slid another folder across the desk.
"He personally reviewed every report."
Meanwhile, across Brooklyn, Sophia was beginning to rebuild her life.
Emma had convinced her to attend an interview with a nonprofit organization looking for a communications manager.
The office occupied the third floor of an old brick building overlooking Prospect Park.
It wasn't glamorous.
The furniture didn't match.
The coffee machine barely worked.
But every employee smiled when they greeted one another.
Sophia hadn't seen that kind of workplace in years.
The executive director, Amelia Rhodes, shook her hand warmly.
"Your résumé is impressive."
"Thank you."
"You left Cole Urban unexpectedly."
"I did."
Amelia studied her for a moment.
"I don't need details."
"I only care whether you're ready for a fresh start."
For the first time in days...
Sophia smiled honestly.
"I think I am."
Back in Manhattan, Adrian walked straight into Victor Harrison's office without knocking.
Victor looked up from his newspaper.
"You look exhausted."
Adrian dropped the folders onto the desk.
"Why did you hide these?"
Victor glanced at the documents.
"Oh."
"Those."
"You knew someone was threatening Sophia."
"I did."
"And you never told me."
Victor calmly folded his newspaper.
"It wasn't necessary."
Adrian's voice hardened.
"It wasn't necessary?"
"The threats stopped."
"They didn't."
Victor looked mildly annoyed.
"They became less serious."
Adrian slammed one of the photographs onto the desk.
A grainy image showed Sophia leaving a grocery store.
Someone had circled her in red ink.
"This was taken after she moved out."
Victor remained silent.
Adrian stared at the older man.
A terrible thought slowly formed.
"You wanted her gone."
Victor sighed.
"I wanted stability."
"You manipulated me."
"I advised you."
"You convinced me to leave the woman I loved."
"I protected your company."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"My company?"
Victor leaned forward.
"No."
"Our company."
The words echoed through the office.
Our company.
For years Adrian believed he controlled Cole Urban Holdings.
Legally he was CEO.
Publicly he was the face of the corporation.
But the board still answered to Victor Harrison.
Always had.
Victor spoke quietly.
"You were becoming distracted."
"I was building a family."
"You were making emotional decisions."
"I was in love."
Victor smiled without warmth.
"Exactly."
Across town, Sophia received wonderful news.
"We'd like to offer you the position."
Amelia extended her hand.
Sophia blinked.
"Really?"
"We think you'll fit perfectly here."
Tears unexpectedly filled Sophia's eyes.
Not because of the salary.
It was actually less than half of what she earned before.
But for the first time since leaving Adrian...
Someone had chosen her.
Not because of connections.
Not because of status.
Simply because they believed in her.
"I accept."
As she left the office, Emma hugged her tightly.
"I told you."
Sophia laughed through happy tears.
"You were right."
"What are you smiling about?"
Emma teased.
"You haven't smiled like that in weeks."
Sophia rested a hand over her stomach.
"I think your little roommate just got his first good piece of news."
Emma grinned.
"His?"
Sophia shrugged.
"I don't know."
"But somehow..."
"I think it's a boy."
That evening, Michael Ross arrived at Adrian's penthouse carrying another report.
"I found something."
Adrian immediately stood.
"What?"
"The anonymous threats."
"They weren't random."
Michael spread several documents across the dining table.
Every threatening email had been routed through servers owned by one company.
Sterling Risk Management.
Adrian frowned.
"They're our security contractors."
Michael nodded.
"They've worked exclusively for Cole Urban Holdings for twelve years."
Adrian slowly looked up.
"Meaning?"
"The threats came from inside your own organization."
Silence filled the room.
Then Michael quietly added,
"I believe someone deliberately frightened Sophia into leaving."
Adrian felt physically ill.
Every decision he'd made.
Every sacrifice.
Every sleepless night convincing himself he had protected her...
Had been built on a lie.
He grabbed his car keys.
"I'm ending this tonight."
"Where are you going?"
"Victor's house."
Michael stood immediately.
"Don't."
"Why not?"
"Because if Victor organized this..."
He looked Adrian directly in the eyes.
"...he already knows you've discovered the truth."
At that exact moment, several miles away, Victor Harrison sat inside his private study.
A security monitor displayed live footage from outside Emma's apartment building.
Sophia walked inside carrying groceries.
Victor smiled faintly.
His assistant entered.
"Sir."
"The surveillance team confirms the pregnancy."
Victor nodded.
"And Adrian?"
"He knows."
Victor closed the folder on his desk.
"So it's finally time."
The assistant hesitated.
"What about the woman?"
Victor's voice remained perfectly calm.
"She's no longer useful."
He stood and looked out over the glittering Manhattan skyline.
"For thirty years..."
"I've built an empire."
"I'm not going to lose it because my CEO suddenly remembered he has a heart."
The assistant lowered his voice.
"Should we proceed?"
Victor answered without hesitation.
"Bring her to me."
Outside, snow continued falling peacefully across New York.
Inside two different homes...
Adrian and Sophia each believed they were fighting to save their future.
Neither realized that someone far more powerful had just made them both targets.
May you like
And by sunrise...
One of them would disappear.
