He Cheated, I Married His Fearsome Boss

Chapter 4

At 8 p.m., I returned to my newly rented studio apartment.

The moment I stepped out of the elevator, I knew something was wrong.

Someone had broken the hallway light. Several men blocked the corridor from the shadows, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke.

I tightened my grip on my purse and didn't move any closer.

"You're Ms. Carter, right?"

A thickset man with a fleshy face emerged from the darkness. He held a document in one hand and a cigarette between his lips.

"Mr. Shaw sent us to have a word with you."

Adrian?

In the original novel, after blaming me and my conservative clothes for the failed project, Adrian went drinking at a hotel and ended up sleeping with Chloe.

But now the plot had changed.

The future seemed to be veering in a direction I no longer recognized.

The other burly men closed in, cutting off every escape route.

I stared at them coldly.

"Adrian Shaw and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. Move."

"No need to rush."

The thickset man blew out a ring of smoke and held the document toward me. "Mr. Shaw said that if you sign this supplemental agreement, give up your share of the marital assets, and leave with nothing, it'll save everyone a lot of trouble."

He tapped the signature line and grinned.

"Oh, and you'll be taking responsibility for his 150-million-dollar loan-shark debt too. Sign it and we'll leave right away. Refuse, and the boys and I will have to stay awhile and persuade you."

It was a blatant threat.

Adrian didn't merely want to deny me every cent. He wanted to saddle me with all his rotten debt.

"What if I refuse?" I asked calmly.

The man's face hardened. He dropped his cigarette and ground it beneath his shoe.

"Then don't blame us for being rough with a pretty woman."

At his signal, two men lunged at me.

I backed away quickly and pulled the pepper spray from my purse.

But the hallway was narrow, and the closed elevator doors were behind me. There was nowhere left to go.

Just as the men were about to grab me—

Tires screeched outside below.

Then the fire door at the far end of the corridor flew open with a thunderous crash.

Everyone froze.

A tall figure stood silhouetted in the doorway.

He wore a sharply tailored black overcoat and held a slender cigar between his fingers.

Dim light fell across his face, outlining a severe brow and chiseled jaw.

"Ganging up on a woman this late at night? Are all Adrian Shaw's dogs this badly trained?"

The thickset man stared, then erupted in curses.

"Who the f**k are you? Mind your own damn business!"

The man gave a quiet laugh. He didn't answer. He simply raised one hand and casually snapped his fingers.

Several bodyguards in black filed through the fire door.

Before the thugs could react, they were on the floor. Less than a minute later, the man who had been threatening me was pinned down, half his face pressed against the cold tile.

The newcomer walked toward me at an unhurried pace, his polished shoes gleaming.

In the light from the stairwell, I finally saw his face clearly.

Julian Hart.

He was the capital's most powerful heir—and the rival Adrian feared most in the original novel.