FROM RAGS TO THE THRONE

Chapter Four – The Web

Adrian’s gaze swept over the wall, Every photo, every document, every red string seemed to point toward him, his businesses, his movements, even mundane details like which cafés he visited on certain days.

Some of the images were clearly taken without his knowledge. A few were blurry street shots. Others were crisp enough to have come from security cameras.

Vivienne stepped past him, her heels silent on the carpet. "I started putting this together a year before we met," she said, pulling a small folder from a cabinet. "Back when I thought it was just business rivalry. It’s not."

Damien crossed his arms. "She’s telling the truth, Kane. I didn’t believe it either, until someone tried to gut one of my companies from the inside."

Adrian turned slowly. "And I’m supposed to believe you weren’t behind that?"

Damien’s smirk returned faintly. "If I’d done it, you wouldn’t still have the company."

Vivienne spread several photographs across the desk. "Look at these names. Two of them were on your payroll. Three on Damien’s. They all disappeared within weeks of each other."

Adrian scanned the faces. None rang a bell. "They’re ghosts now," Vivienne said. "No bank accounts. No digital footprint. Just gone."

"And you think they’re connected?" Adrian asked.

"I know they are." Vivienne picked up another photo and handed it to him.

It was Selena. Standing in an unfamiliar lobby, speaking to a man with a jagged scar down the side of his neck. The man’s face stirred a faint memory, something from years ago, before Adrian had taken the CEO seat.

"Who is he?" Adrian asked.

Vivienne’s eyes darkened. "Leon Vargas. He’s the one pulling the strings. If your ex-wife is anywhere near him… she’s in deep."

Damien leaned against the desk. "Vargas doesn’t just take down businesses. He erases people. Sometimes literally."

Adrian studied the photo again. Selena’s posture was relaxed. Comfortable. Not the stance of someone intimidated, the stance of someone making a deal.

Vivienne’s voice cut through his thoughts. "If she’s working with him, she’s not just after your money. She’s after your life."

Marcus’s voice buzzed in Adrian’s ear via the earpiece he always wore. "Sir, I’m outside. And… we’ve got a problem."

Adrian stepped toward the door. "What kind of problem?"

There was a pause. "A black SUV’s been circling the block since you went in. Two men inside. One of them’s armed."

Damien straightened, the smirk gone now. "They’re here for one of us."

Adrian’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Another message from the unknown number. "Too late, Kane. She’s already made her move."

From the street outside, a single gunshot cracked through the night, The crack of the gunshot ripped through the night like the city itself had been split in two.

For a second, no one moved. Adrian felt the vibration in his chest before his mind caught up with the sound. The office smelled faintly of old paper and rain from their damp clothes, but beneath it, the sharp metallic tang of adrenaline began to cut in.

Marcus’s voice in his earpiece was clipped, urgent. "Sir. Stay inside."