Chapter 4: The First Move

I sat in Adrian’s office, staring at the files in front of me. The glass windows allowed me to see the beautiful view of the city, but I barely noticed. My mind was too occupied with everything I had just figured out.

"You're hesitating," Adrian said, his voice measured. He leaned back against his desk, his arms crossed, watching me his piercing gray gaze. "Why?"

I lifted my chin. "I’m not hesitating. I’m thinking."

"Thinking and hesitating are not so different," he muttered.

 "If you want to win this, you have to stop doubting yourself. Victor, Celeste, Damian—they never doubted themselves when they ruined you."

I exhaled, my grip tightening around the pen I held in my hand. He was right. If I wanted revenge, I shouldn’t harbor second thoughts.

Adrian walked around the desk, stopping beside me. "You need to understand something, Scarlett. Business is war. There are no half-measures. If you want to take them down, you need to be committed to assuring you achieve that. Completely."

I turned to face him. "And what exactly do you suggest?"

He smirked. 

"We start with Damian."

***

The next morning, the headlines exploded.

Breaking News: Damian Whitmore’s Secret Mistress and Illegitimate Child Exposed!

I stood in Adrian’s office, watching the drama unfold on the television screen. Reporters camped outside Damian’s office. 

They shoved microphones in his face when he arrived. His PR team ran around trying to change the story, but the damage was already done.

Adrian’s voice was calm beside me. "You did well."

I turned to face him, a strange mixture of joy and relief settling in my chest. "It was easier than I thought."

"Because the truth was already there," he said. "All we did was it out to the light."

Damian’s desperate face filled the screen. "No comment," he snapped at a reporter before shoving past the cameras.

I felt an odd sense of satisfaction watching him suffer. He had thrown me away like I meant nothing. Now, the world would see him for what he truly was.

Adrian tilted his head. "Enjoying it?"

I hesitated before admitting, "A little."

He chuckled.

 "Good. You’re starting to understand."

***

But the game wasn’t over. If Damian was the first strike, Victor was going to be the actual war.

Adrian slid a file toward me. "Victor has been laundering money through offshore accounts for years. We leak this, and the entire board will turn against him. He’ll be too busy saving himself to come after you."

I flipped through the pages, my pulse quickening. "How do we make sure it sticks?"

Adrian tapped the desk. "We don’t just leak it. We time it perfectly."

***

That night, the documents were sent anonymously to every major news outlet. Within hours, the scandal erupted.

Victor’s empire trembled.

He called for an emergency board meeting, to try and control the damage. But I wasn’t going to let him escape so easily.

I arrived at Delacroix Enterprises the next morning, walking into the building I once called my home. All heads turned and whispers followed me. The old Scarlett might have flinched. But I wasn’t her anymore.

I pushed open the boardroom doors, my heels clicking against the floor as I stepped inside.

Victor was mid-sentence in whatever he was about saying, cause he paused when he saw me. His expression darkened. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

I smiled.

 "Enjoying the show."

Several board members exchanged glances. The whispers grew louder. Victor’s hands curled into fists on the table. "You think this is funny?"

I shrugged. 

"No, but it’s certainly satisfying."

"You have no idea what you’ve done." 

His voice dropped to a deadly whisper

I leaned in, lowering my voice to match his. "Oh, I know exactly what I’ve done. You underestimated me, Father. That was your first mistake."

And with that, I turned on my heel and walked out.

***

Later that evening, I sat across Adrian at dinner. The restaurant was quiet, and dimly lit.

"You're stronger than they ever gave you credit for," Adrian murmured, watching me over the rim of his glass.

 "Because of you." I said as I met his gaze.

"No," he said, placing his drink down. 

"Because of you. I just reminded you of what you already were."

"I don’t know what’s next." I swallowed.

He leaned forward slightly. "We keep going. Until there's nothing left of them."

I nodded. 

But before I could respond, my phone buzzed. 

A message flashed on the screen.

I frowned and picked it up, my heartbeat beating fast as I read the words.

Eloise is missing.

My vision blurred for a second as panic surged through me. My fingers tighten around the phone.

Adrian’s expression darkened. "What is it?"

I swallowed hard, "Eloise. Someone took her." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.