At dawn, the Cole Tower’s upper floor hummed with tension. Adrian sat at the head of the table, files spread before him like weapons.Across the table, executives whispered nervously, they had seen the news, the photos of Elena smiling with Damian Black and Harold Grant. Gerald Cole entered with his cane, his sharp eyes sweeping the room. He spoke only once: “Proceed.”Adrian rose, his voice smooth, commanding. “Three subsidiaries tied to the Grant Corporation have defaulted overnight. Their offshore accounts were quietly frozen, traced to fraudulent transfers. By noon, regulators will descend. By evening, their stock will bleed.”The room went silent. One executive swallowed. “Sir… won’t they retaliate?”Adrian’s eyes glinted, cold and deliberate. “They already have. This isn’t retaliation. This is response.”Meanwhile, Elena sat in Damian’s penthouse, the city stretched in glass and steel around her. Yet she felt caged. Her phone buzzed relentlessly, messages from old “friends,” all

Rain fell hard as Elena staggered out of Cole Tower, her makeup streaked, her heart hollow. She had expected anger, yes, but the cold finality in Adrian’s words still echoed inside her like a death sentence: You’ll never be mine again.She drove without thinking, streets blurring. By the time she returned to Damian’s penthouse, she was drenched. The moment she walked in, Damian’s mocking voice cut through the silence.“Well, well. Look who came crawling back from her little field trip.”Elena froze. “You knew?”Damian smirked, swirling a glass of wine. “Of course. You went to Adrian. Did you think I wouldn’t have eyes on you?”Her chest tightened. “I just… I needed to see him.”He stepped closer, grip iron as he caught her chin. “Listen carefully, Elena. You’re mine. My pawn. My leverage. If you even think of running again, you won’t just lose your career, you’ll lose your family.”Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t”“Wouldn’t I?” His smile was cruel. “You’re nothing to Adrian now. But

By morning, the scandal had teeth. Screens on every street corner flashed the headlines: COLE INDUSTRIES UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR FRAUD. IS ADRIAN COLE ANOTHER WOLF IN A SUIT?The media storm wasn’t just news, it was poison, infecting every corner of the market, In a downtown café, whispers rose among the city’s elites. “I thought he was the savior of the industry.”“Maybe he’s just another crook.”“Damian Grant wouldn’t lie. He has credibility.”And in penthouses and boardrooms, alliances wavered. Those who had rushed to Adrian’s side now questioned whether they’d backed the wrong horse.Inside Cole Tower’s war room, Adrian sat at the head of the table, silent while Marcus and the executives debated furiously. “We need to go public immediately,” one VP argued.“Deny everything. Sue them for slander!” another shouted.“We can’t just sit here” “Quiet,” Adrian said.The room fell into silence, His gaze swept the table, sharp and unblinking. “Damian thrives on noise. Every denial, every

The morning headlines were merciless.“Cole Empire Cracks: Betrayal Exposed.”“Is Adrian Cole Losing His Grip?”“Sources Confirm Internal Leak, Confidence Shaken.”Though Adrian had swiftly handled Daniel Harper’s betrayal, the press painted it as a collapse. Marcus slammed the paper down on Adrian’s desk. “They’re spinning everything. They want blood.”Adrian scanned the headlines without flinching. “Let them howl. Wolves only circle when they smell weakness. We’ll show them steel.”But in his chest, a flicker of unease lingered. Not because of the betrayal, but because he knew this was only the opening act.In a lavish restaurant, Damian toasted Harold with champagne.“The seed we planted grew perfectly,” Damian said with smug satisfaction. “Cole looks paranoid now. He doesn’t know who he can trust. His empire will rot from the inside out.”Harold chuckled. “Our investors are already whispering about pulling from him. By the time he realizes, he’ll be isolated.”Damian leaned back,

The morning erupted with scandal. Across every major news outlet, Adrian’s face dominated the front page. The headlines screamed: “Heir or Tyrant? Adrian Cole’s Ruthless Rise Under Fire.”“Former Nobody Now Controls Half the Market, But at What Cost?”“Anonymous Sources Reveal Scandalous Secrets of Cole Industries’ CEO.”Adrian sat in his office, the papers spread before him like a battlefield of lies. They had dug into his past. Photos of him working as Elena’s “servant husband” were plastered across glossy magazines, twisted into stories of manipulation and deceit.Anonymous quotes, no doubt bought by the Grants, painted him as cruel, calculating, dangerous.Marcus slammed a newspaper against the table. “They’re trying to make you look like a fraud. They’re feeding the public this trash, and half of them are swallowing it.”Adrian’s expression didn’t flinch. “Let them. The truth always outlives lies.”But his hand curled into a fist on the table. Because the next headline cut deeper