Marcus had always been the kind of man who could find humor in a storm. But lately, the laughter came slower, the smiles tighter. The air at Cole Industries felt different—thicker, heavier—with whispers crawling through the corridors like smoke-Whispers of embezzlement.
And though Adrian tried to hide the strain, Marcus could see it in his eyes—the quiet exhaustion of a man who trusted too deeply and was now paying the price.
The phone on Marcus's desk buzzed sharply. He answered on instinct.
"Marcus," came Adrian's deep voice, steady but weighed. "Can you come to my office?"
Something in the tone made Marcus straighten. "On my way."
When he entered, Adrian stood by the wide glass window, the late afternoon sun tracing sharp lines across his shoulders. He didn't turn immediately. He just said, softly, "Melissa mentioned you again."
Marcus stopped. "That so?"
Adrian turned then, eyes dark. "She thinks I'm being blind. That someone close is… taking advantage of me."
Marcus blinked, then laughed once—short, disbelieving. "You think I'd—"
"I didn't say that," Adrian cut in quickly. "That's why I called you. Because I don't believe it. I just needed to remind myself who I'm dealing with."
The silence stretched between them, filled with years of loyalty and unspoken history. Then Marcus exhaled, shaking his head.
"She's clever, I'll give her that. But you know me, Adrian. If I wanted money, I'd have asked for a raise, not stolen it."
A faint smile touched Adrian's lips. "You'd probably complain about the paperwork."
"Exactly," Marcus said, grinning.
That drew a laugh out of Adrian—brief but genuine. For the first time in weeks, the tension cracked, even if only for a heartbeat.
There was a brief silence before Adrian continued "I will send you to Y City to manage operations there" Marcus was shocked but on a second thought, it will give him distance—both from the suffocating rumors and from Melissa's calculating eyes and buy him enough time to nail her down.
Y City was brisk and fast-moving, its skyline glittering like a promise. The Cole branch there ran smoothly under Marcus's supervision—he was good at what he did. But the more he mingled with the local business circle, the more he heard things.
One evening, over coffee with a supplier, someone mentioned D&D Group—Melissa's father's company, Douglas Holdings.
"They've been trying to get Adrian Cole into a merger for months," the man said. "But he's too cautious. Won't sign anything that smells wrong."
Marcus frowned. "D&D's a reputable firm, though."
The supplier gave a dry laugh. "Reputable on paper. But off record? They're sharks. Anyone who doesn't play along mysteriously folds."
That night, Marcus sat in his Y City apartment, staring at the skyline. The thought twisted in his gut.
Could D&D have something to do with the financial chaos haunting Cole Industries?
If so, Melissa's concern wasn't loyalty—it was cover, so he contacted few frienda who owed him for past help and in a matter of days, he landed a spot in D&D as an assistant, he vowed to expose Melissa.