THE HEIRESS THEY BURIED

THE ENEMY CLOSER

ADRIAN POV

Hours had passed since Vanessa walked out of my office, but her final words stayed in my head.

“There are things from our past, Adrian, that you may not want coming back into the light.”

I stood beside the window of my living room, staring at the city lights below. Vanessa had always known how to choose her words.

She didn’t threaten people carelessly; she wanted me to know that she had something she could use against me.

The question was what, and more importantly, how much did she know?

I clenched my jaw. The audacity of that woman still irritated me.

She had walked into my company without an appointment, entered my office as though she still had a right to be there, and demanded a position, not requested but demanded.

And when I refused, she had tried to turn the situation around by bringing Dina into the conversation. That was the part I couldn’t ignore.

Vanessa had watched my reaction; she had been waiting for it. I knew her well enough to recognize the calculation behind that smile.

She hadn’t mentioned Dina by accident. I walked away from the window and poured myself a glass of water.

My mind was already somewhere else. Vanessa was intelligent, ambitious, patient when she needed to be, and ruthless when patience stopped serving her.

I had known that side of her long before we ended our relationship. That was exactly why I couldn’t afford to underestimate her now.

She wasn’t the woman I remembered, or maybe she was; maybe I had simply been too blinded by what I once felt for her to see the parts of her that should have warned me.

I set the glass down. Bringing her into company was the last thing I wanted, but keeping her outside might be worse. If Vanessa suspected something about Dina, she wouldn’t stop investigating simply because I refused to give her a desk.

She would find another way; she could use her connections, she could approach employees, and she could search for information from the wrong people.

Vanessa had never been someone who entered a room quietly, she changed the atmosphere simply by being there, and people noticed her confidence because she knew exactly how to use it.

Giving her a position would create questions among the executives, especially those who remembered our history, but refusing her would only make her more determined to find another entrance.

If she wanted a place inside my company so badly, I could give her one on my terms.

The advantage was simple: people became careless when they believed they had finally gotten what they wanted.

Vanessa would be no different. Give her a title, a desk, and enough responsibility to keep her satisfied, and she might reveal more than she intended while believing she was gaining access to my world.

I didn’t need to stop her yet, I needed to let her believe she was winning.

And if she discovered the truth before I understood exactly what she knew, I could lose control of the situation completely.

My thoughts returned to Dina; she had no idea what was happening around her. She came to work every day, focused on her responsibilities, unaware that people were quietly asking questions about her.

I had already put protection around her for a reason. I couldn’t allow Vanessa to get close enough to threaten that security.

But protecting Dina was no longer as simple as keeping danger away from her. The more questions Vanessa asked, the more carefully I would have to move. One wrong decision could expose more than I was ready to reveal.

I walked back to the window. The city stretched endlessly beneath the glass, but my thoughts had become painfully clear.

There was one way to keep Vanessa from operating freely. Bring her inside, watch her, control what she could access, and learn exactly what she wanted.

A thought settled in my mind. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

I almost smiled. Vanessa wanted a position in my company. Fine, she would get one.

But she would not be coming back as the woman who once had a place in my life; she would be coming back as someone I needed to watch.

I picked up my phone and called Ethan. He answered almost immediately.

“Hello.”

“Dina’s protection?” I asked without hesitation.

“Still in place,” Ethan confirmed.

“Good.”

I paused for a moment before adding, “Vanessa came to my office.”

Ethan understood immediately. “What did she want?” he asked, his voice sharpening with concern.

“A position.”

“Hope you refused?” he asked’ a hint of disbelief entering his voice.

“Yes, but she gave me two days to reconsider; I leaned against the edge of the desk, my expression hardening. “So she will be joining us two days from now.”

I heard Ethan sigh. “You’re letting her in?” he asked.

“I want her where I can observe her.”

“Keep her access limited, nothing outside her department, especially confidential files,” I instructed, making each word deliberate.

“Understood, and Dina?” he asked.

“Her protection stays the same, and she must not know she’s being watched.”

“I know,” Ethan assured me.

I ended the call.

The silence that followed was broken by the faint sound of approaching footsteps. I looked toward the hallway and saw my butler, walking toward me cautiously.

He stopped a few feet away, his posture straight but his expression careful, as though he wasn’t sure whether I wanted to be disturbed.

“Sir, dinner is ready,” Dave informed me, keeping his voice respectful. “I wasn’t sure if you would want me to have it served.”

“I’m not hungry,” I dismissed him coldly, turning my attention back toward the dark window.

Dave hesitated before nodding. “Of course, sir.” He took a small step backward, then paused. “If there is anything you need before I retire for the night, please let me know.”

“I won’t,” I replied sharply.

He lowered his head. “Good night, sir.”

“Good night, Dave.”

He turned and walked away, his footsteps gradually fading into the quiet hallway.

I watched him disappear from sight.

Dave had been with me for years, long enough to understand when silence meant I wanted to be left alone and when it meant something was wrong.

He was loyal, dependable, and careful around me. Even after all these years, I could still see the slight hesitation in his movements whenever he approached me, the quiet fear he tried to hide behind his professionalism.

I had never blamed him for it. Respect and fear often lived in the same room when it came to me, and Dave had somehow learned how to balance both without allowing either to interfere with his loyalty.

He had stayed through the worst years, never asking unnecessary questions, never betraying my confidence, and never leaving when walking away would have been easier.

That was why I had allowed him to remain by my side for so long, not because I needed a butler.

People like Dave were rare, and I valued loyalty even when it came wrapped in silence and fear. Ethan was different; he had earned my trust in other ways, through years of standing beside me when there was nothing to gain from it.
Neither man needed to know everything about me to understand when I had made a decision. They also knew that when I gave an instruction, I expected it to be carried out.

For several seconds, I sat motionless.

I had just invited a dangerous woman back into my company, a woman who knew my history, and the most dangerous part was that I still didn’t know what Vanessa truly wanted.

I looked toward the dark window again. Two days; that was how long I had to prepare the company and Dina before Vanessa returned. Two days to find out what Vanessa really wants.

And once she stepped through those doors again, I would make sure she never forgot one thing. This was my company, my rules, and my battlefield.

Vanessa might believe she had forced her way back into my life; she was wrong.

I will let her in, and this time, I will be watching every move she makes.