Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO NEVER ALLOWED PASSENGERS
Eight years earlier, Adrian Vale had made a promise.
Nobody would sit beside him in a car again.
Not because he disliked company.
Because the last person who had sat there had died.
Her name was Sofia.
His younger sister.
Twenty-one years old.
Bright.
Stubborn.
Always laughing.
She'd begged Adrian to drive her home after a family dinner.
He'd agreed.
Halfway across the city, another vehicle had rammed them.
The collision killed Sofia instantly.
Adrian survived with a fractured collarbone and a scar along his ribs.
The attack had been intended for him.
Since that night, he drove alone whenever possible.
Security followed in separate vehicles.
No passengers.
No exceptions.
Until Evelyn Hart.
He hadn't understood why he'd let her remain.
Perhaps because she'd been too exhausted to recognize danger.
Perhaps because she'd treated him like a patient instead of a criminal.
Or perhaps because, for the first time in eight years, someone had sat beside him without expecting him to protect them.
She'd been protecting him.
Adrian stared at the photograph Dante had brought.
Evelyn.
Dark hair pulled back.
Tired eyes.
A stubborn mouth.
Then he looked at Victor Sloane.
The man sat across from him, wearing a navy suit and an expensive watch.
“Adrian.”
Victor smiled.
“You wanted to see me?”
Adrian didn't return the smile.
“Daniel Mercer.”
Victor's expression barely changed.
“Tragic accident.”
“Was it?”
Victor leaned back.
“That's what the report says.”
Adrian placed a document on the desk.
“A complaint filed three weeks ago.”
Victor glanced at it.
“Disgruntled employee.”
“He was an engineer.”
“Engineers complain.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“He accused you of falsifying safety inspections.”
Victor sighed.
“Adrian, construction is complicated.”
“People live in those buildings.”
Victor laughed softly.
“You've never been sentimental about business.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“I'm sentimental about buildings not collapsing on families.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then Adrian asked:
“Did you send someone to threaten Evelyn Hart?”
Victor blinked.
“Who?”
“The nurse who treated Mercer.”
Victor looked confused.
Too confused.
Too carefully.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Adrian watched him.
Then nodded.
“Good.”
Victor relaxed.
Adrian continued.
“Then you won't object to an independent audit of every Halcyon Tower inspection.”
May you like
Victor went pale.
And Adrian knew he'd found the first crack.
