Chapter 4 - THE HOMECOMING ACT
At 3:00 p.m. that afternoon, the front door clicked open.
Adrian walked into the foyer carrying his leather briefcase, looking handsome, relaxed, and utterly confident.
“Victoria! I’m home!” he called out warmly, dropping his coat onto the hall tree.
I walked out of the kitchen wearing a soft cream sweater, holding a fresh dish towel, acting every bit the supportive, gentle wife he believed I was.
“Welcome back, honey,” I smiled, stepping close to give him a brief kiss on the cheek. “How was Chicago?”
“Exhausting,” Adrian sighed, rubbing his neck dramatically. “Julian and I worked through the night with investors. But the good news is, the deal is practically finalized!”
“That’s amazing, Adrian!” I cheered, pouring him a glass of sparkling water. “You’ve worked so hard for this.”
“I do it all for us, Victoria,” he said, taking the glass and looking into my eyes with a smile that would have fooled anyone who hadn't seen him kissing another man twenty-four hours ago. “Once this expansion settles, we’ll take that two-month vacation to Italy we always talked about.”
“Italy sounds wonderful,” I replied, my voice dripping with sweet enthusiasm. “Oh, by the way, I saw a package came for Vance Capital this morning. I put it on your desk in the study.”
Adrian’s eyes flickered with a brief flash of anxiety. “A package? What was it?”
“Just some legal verification forms from the land registry office,” I said casually, turning back to the stove. “I didn't open it, of course.”
Adrian swallowed hard, trying to maintain his calm composure. “Right... perfect. I’ll just go review those before dinner.”
He hurried toward his study like a rat pursuing cheese.
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Inside that package were certified copies of the provisional hold documents—documents that subtly warned him the deed transfer required an extra layer of biometric verification at tomorrow’s meeting.
I had set the bait. And Adrian had swallowed it whole.
