Chapter 5 - The Fiancée's Return
The next morning, the house felt like a loaded gun.
Adrian sat in the living room, reading the newspaper as if nothing had changed.
Veronica glided down the stairs, dressed in a sleek designer suit.
“Good morning, darling,” she chirped, kissing his cheek.
“Morning,” Adrian replied, not looking up from the stock pages.
“I have some errands to run in the city today. Wedding planning, mostly.”
“Take one of the security details with you,” Adrian offered.
“Oh, that’s not necessary. I’ll just be at the florist and the caterer.”
“I insist,” Adrian said softly, finally looking at her. “I want you to be safe.”
Veronica forced a smile. “Alright. If it makes you feel better.”
She left, and Marcus immediately walked into the room.
“I have two men tailing her,” Marcus confirmed.
“She’s not going to a florist.”
“I know,” Adrian said. “She’s going to meet her Marzano handler. She failed to kill me last night; she has to explain why.”
“Do we intercept?”
“No. Let her talk. I want to know exactly who she’s meeting.”
Adrian folded the newspaper and tossed it onto the coffee table.
“While she’s gone, we tear her room apart.”
For the next two hours, Adrian and Marcus meticulously searched the guest suite Veronica used as her dressing room.
They found nothing in the obvious places.
No false bottoms in the jewelry boxes. No hidden compartments in the luggage.
“She’s too smart to leave physical evidence lying around,” Marcus muttered.
“Everyone makes a mistake,” Adrian said, staring at the vanity mirror.
He noticed a small silver picture frame.
It was a photo of Veronica and him, taken on a yacht a few months ago.
Adrian picked it up. It felt slightly heavier than a standard silver frame.
He popped the backing off.
Tucked behind the photograph was a secondary, hidden backing.
Adrian peeled it away to reveal a thin, handwritten ledger.
“Look at this,” Adrian said, handing it to Marcus.
Marcus scanned the columns of dates and numbers.
“These are payouts. Massive ones.”
“She’s been paying off the security guards she fired,” Adrian deduced.
“And bribing the inspectors for our downtown development project.”
Marcus pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Look at the signature.”
It was signed with a stylized 'V' next to the Marzano family crest.
“She’s not just working for them,” Adrian realized.
“She’s one of them. She’s a Marzano.”
“A bastard daughter, maybe?” Marcus suggested. “Or a deep-cover operative.”
“It doesn't matter,” Adrian said, his voice cold.
“She’s been rewriting my house, my staff, and my life for months.”
May you like
He pocketed the ledger.
“Put everything back exactly as we found it. She can't know we were here.”
