THE BILLIONAIRE WHO LOST EVERYTHING

THE WOMAN I HATED

I spent the entire night telling myself that Sophia Bennett meant nothing to me.

It was a lie.

A dangerous one.

By eight the next morning, I was sitting in the back of my car, watching the entrance of Bennett Holdings.

Noah sat beside me.

“You don’t have to go in personally.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to see her.”

Noah looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“To ask about Daniel?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t believe me.

Neither did I.

The glass doors opened.

Employees began entering the building.

Then she appeared.

Sophia.

Three years hadn’t changed her as much as they had changed me.

She still carried herself with quiet confidence.

Still walked like she knew exactly where she was going.

But something was different.

She looked tired.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

I watched her enter the building.

“Let’s go.”

The car stopped.

I stepped out.

The moment I entered the lobby, several employees looked at me.

I ignored them.

I walked straight toward the reception desk.

“I need to see Sophia Bennett.”

The receptionist looked at me.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“She’s extremely busy.”

“I’m aware.”

She frowned.

“May I tell her who is here?”

I leaned closer.

“Tell her Adrian Black.”

The receptionist picked up the phone.

I waited.

Less than thirty seconds later, the elevator doors opened.

Sophia walked out.

She stopped the moment she saw me.

Her face went pale.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then she whispered my name.

“Adrian.”

I kept my expression cold.

“Hello, Sophia.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You came back.”

“Apparently.”

She took a step toward me.

I stepped back.

She stopped.

“I thought you were dead.”

“I was supposed to be.”

Her lips trembled.

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone tried very hard to make sure I disappeared.”

She looked around nervously.

“Not here.”

“Why?”

“Because people are watching.”

I glanced around the lobby.

She was right.

Employees were pretending not to stare.

Sophia lowered her voice.

“Come with me.”

I followed her into a private office.

She closed the door.

Then she turned around.

“How are you alive?”

“That’s your first question?”

She looked at me.

“What should I ask?”

“Why did you leave me?”

Her expression collapsed.

“I didn’t.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You ended our engagement.”

“I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“No, Adrian.”

She stepped closer.

“You don’t understand.”

“Then explain.”

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

I stared at her.

“Three years.”

She looked down.

“Three years I believed you betrayed me.”

“I never betrayed you.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“Because if I stayed, you would have died.”

I froze.

“What?”

She looked toward the door.

Then she lowered her voice.

“Your accident wasn’t an accident.”

“I know.”

Her eyes widened.

“You know?”

“I know someone hit my car.”

She shook her head.

“That’s not what I mean.”

She walked to her desk and opened a drawer.

From inside, she pulled out a small envelope.

She handed it to me.

“This came to me two days before your accident.”

I opened it.

There was a photograph.

My father.

Victor.

Marcus.

And another man I didn’t recognize.

They were standing together outside a hotel.

On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message.

ONE OF THEM WILL KILL ADRIAN.

I looked at Sophia.

“Who sent this?”

“I don’t know.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I didn’t know who to trust.”

“You could have trusted me.”

“I tried.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“But someone was watching you.”

I stared at the photograph again.

“Who is the fourth man?”

Sophia shook her head.

“I never found out.”

I turned the photograph over again.

There was something written beneath the message.

A date.

The same date as my accident.

My pulse quickened.

“Why didn’t you give this to the police?”

“Because the police were already involved.”

“What?”

She looked at me.

“The officer investigating your case disappeared.”

I said nothing.

“Two days later, his body was found.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Because I received another message.”

“What message?”

Sophia reached into the drawer again.

She pulled out her phone.

She showed me an old text.

IF YOU TELL ADRIAN THE TRUTH, HE WILL DIE.

I stared at the screen.

“Who sent it?”

“Unknown number.”

“You believed them?”

“I believed what happened to the investigator.”

She looked at me.

“I was scared.”

For the first time since entering the room, I didn’t know what to say.

I had spent three years believing Sophia had abandoned me.

Now I was beginning to wonder whether I had been wrong.

She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I watched your funeral.”

My chest tightened.

“You came?”

“Of course I came.”

“Why?”

Her eyes met mine.

“Because I loved you.”

Silence.

The words hit harder than I expected.

I looked away.

“I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“I know.”

She walked toward the window.

“But there’s something else you need to know.”

“What?”

She turned.

“Daniel Reed didn’t work for me.”

I frowned.

“Noah said—”

“He worked for me because I asked him to find you.”

My heart stopped.

“Find me?”

“After the accident, I didn’t believe you were dead.”

“Why?”

“Because the hospital records were missing.”

She paused.

“I spent three years looking for you.”

I stared at her.

“And you found me?”

“No.”

Her voice broke.

“You found me.”

Before I could respond, her office door suddenly opened.

A man stood outside.

Daniel Reed.

My former security chief.

He looked at me.

Then his eyes widened.

“Adrian.”

I stepped toward him.

“Where were you the night I crashed?”

Daniel’s face changed.

He closed the door behind him.

Then he said four words that changed everything.

“I was driving the SUV.”