All Chapters of Adrian Carter's Silent Dominance: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
48 chapters
Chapter 21
Vanessa slumped back onto her sofa, her mind still whirling from the Rand Enterprises situation. She buried her face in her hands, groaning. “I can’t believe this,” she muttered. “After everything… the announcement, the press… it’s all gone. Just like that.”Monica, sitting opposite her with a glass of wine in hand, shook her head and smiled knowingly. “That’s exactly why you need to get out there, Vanessa. You can’t sit and sulk. Society doesn’t forgive people for staying hidden, but it admires people who bounce back stronger. You need to remind everyone who you are.”Vanessa peeked through her fingers, frowning. “And how do I do that? After this embarrassment, I can barely even think about showing my face. I’d look… weak. Foolish. Everyone knows what happened. The contract fell through after I announced it publicly. Do you know how mortifying that is?”Monica leaned forward, her eyes glinting with determination. “Exactly. That’s why you attend the upcoming gala I saw on the app this
Chapter 22
The kitchen was quiet except for the faint sizzle coming from the pan on the stove. Adrian stood in front of it in a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, sleeves pushed up, focused on the task at hand. Pancake batter sat in a bowl beside him, already half-used. He flipped one pancake carefully, watching it land slightly off-center before adjusting it with the spatula.He glanced briefly toward the hallway that led to the bedroom. Lily was still asleep. He had checked on her twice already that morning, unwilling to risk waking her too early. Mornings like this—quiet, unhurried, just the two of them—were rare, and he cherished them more than he admitted even to himself.Just as he reached for the batter again, the doorbell rang.Adrian paused.He frowned slightly, checking the time in his head. It was still early. Too early for anything official. He turned down the stove a notch, grabbed the kitchen towel hanging nearby, wiped his hands, and walked toward the door.When he opened it, he was me
Chapter 23
Victor took his time before sitting, lowering himself into the armchair opposite Adrian with the ease of a man who had never once questioned whether he belonged anywhere. He crossed one leg over the other, resting his arm along the chair’s side, and then looked Adrian over slowly—deliberately—from head to toe.His lips curved into a smirk.“Well,” Victor said at last, “in that case, we have a problem.”Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. Another responsibility I didn’t ask for.”Victor chuckled. “Oh, you asked for it the moment you agreed.”He gestured vaguely at Adrian. “You can’t walk into a room dressed in one of your regular outfits and expect anyone to take you seriously.”Adrian glanced at him “What’s wrong with my clothes?”“Everything,” Victor replied smoothly. “And nothing. Which is precisely the issue.”Adrian frowned. “You’re going to have to explain that.”Victor leaned forward slightly. “You’re not attending this gala as a Vale,” he said. “Not yet. But you are going
Chapter 24
Adrian stepped out of the car and into the quiet space of the high-end shopping district, the hum of the city softening almost immediately as glass storefronts and manicured walkways replaced traffic noise and street vendors. The boutique he stopped in front of did not need a sign that screamed luxury. It whispered it instead.Tall glass doors framed with brushed gold metal reflected his image back at him—clean, composed, unremarkable at first glance. He wore a simple dark shirt tucked neatly into tailored trousers, shoes polished but understated. Nothing about him was sloppy. Nothing about him was loud either. And in a place like this, loud was often mistaken for worthy.He paused briefly before pushing the door open, not out of hesitation but habit. Inside, the air changed instantly. It smelled faintly of expensive leather, citrus polish, and something cool and sterile that suggested exclusivity. Soft instrumental music played in the background, barely audible, as if even sound had
Chapter 25
Adrian exhaled slowly, steadying himself before turning fully to face the woman. His voice, when he spoke, was calm—measured in a way that contrasted sharply with the hostility aimed at him.“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready to buy,” he said evenly. “And you should really reconsider how you handle customers. Not everyone who walks quietly lacks money.”For a brief second, there was silence.Then the two attendants looked at each other.And laughed.It wasn’t a polite laugh. It wasn’t even restrained. It was the kind of laughter meant to humiliate—to strip someone of dignity and make sure they felt it.The woman placed a manicured hand over her mouth, shaking her head as if Adrian had just told the joke of the century. The man leaned against the counter, amusement written plainly across his face.“Oh, of course,” the woman said mockingly. “We know how to treat actual customers. People who come here to buy. Not people who come to admire things they’ll never afford.”The man added, s
Chapter 26
The attendant stared at Adrian as though she hadn’t heard him correctly.For a second, she simply stood there, tablet in hand, eyes flicking from his face to the suit and back again. Her brows drew together slightly, confusion etched deep across her features.“I’m sorry,” she said slowly, her tone cautious now, stripped of its earlier condescension. “Sir… did you hear the price I just mentioned?”Adrian met her gaze evenly.“I did,” he replied. “You can take my card.”The words were simple. Unembellished. Certain.A strange hush fell over that section of the boutique.Vanessa’s lips parted in disbelief. Monica let out a small, incredulous scoff under her breath, as if waiting for the punchline to arrive. Even the other attendant, who had been hovering nearby with thinly veiled disdain, leaned forward slightly, curiosity overriding mockery.The attendant hesitated, then reached out slowly and took the card Adrian offered.Her fingers brushed the sleek surface, and for a brief moment, s
Chapter 27
Vanessa did not calm down once they were outside.If anything, the moment the glass doors slid shut behind them and muffled the soft classical music of the boutique, her anger sharpened—no longer embarrassed heat, but something brittle and loud. Her heels struck the polished floor of the mall too hard as security released them and stepped back, their faces carefully neutral, already done with the drama.“This is unbelievable,” Vanessa snapped, yanking her handbag higher on her shoulder as though it were the last thing still under her control. “Absolutely unbelievable.”Monica walked beside her, her jaw tight, cheeks flushed—not just from anger, but from humiliation. The kind that sat deep, the kind that replayed moments on a loop whether you wanted it to or not. The stares. The whispers. The way people inside the store had suddenly looked at Adrian with respect, with attentiveness, with that subtle shift in posture reserved for people who mattered.And the way they had looked at them—
Chapter 28
Adrian settled back into the leather seat as the car eased away from the boutique, the door closing with a muted thud that shut out the noise of the street. The interior smelled faintly of clean leather and something subtly expensive, the kind of scent that lingered without trying too hard. Outside, the city continued its restless hum, unaware of the quiet shift that had just taken place inside him.For a few seconds, he said nothing.The driver merged smoothly into traffic, hands steady on the wheel, eyes forward. Adrian’s gaze drifted toward the window, watching buildings slide past in slow succession—glass, concrete, color, movement. It should have felt triumphant, or at least satisfying, after what had just happened in the store. The humiliation he had endured, the sudden reversal, the silence that had followed his display of quiet authority.But his mind wasn’t there anymore.Almost absentmindedly, he lifted his wrist.The watch caught the light immediately, the polished surface
Chapter 29
About thirty minutes later, just as the traffic ahead finally began to inch forward in reluctant, grudging movements, Adrian’s phone vibrated in his hand. He had been staring out the window, jaw tight, eyes tracking the slow crawl of vehicles like sheer will might force them to move faster. The vibration startled him enough that he looked down immediately.Unknown number.His heart jumped.He answered without hesitation. “Hello?”“Hi, Adrian,” a woman’s voice said, warm and composed. “This is Iris.”Relief washed through him so fast it almost made him dizzy. He straightened in his seat, his shoulders finally loosening for the first time since the car had come to a standstill earlier.“Iris,” he said, his tone instantly softer. “Thank you for calling. Are you at the school?”“Yes,” she replied. “I just arrived. I’m with the front office now. They asked that you speak with the school management to confirm.”“Of course,” Adrian said quickly. “Thank you so much for doing this. Can you put
Chapter 30
By the time Adrian pulled into the driveway, the sky had already begun its slow transition toward evening. The sun hung lower now, bathing the quiet neighborhood in a muted gold that softened the edges of everything it touched. The house looked different to him—warmer somehow. Lived-in. Not just a structure he had moved into out of necessity, but a place that, for the first time in a long while, felt like it held people instead of silence.He stepped out of the car and shut the door quietly, instinctively careful not to disrupt whatever calm might be waiting inside. The driver nodded respectfully before pulling away, leaving Adrian standing alone for a brief moment with the unfamiliar sensation of anticipation curling in his chest.As soon as he opened the door, sound greeted him.The television was on in the living room, the cheerful, animated voices of cartoon characters filling the air. Over it, faint but unmistakable, drifted the smell of food—warm, rich, comforting. Something sav