Chapter 4 - The First Clue in the Dust
Maya stared at him in disbelief.
“Help you find a mafia traitor? Are you insane?”
“Completely,” Adrien replied without a single hint of humor.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you go back upstairs,” Adrien said smoothly.
“And pretend you never saw any of this.”
“That sounds like a much better plan,” Maya said, turning toward the stairs.
“Except for one detail,” Adrien added, his voice freezing her in place.
“The moment you walk out of that door, my men will assume you know too much.”
Maya turned back slowly.
“Are you threatening me?”
“I am offering you a choice,” Adrien corrected.
“Work with me, or live the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”
Maya clenched her fists.
She hated ultimatums.
She especially hated handsome mafia bosses who thought they owned the world.
“Fine,” Maya hissed.
“Where do we start?”
Adrien pointed to a desk covered in scattered financial reports.
“Start reading.”
For the next three hours, the subterranean vault fell silent except for the rustle of paper.
Maya poured over shipping manifests, ledger entries, and wire transfers.
Her background in college business courses—before her family lost everything—suddenly proved useful.
She frowned at a specific invoice.
“Look at this,” Maya said, pointing a finger at a column of numbers.
Adrien leaned over her shoulder.
His warmth brushed against her back.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice low.
“This shipment of imported marble,” Maya traced the line with her nail.
“The one that supposedly cost a fortune.”
“Yes?”
“It was billed twice,” Maya looked up at him.
“Once to your account, and once to an offshore account registered in the Cayman Islands.”
Adrien’s eyes narrowed.
The air in the room suddenly grew ten degrees colder.
“Who authorized this transaction?” Adrien demanded.
Maya scanned the signature at the bottom.
“Marcus Vance.”
Adrien’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek.
Marcus Vance.
May you like
His most trusted advisor.
The man who had stood beside him at the conference table just hours ago.
