His Rival Her Sin

Chapter 3: Two Men, One Empire

Nina had no intention of wasting another day.

For months, she had watched Ryan Cole from a distance, studying his routine and looking for an opportunity to get close enough to find the documents connected to her father’s past.

Whenever their paths crossed, he behaved as though she were just another stranger in the crowd.

That was exactly what made her plan possible.

As far as Nina knew, Ryan had never paid any particular attention to her. She intended to keep it that way.

That morning, she arrived at the place where she expected to find him, carrying everything she needed for her plan.

She had prepared a bottle of water and carefully kept it out of sight. All she needed now was the right opportunity.

And then she saw him.

Ryan was approaching, his attention on his phone as he made his way towards his car.

Nina’s heart began to beat faster.

This was her chance.

She adjusted her bag, stepped forward, and deliberately bumped into him.

The bottle in his hand tilted, spilling water across the front of his shirt.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Nina exclaimed, immediately stepping back. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Ryan glanced down at his wet shirt.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he looked at her.

“It’s fine.”

His response was so brief that Nina almost wondered whether he was annoyed.

She quickly reached into her bag.

“Please, let me get you another bottle. I feel terrible about this.”

Before he could respond, she produced the bottle she had prepared.

Ryan looked at it, then accepted it without making a fuss.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Nina watched him carefully, trying not to make her interest obvious.

Ryan unscrewed the cap and raised the bottle towards his mouth. From where she stood, it appeared that he took a drink.

But the water never passed his lips.

He lowered the bottle.

Nina said nothing. She had no reason to suspect that anything had gone wrong.

A few moments later, Ryan rubbed his forehead and leaned slightly to one side.

“Are you all right?” Nina asked.

He didn’t answer immediately.

“I don’t feel very well,” he muttered.

Concern spread across her face, concealing the relief she was struggling to contain.

“Maybe you should sit down.”

Ryan shook his head weakly.

“I just need to get home.”

“Are you driving yourself?”

He gave a faint shake of his head.

Nina hesitated for barely a second before making her offer.

“I can take you home, if you don’t mind.”

Ryan looked at her through half-closed eyes.

“Would you?”

“Of course.”

He nodded slowly.

“Thank you.”

Nina helped him towards her car, believing that everything was unfolding exactly as she had planned.

She had managed to get close to Ryan Cole without raising any suspicion, and now she was about to enter his private world.

If she could find the documents, she might finally discover what had happened to her father.

She had no intention of leaving empty-handed.

⸻

The drive to Ryan’s home was quiet.

He sat in the passenger seat with his head resting against the headrest, occasionally closing his eyes as though he were struggling to remain awake.

Nina glanced at him from time to time.

“Do you need a doctor?” she asked.

“No,” he murmured. “I just need to rest.”

She nodded and focused on the road.

She had imagined several ways this encounter might unfold, but she had not expected to be taking Ryan Cole home herself.

The opportunity was almost too good to be true.

Still, she reminded herself to remain careful. Getting inside his house was one thing. Finding the file was another.

When they finally arrived, Nina parked and hurried around to help him out of the car.

Ryan leaned against her as they made their way inside.

His home was everything she had expected: elegant, spacious, and expensive without appearing to make an effort to impress anyone.

Nina tried not to look around too obviously.

She was here to help a man who was feeling unwell.

That was the story she needed to maintain.

“Where’s your room?” she asked.

Ryan gestured vaguely towards the staircase.

“Upstairs.”

She helped him to his bedroom and guided him onto the bed.

“Try to get some rest,” she said gently.

He closed his eyes.

Nina stood beside the bed for a moment, waiting to see whether he would say anything else.

He didn’t.

She looked towards the door, then back at him.

This was the opportunity she had been waiting for.

“I’m going to get you some water,” she said.

Ryan made a faint sound of acknowledgment without opening his eyes.

Nina left the room.

But instead of going downstairs, she stopped in the hallway and looked around.

She needed to find his study.

The documents she wanted had to be somewhere in the house. She knew Ryan was closely connected to the decisions made at Cole International, and the records relating to her father’s case could be among his private files.

She tried the first door.

It led to another bedroom.

The second opened into a small sitting room.

Then she found a door that appeared to lead to a study.

She turned the handle.

Locked.

“Damn it,” she whispered.

She looked around for a key, checking the nearby table and the drawers in the hallway. She found nothing useful.

Her frustration grew.

She had gone to considerable lengths to get here. She couldn’t leave without at least trying to find something.

Nina returned to the bedroom and looked at Ryan.

He appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

She approached the bed.

“Ryan?” she called softly.

There was no response.

She waited a little longer before turning away.

Then she began searching.

First, she checked the desk. There were papers, a few folders, and documents that appeared to concern business matters. She flipped through them quickly, hoping to find a name or date connected to her father’s case.

Nothing.

She opened a drawer.

Then another.

Still nothing.

Nina moved to the shelves, scanning the titles of the folders and examining anything that looked remotely important.

She was becoming impatient.

Where did he keep the documents?

She had always imagined that finding the truth would be difficult, but she had not expected to get this close and still come up empty-handed.

She returned to the desk and opened another folder.

Her eyes moved rapidly across the pages.

Then she heard a slight movement behind her.

She froze.

Slowly, she turned towards the bed.

Ryan hadn’t moved much. His eyes remained closed, and his breathing sounded steady.

Nina watched him for several seconds.

Finally, she released the breath she had been holding.

He was still asleep.

She turned back to the desk and continued searching, unaware of the eyes that had briefly opened behind her.

Ryan watched her from beneath lowered eyelids.

A moment later, the corner of his mouth lifted into a small, mischievous smile.

Nina was so focused on the documents that she didn’t notice.

She checked another drawer, then carefully returned the papers she had disturbed. She didn’t want to leave obvious signs of her search.

But the file she needed was nowhere to be found.

Her gaze drifted towards the locked study door.

Perhaps that was where Ryan kept his most confidential documents.

If only she could get inside.

She glanced at the bed again.

Ryan remained motionless.

Nina walked back towards him and stood beside the mattress, studying his face.

She couldn’t stay much longer. If he woke up and found her searching through his belongings, she would have to explain herself—and she wasn’t prepared to tell him the truth.

For now, she would have to leave without the file.

The thought frustrated her more than she wanted to admit.

She had taken a risk, and she had nothing to show for it.

Nina adjusted the blanket over Ryan, making sure he appeared comfortable. Then she picked up her bag and took one last look around the room.

“I hope you feel better soon,” she whispered.

She left the bedroom and quietly made her way downstairs.

Only when she was certain she was out of sight did Ryan open his eyes fully.

He sat up slowly and looked towards the doorway through which she had disappeared.

Then he smiled.

The woman who had brought him home had been far more interested in his belongings than in his health.

Whatever she had come looking for, she had been determined to find it.

Ryan reached for his phone.

There was a great deal happening inside Cole International, and his disagreement with Alex was only one part of it. Their rivalry over the future of the empire had already created enough tension within the family.

Now there was another question he couldn’t ignore.

Who was the woman who had just walked out of his house?

By the time Nina returned to her apartment, disappointment had settled heavily over her.

She had been so close.

She dropped her bag onto the sofa and walked straight to her study, where the photographs and records connected to her father’s case remained spread across the board.

She studied Ryan’s photograph.

Getting into his house had been difficult enough. Returning without the documents meant she would have to find another way.

Her phone vibrated.

It was Alex.

Alex: How’s your day going?

Nina stared at the message for a moment before replying.

Nina: It’s been a long day.

Alex: Want to tell me about it?

She hesitated.

Alex had been kind to her, and she genuinely enjoyed being around him. But she couldn’t tell him what she had done that morning. He was Ryan’s brother, and the truth could put everything at risk.

Nina: Maybe another time.

Alex: I’ll hold you to that.

A small smile touched her lips.

For a moment, she allowed herself to forget the documents, the unanswered questions, and the secrets surrounding the Cole family.

Then she looked back at the board.

She had two brothers in her life now, each representing a different kind of danger.

Alex made it easy to forget why she had approached his family in the first place.

Ryan made it impossible to forget.

And somewhere between the two of them lay the truth she had spent so long searching for.

Nina closed the folder on her desk.

She would try again.

She had to.

Because whatever had happened five years ago, she was no longer willing to let the Cole family keep the truth from her.

And she had no idea that her failed attempt had left her with a problem she hadn’t anticipated.

Ryan Cole’s home was no longer just a place she needed to enter.

It was a place she might have to return to.

And the next time she did, she would have to be even more careful.