The man they called insane

Adrian is useless

Three months had passed.

Serena sat in the living room of the Wicker mansion. Her red gown hung upstairs. Her diamonds sat on the dresser. She was almost ready to leave.

She smiled to herself.

Tonight was important. The Ashford family had found their lost heir. They would show him to the world at the charity ball.

Serena needed him.

Wicker Dynamics was dying. The stock kept falling. Nothing she did helped. The board was angry. Investors were pulling out.

She thought Adrian would fix things. That was the deal. She would marry Damien. She and Adrian would take the company. Adrian would run it. She would take the money.

But Adrian could not do it.

He made promises. He talked big. But when the numbers went down, he had no answers. Just excuses.

The company needed Damien. Serena hated to think about it. But it was true. Damien built the company. Damien knew the business. Damien kept everything running.

And she had put him in a hospital.

She pushed the thought away. It did not matter now. Damien was gone. The company was failing. She needed something new.

The Ashford heir was her new plan.

She would go to the ball. She would find him. She would make him want her. Then she would have his money and his name. She would never need anyone again.

Not Adrian. Not her grandmother. No one.

Serena smiled wider.

"You are smiling."

She looked up.

Her grandmother stood in the doorway. Eleanor was old and sharp. Her eyes missed nothing.

"The company is down again," Eleanor said. "And you sit there smiling?"

Serena stopped smiling. "I was thinking about tonight."

"Tonight?" Eleanor walked into the room. Her cane tapped the floor. "You think one party will fix three months of failure?"

"The Ashford heir will be there. If I get close to him—"

"If." Eleanor laughed. It was not a nice laugh. "If. That is all I hear from you. If. Maybe. Soon. No results. Nothing."

Serena's mother, Margaret, came in from the kitchen. She heard the shouting.

"Mother, please," Margaret said. "She is trying."

"Trying is not good enough." Eleanor stopped in front of Serena. "Three months ago you had a husband. A company. A future. Now the husband is gone. The company is dying. You have nothing."

"I have Adrian—"

"Adrian." Eleanor said his name like it was dirt. "What has he done? Nothing. The company was supposed to do better with him. Instead it is getting worse."

Serena did not speak.

"You were so sure," Eleanor said. "You told me locking Damien away was the right thing. You told me Adrian would fix everything. You told me you did not need anyone else."

"I was wrong."

"You were foolish." Eleanor leaned closer. "And now we all pay for your mistake."

Margaret stepped forward. "That is enough—"

"Do not tell me when I have had enough." Eleanor raised her hand. "I have run this family longer than you have been alive. I know when enough is enough."

Serena stood up. Her chair scraped the floor.

"If it is so easy," she said, "you do it."

The room went still.

Eleanor's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"You heard me." Serena's voice was calm. But her hands shook. "You stand there every day telling me what I do wrong. Telling me I am not good enough. If you think you can do better, then take over. Run the company yourself. Save the family yourself."

Eleanor's face turned red. Her hand came up fast. Margaret caught her wrist.

"Stop," Margaret said. "Do not hurt her face."

Eleanor stared at her daughter.

Margaret did not let go. "She needs her face tonight. That is how she will catch the Ashford heir. That is how she will save this family."

Eleanor lowered her hand.

She breathed hard. Her eyes stayed on Serena.

"You are lucky," Eleanor said. "Very lucky."

Serena said nothing.

Eleanor fixed her dress. When she spoke again, her voice was cold.

"What is your plan?"

"My plan?"

"For tonight." Eleanor walked to the window. "You want the Ashford heir. Tell me how you will get him."

Serena swallowed. "I will go to the ball. I will find him. I will—"

"Will what? Smile at him? Show some skin?" Eleanor turned around. "Any woman can do that. Why would he pick you?"

Serena had no answer.

Eleanor shook her head. "You have no plan. You never have a plan. You just hope."

"I will figure it out when I get there."

"Figure it out." Eleanor laughed again. "You are the boss of a dying company. You have no husband. No friends. No future. And you will figure it out at a party."

Serena's jaw tightened. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me you will not fail. I want you to look at me and promise that by tomorrow, the Ashford heir will be yours."

The room was quiet.

Serena looked at her grandmother. At her mother. At the cold fireplace.

She thought about Damien. About the life she threw away. About the company slipping through her fingers.

Then she thought about the Ashford heir. The money. The power.

"I promise," she said.

Eleanor looked at her for a long time.

"Good," she said. "Now go. And do not come back until he is yours."