2025-08-17 01:41:56"Master Adrian, everything has been arranged! We can sign the contract with your wife's company tomorrow. She will then become the new star of the city's business world!"
A sycophantic voice came from the other end of the phone. Adrian replied nonchalantly, "Well done. The Cross family's performance has been very satisfactory to me."
As he spoke, he casually flipped the steak in the pan.
The person on the other end, flattered, respectfully replied, "It is our honor to serve the sole heir of the West family..."
Adrian, uninterested in further compliments, offered a few perfunctory words and hung up. He then plated the steak.
Today was his and his wife Vanessa's wedding anniversary, and it was also the day he planned to tell her about his true identity. A smile involuntarily graced his lips at the thought.
He glanced at his watch and frowned. It had been two hours past the time he and Vanessa had agreed upon, yet she still hadn't returned home.
The steak had been reheated after going cold and no longer looked appetizing. Adrian picked up his phone and dialed his wife's number for the ninth time. Worried that she might be in danger, he decided he would go out to find her if she didn't answer this time.
Unfortunately, a busy signal met his ears, and unease filled his heart. He grabbed his jacket, ready to leave. Just then, the front door clicked open.
Adrian hurried over to see his wife stumbling in. He let out a long sigh of relief.
"Vanessa? You had me worried sick. I called you nine times... What happened?" he asked with concern, walking towards her.
Vanessa looked up, the smell of alcohol wafting from her. Adrian frowned, "You've been drinking?"
"Yes. Why are you still up? Is our daughter asleep?" Vanessa said coldly, her brow furrowed as she looked at him.
Adrian, looking at Vanessa, was somewhat displeased. "Did you forget that today is our wedding anniversary, and that I had something important to tell you?"
Vanessa then remembered, but she said dismissively, "What could be so important? Besides cooking and taking care of our daughter at home all day, you don't do anything else of substance. Are you trying to ask me for money?"
With a cold tone, she walked to the dining table and sat down, commanding, "Pour me a glass of water."
Adrian swallowed the sting. “It’s our anniversary, babe. I called you. Nine times.”
She rolled her eyes, kicking off her heels. One skidded under the coffee table. “Yeah, well, I was busy. Company’s going public tomorrow, or did you forget? Some of us have actual work to do.” Her words slurred impatiently.
Adrian studied her carefully. His wife was drunk. She couldn’t even walk properly. His jaw tightened. He gestured to the table, the food now entirely cold, the candles almost completely burnt out. “Aria was um… waiting for you until 9pm. She wanted to join us for our anniversary before bed.”
Vanessa snorted, staggering toward the kitchen, drunk. “Aria’s fine. She’s always fine. You’re the one making a big deal outta nothing.” She grabbed a glass from the counter, filled it with tap water, and drank like she hadn’t tasted liquid in days. “God, why’re you always hovering? It’s suffocating. Do you know what I had to deal with at the baquet today?”
Adrian was angry by his wife’s excuses. There was no hint of sory in her eyes, not even for disappointing their daughter. He took a slow, deliberaate breath, controlling his anger. He’d seen this coming, hadn’t he?
“But Vanessa, the Cross family’s handling everything, right? They’ll make sure the listing goes smooth. This is an important night for us.”
Vanessa froze, the glass halfway to her lips as she turned back to him in shock. “How the hell do you know about the Cross family?”
Adrian watched Vanessa quietly and said in a low voice, "This is related to what I was going to tell you tonight..."
"Enough, enough. I get angry just looking at you..." Vanessa waved her hand impatiently, completely unconcerned with how Adrian knew the Cross family was helping her.
"I must have been blind to marry a man like you. You're completely useless," Vanessa complained. "If it weren't for Bobby's help, how would I have gotten assistance from the Cross family? You're nothing compared to him. If it weren't for the accident of having Aria..."
Adrian's face was devoid of expression. He knew Vanessa's attitude towards him had drastically changed at a certain point. It was after she met that man named Bobby.
"You missed our wedding anniversary to go drinking with that Bobby?" Adrian asked softly.
"Yes, so what? Bobby helped me so much, of course I have to thank him! If it weren't for him..." Vanessa was defiant, feeling not a shred of guilt.
Vanessa seemed extremely irritated by Adrian’s questioning, and the stifling heat in the room only made her more uncomfortable. She tugged at her collar, trying to get a breath of fresh air.
However, that simple motion revealed the hickey on her neck.
Adrian was struck as if by lightning. He clenched his jaw, suppressing the fury in his chest as he demanded,
“So… that mark was left by Bobby as well?”
"Wh-what... impossible, I specifically told him not to leave any marks..." Vanessa became flustered, quickly covering her neck with her hand.
"So… you cheated?" A sharp pain shot through Adrian's heart, and his whole body trembled. He had suspected it, but he never thought Vanessa would admit her relationship with Bobby so readily in her muddled state.
"I...OK, you're right, I did cheat. But are you completely blameless?" Vanessa said mockingly, dropping all pretense now that her lie was exposed.
If you hadn’t gotten me pregnant, I’d be somewhere else. Someone else. Not stuck with you and your pathetic little dinners.” She gestured at the table, her bracelet catching the candlelight. “This food? It’s disgusting. You’re disgusting. It smells like shit, I won’t even be able to touch that crap.”
“Don’t you get it, Adrian? I am being laughed at at work. All of my subordinates have their husbands buying them fucking sportscars, diamond necklaces. And I pull up there everyday with nothing but your broke-ass surname staining mine. I am ashamed, okay? I am ashamed and I am tired of this… whatever we call it. You’re embarrassing to me, to my public image.”
The words hung there, jagged, final. It felt like Vanessa did not even give a single thought to her words before she laid them. Adrian had spent five long years building her up secretly, propping her dreams with his secret empire. He had stepped back, played the nobody, to keep her and Aria safe. And this was what he got?
“Vanessa,” he finally spoke, his voice low. “I want a divorce.”
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Chapter 51: Necessary Sacrifices
"Come," Ethan said again, his voice a velvet lure, gesturing toward the far edge of the rooftop. The one that dropped away from the manicured lawns and twinkling neighbor lights, into the endless black maw of the woods beyond. "There's something you need to see. Over here."Samuel hesitated, his small frame rooted to the spot. The boy's mind raced—he could feel it in the way his fingers drummed against the railing, a silent Morse code of panic. Wrong place. Wrong time. Uncle Ethan's not right. Grandpa... he's sick because of him. What if he knows I know? But curiosity, that treacherous spark in every child, warred with the terror. And Ethan knew how to fan it."Don’t be scared, come on. It's just a firefly," Ethan added, injecting a note of boyish wonder into his tone, the kind he'd practiced in front of mirrors to disarm boardrooms full of sharks. "A big one. Glowing like a star that fell too low. You like fireflies, don't you? Remember the ones in the garden last summer? We chased t
Chapter 50: "Come Here Boy"
Ethan didn’t move.The champagne glass slipped completely from his hand this time, shattering against the marble with a dull, final sound. Tiny shards glittered across the floor like splintered stars. For a moment, the only sound was the faint hiss of bubbles dying away.He slowly turned his head.There, framed by the soft yellow light of the hallway, stood Samuel — his sister’s young son. The boy’s knuckles were white where he clutched the balcony railing, eyes wide and trembling, chest rising and falling too fast for someone his age.The two stared at each other for a long, unbearable minute.Ethan’s heart pounded once, twice — then went still, cold as stone. The boy’s gaze said it all. He had heard everything. The phone call. The name “Petrovic.” The talk of death. The truth Ethan had buried beneath smiles and lies.Finally, Samuel turned, reaching for the doorknob. He wanted to run. But Ethan’s voice — smooth and low like a blade sliding free from its sheath — stopped him in his t
Chapter 49: A Little Shadow
The night over the Cross estate was calm — almost too calm. The meeting had ended in roaring approval, wine glasses clinking, laughter echoing through the corridors. Yet upstairs, away from the noise, Ethan Cross’s mind was restless.He walked briskly up the marble staircase, his polished shoes tapping softly against the floor, and made his way to the private balcony overlooking the city. The sprawling skyline glittered below, towers piercing the darkness like shards of gold. It was a view John had loved — one Ethan intended to claim for himself, permanently.He shut the balcony door behind him and slipped a hand into his pocket, drawing out his phone. His fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the electric pulse of ambition surging through him.He dialed a number. It rang twice before a calm, accented voice answered.“Doctor Petrovic speaking.”“Petrovic,” Ethan said, his tone low, almost a growl. “I just came from the meeting. The family believes Father won’t make it. Bu
Chapter 48: The Banquet Of Triumph
The storm from earlier had passed. Ethan, calm once more, leaned back in John Cross’s chair — his chair now, at least in practice. He tapped his fingers against the table, surveying the faces of his gathered relatives like a king studying his court.“Enough of distractions,” he said smoothly, taking a deep breath. “The matter of succession is settled. But a declaration without celebration carries no weight. It is time we show the world where power truly lies. The Cross family will hold a banquet.”The words fell like coins scattered across a table. Excitement rippled through the hall. A banquet was more than a dinner — it was a spectacle, a declaration of dominance, a stage upon which Ethan could present himself as the new axis around which the family revolved.One of the uncles leaned forward eagerly. “Yes, Ethan. You are right. It must not be a small affair. It must be the kind of event that cannot be ignored.”Another chimed in. “We should invite not only our allies, but those who
Chapter 47: A Lesson In Loyalty
The mahogany table in the Cross estate’s great hall gleamed beneath the chandelier’s golden glow.Every chair was filled — uncles, cousins, aunts, spouses, each member of the sprawling Cross family gathered as Ethan had commanded. Their faces reflected a mix of unease and eagerness. Unease because the patriarch, John Cross, lay upstairs unconscious. Eagerness because power was shifting, and they all knew it.Ethan sat at the head of the table where his father once presided. He leaned back slightly in the chair, fingers tapping on the polished surface, his expression calm but calculating. The silence was deliberate. He let them stew in it until the tension grew thick enough to taste.Finally, he spoke. His voice was smooth, carrying a gravity that silenced even the faintest whispers.“As you all know,” he began, “our father’s condition has not improved. In fact… I fear it has worsened. The physicians we’ve summoned have done what they can, but the truth is clear.” He paused, letting hi
Chapter 46: The True Master Chef!
Adrian stepped into the kitchen without a word, the way he always did — calm, steady, unshaken by Fabio’s sneers. The knife that had slipped through Fabio’s fingers only moments ago now rested easily in Adrian’s hand, as though it belonged there. His movements were fluid, almost too natural for someone who supposedly had no business being in a kitchen.The first sound that followed was the crisp, rhythmic tok-tok-tok of blade against board. Onions, tomatoes, herbs — each one fell into neat, uniform slices, not too thin, not too thick. Every cut was purposeful. Within seconds, what had looked like chaos on the counter turned into tidy rows of vegetables, their colors vibrant, their scent already lifting the stale air of the apartment.And Adrian was doing all this without breaking a sweat.Helen, leaning against the doorway, bit back a smile. She had seen glimpses of Adrian’s hidden depth before — the calm way he had carried himself at the fight club, the strength in his fists, the qui
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