Chapter 1 The Recording
“Give me the phone.”
Elena tightened her grip around it and stepped backward.
Adrian Vale slammed the penthouse door behind him.
For three seconds, neither of them moved.
Then his eyes dropped to the phone in her hand.
“You have no idea what you just recorded.”
Elena's heart pounded.
She had come to Vale Tower expecting to deliver a folder to Adrian's assistant. She hadn't expected to end up alone in the CEO's private penthouse after taking a wrong elevator.
And she definitely hadn't expected to hear Adrian arguing with a man behind a half-open study door.
She hadn't understood everything.
But she'd heard one sentence clearly.
Daniel Marlowe never should have trusted your father.
Her father.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“Then maybe you should tell me what it means.”
Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
“You shouldn't have been here.”
“I know.”
“Then give me the phone.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don't understand what you've involved yourself in.”
“I understand that you know my father's name.”
Silence.
Elena took another step back.
“What does my father have to do with you?”
Adrian stared at her.
“Everything.”
The answer sent a chill through her.
Her father had died eight years ago.
As far as Elena knew, Daniel Marlowe had been an accountant who had worked for several companies before starting his own small consulting business.
He had never mentioned Adrian Vale.
Never mentioned Vale International.
Never mentioned secrets.
“Who were you talking to?” she asked.
Adrian didn't answer.
“Was it about my father?”
“Go home, Elena.”
She froze.
“How do you know my name?”
He walked toward her.
Slowly.
“You'd be surprised what I know.”
She lifted the phone.
“Stay right there.”
He stopped.
A strange look crossed his face.
Not anger.
Fear.
It disappeared almost immediately.
“You recorded the conversation,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Delete it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't trust you.”
Something almost resembling amusement touched his lips.
“You shouldn't.”
That answer unsettled her more than a threat would have.
Adrian reached into his jacket and pulled out a black card.
He placed it on the table between them.
“Two million dollars.”
Elena stared at him.
“What?”
“I'll pay you two million dollars.”
“For what?”
“To forget tonight happened.”
She laughed.
“You're serious?”
“Completely.”
“You think you can buy me?”
“No.”
His eyes met hers.
“I think everyone has a price.”
Elena felt insulted.
“My father taught me something before he died.”
Adrian's expression changed slightly.
“What?”
“Never trust a man who thinks money can solve everything.”
For the first time, Adrian looked genuinely surprised.
Then his gaze dropped to the phone.
“Your father was a very complicated man.”
Elena's breath caught.
“You knew him.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, you'll ask questions.”
“I already have questions.”
“And the answers could put you in danger.”
She shook her head.
“This is ridiculous.”
She turned toward the elevator.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
Adrian's voice was quieter now.
“Your father didn't die because of an accident.”
Elena slowly turned around.
The world seemed to tilt beneath her feet.
“What did you say?”
Adrian didn't repeat himself.
Instead, he walked to the window overlooking New York.
“Take the money.”
“I don't want your money.”
“Then take the truth.”
She stared at him.
“What truth?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Become my fiancée.”
Elena blinked.
“What?”
“One year.”
“You've lost your mind.”
“Probably.”
“Why would a billionaire CEO need a fake fiancée?”
“Because tomorrow morning, my board is going to announce that I'm taking control of another company.”
“And?”
“And someone will try to stop me.”
He walked toward her.
“I need the world to believe I have something to lose.”
Elena stared at him.
“You're asking me to pretend to love you?”
“No.”
His eyes held hers.
“I'm asking you to pretend you're mine.”
Her stomach twisted.
“And what do I get?”
“Two million dollars.”
“And the truth about my father?”
His silence answered her.
She picked up the black card.
“I'll think about it.”
Adrian nodded.
Then Elena's phone buzzed.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
STOP DIGGING INTO YOUR FATHER'S DEATH.
Her blood ran cold.
A second message arrived.
ADRIAN VALE ISN'T THE MAN YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
She looked up.
Adrian was watching her.
“What happened?”
Elena slowly turned the screen toward him.
For the first time that night, the billionaire CEO looked genuinely alarmed.
“Who sent that?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian took the phone from her.
He read the messages.
Then his face hardened.
“Get in my car.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent this knows you're with me.”
He looked toward the penthouse door.
“And they know where you live.”
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