The General's Ascension

The iron bars clanged shut behind her, the echo carrying like a verdict across the empty prison corridor. Elena Frost adjusted the lapels of her white blazer, her heels clicking with sharp precision against the concrete floor. Every step felt heavier than the last.

She told herself she had rehearsed this a hundred times, cold words, clean cuts, no looking back. And yet, the weight pressing on her chest only grew tighter.

Outside the reinforced glass, inmates watched her pass. Her presence was a strange contrast here, an elegant CEO with a reputation as untouchable as ice.

But she was not here as the feared executive of Frost Enterprises. She was here as a wife about to end her marriage. The guard opened the visitation room door.

Inside sat Adrian Kane, his posture straight despite the dull gray uniform draped across his broad frame. His eyes lifted, steady and unreadable, the same eyes that once made her feel safe. Today, they only made her pulse stutter.

“You sent your secretary,” Adrian said quietly, his voice carrying both exhaustion and iron. “But if it’s divorce you want, I’ll only hear it from you.”

Elena closed the door behind her. “That’s why I’m here.”

Silence stretched between them. The air was thick with words unsaid, memories unsummoned.

“I brought the papers,” she finally said, setting them down between them. “Sign them, and we can both move on. I’ll make sure you’re… compensated. A figure large enough for you to start over.”

Adrian’s mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. He didn’t even glance at the numbers. “So this is what we were worth? A transaction on your balance sheet?”

Her throat tightened, but her face betrayed nothing. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. You know as well as I do, we’ve been”

“Troubled?” Adrian cut in, his voice edged with quiet mockery. “You mean, I’ve been a disappointment. I couldn’t offer anything for your empire. And now, I’m a convict, an anchor around your neck.”

His words stabbed deeper than she expected. But Elena pressed on, her tone level. “You said it yourself.”

For a moment, Adrian’s expression softened, almost wistful. Then it hardened again. He took the pen, scrawled his name across the page, and slid the papers back.

“No money,” he said flatly. “I don’t want a single coin of yours.”

“Adrian”

“But I do want one thing back.” His eyes sharpened. “The pendant I gave you. My mother’s heirloom. Return it, and we’ll consider all debts settled.”

Elena’s chest constricted. She had tucked the necklace away months ago, unable to wear it without feeling guilty. Now his demand pierced her defenses.

“I didn’t bring it with me,” she admitted, her voice quieter than intended. “But I’ll bring it next time. If there’s anything else”

“There’s nothing else.” His reply was instant, merciless. “From today onward, Elena… we are strangers.”

Her breath caught, though her face remained composed. She nodded once, turned on her heel, and walked to the door.

Outside, her secretary, Lila Grant, waited anxiously. “You did the right thing,” she whispered, slipping a comforting hand against Elena’s arm. “He’s not worth your tears, Ms. Frost.”

Elena didn’t answer. She kept walking, the weight of invisible chains around her ankles. Inside the visitation room, Adrian sat back, watching the outline of her retreating figure until the door closed. A bitter smile tugged at his lips.

He had thought, naively, that after everything, she would have trusted him, even now. But as the saying went, when disaster strikes, even the closest birds fly apart.

He did not blame her. How could he? She could never know that prison was only a cover, that the disgrace on his name was part of a mission bigger than them both. He had been ordered to carry it to the grave.

The door opened again. The warden stepped in, his demeanor a sharp contrast from moments ago. He straightened, saluted, and spoke in a low, respectful tone.

“General Kane, sir. The President requests your presence immediately.”