Episode 8
1284 Words
A Dangerous Rumor
By morning, the entire Vale International board knew there was trouble.
Lena discovered that the moment she walked into the dining room.
Adrian was already there.
His phone rested beside his coffee, vibrating every few seconds.
He didn't answer.
He simply stared at the screen.
“Bad morning?” Lena asked.
“Very.”
She sat across from him.
“Is it the company?”
“Yes.”
“Is someone still accusing you of fraud?”
“They released more documents.”
“Are they real?”
“No.”
“Then why is everyone believing them?”
“Because whoever is behind this knows exactly which information to manipulate.”
Lena frowned.
“Someone inside the company?”
“Probably.”
Adrian finally looked at her.
“And that isn't the only problem.”
“What now?”
He turned his phone toward her.
A news article filled the screen.
BILLIONAIRE CEO'S SECRET WIFE: WHO IS LENA CARTER?
Lena's stomach dropped.
“What?”
Adrian's voice was cold.
“The press found out.”
She read the article.
Her photograph appeared beneath the headline.
The story described her as a poor waitress who had suddenly married one of the richest men in the country.
Some comments called her a gold digger.
Others claimed she had trapped Adrian.
One headline was worse.
DID ADRIAN VALE BUY HIS WIFE?
Lena put the phone down.
“They're saying I married you for money.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“You did.”
She glared at him.
“I know that.”
“Then don't let strangers define you.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“It isn't.”
Lena looked at him.
Adrian reached for his phone.
“I'm cancelling today's interviews.”
“You can't hide forever.”
“I know.”
He stood.
“That's why I'm going to give them the truth.”
Lena's eyes widened.
“What truth?”
“Our marriage.”
“You can't tell them it's a contract.”
“I won't.”
“Then what will you say?”
Adrian looked at her.
“That you're my wife.”
Something about the way he said it made her heart beat faster.
---
At Vale International, cameras were waiting outside.
Dozens of reporters crowded around the entrance.
Adrian's security team created a path.
Lena walked beside him.
Her heart raced.
“Don't look at them,” Adrian whispered.
“I'm trying.”
“Stay close.”
His hand found hers.
The cameras immediately exploded with flashes.
“Mr. Vale!”
“Who is your wife?”
“Did you marry her for the inheritance?”
“Miss Carter, did Adrian pay you to marry him?”
Lena flinched.
Adrian stopped.
His expression became dangerously calm.
“Enough.”
The crowd fell quieter.
“My wife is not here to answer questions about my private life.”
A reporter shouted, “But isn't it true she was financially desperate before marrying you?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Lena looked at him.
The reporter smiled.
“So she married you for money?”
Adrian stepped closer to the microphones.
“She married me because we made an agreement.”
Lena's heart stopped.
Adrian continued.
“But what happens inside my marriage is nobody else's business.”
The reporter pressed.
“Is it a fake marriage?”
Adrian looked directly into the camera.
“No.”
Lena stared at him.
The answer was technically true.
They were legally married.
But the way he said it made the lie sound like a declaration.
He turned toward her.
“Come.”
His hand remained around hers.
And for the first time, Lena realized that Adrian wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her.
---
Inside his office, Lena pulled her hand away.
“You lied.”
Adrian looked at her.
“About what?”
“You said our marriage isn't fake.”
“It isn't.”
“You know what I mean.”
He walked toward the window.
“We are legally married.”
“But emotionally?”
He didn't answer.
Lena crossed her arms.
“You can't keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Making me wonder what this is.”
Adrian turned.
“This is a contract.”
“Then stop holding my hand.”
Silence.
His eyes dropped to her lips.
“Would you prefer I didn't?”
Lena's heart raced.
“I don't know.”
“Neither do I.”
The honesty shocked both of them.
Before either could say anything else, the door opened.
Ethan walked inside.
“We have a problem.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“What?”
Ethan placed a folder on the desk.
“Someone leaked the original financial records.”
Adrian opened it.
“These aren't the documents from yesterday.”
“No.”
Ethan looked at Lena.
“They came from a private account.”
Lena frowned.
“Whose?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Yours.”
Lena's blood went cold.
“What?”
Adrian slowly looked at her.
“What account?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan opened the folder.
“There are transactions here.”
Lena stepped closer.
“I've never seen those.”
Adrian's expression became unreadable.
The documents showed payments.
Large payments.
Money transferred into an account under Lena's name.
Her heart hammered.
“This isn't mine.”
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“That's what the evidence says.”
Lena turned toward Adrian.
“You believe me, right?”
Adrian said nothing.
Her chest tightened.
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
“I don't know.”
The words hurt more than she expected.
“You don't know?”
“I need to investigate.”
“So you think I betrayed you?”
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't have to.”
Lena turned toward the door.
“Lena.”
She stopped.
Adrian walked toward her.
“Don't leave.”
She looked back at him.
“You just told me you don't know whether to trust me.”
“I said I need answers.”
“And until you get them?”
His eyes remained fixed on hers.
“Until then, stay with me.”
She stared at him.
“Why?”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“Because if someone is framing you, I won't let them hurt you.”
Lena's anger softened slightly.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Vale.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then slowly looked at Lena.
“Say that again.”
A pause.
“Are you certain?”
He ended the call.
Lena's heart pounded.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked at her.
“The account used to transfer the money wasn't created recently.”
He paused.
“It was opened eight years ago.”
Lena frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“It gets worse.”
“What?”
“The account was opened before you were old enough to open it yourself.”
Lena stared at him.
Eight years ago, she had been sixteen.
She had never opened a bank account like that.
Never received millions.
Never had anything to do with Vale International.
“So who opened it?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Ethan looked at him.
“We traced the original registration.”
Lena waited.
Adrian's voice was barely above a whisper.
“The account was opened using your mother's identity.”
Lena's face went pale.
“My mother?”
Adrian nodded.
And suddenly, the threats, the photograph of Isabella, and the mysterious messages no longer felt like separate events.
Someone had been preparing this for years.
Next.
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