Chapter 7 - Adrian stared down the barrel.Victor's hand was steady.
“You pushed me at the gate.”
Victor smiled.
“That was part of the test.”
“What test?”
“To see if you'd react like the old Adrian.”
Adrian frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You always believed fear made people loyal.”
Grace whispered:
“Adrian…”
Victor looked at her.
“You were told to stay out of this.”
Grace stepped closer to Adrian.
“You killed my father.”
Victor's expression remained calm.
“Your father was a problem.”
“He did nothing wrong.”
“He knew too much.”
Adrian looked at the files.
“My father too.”
Victor said nothing.
Adrian understood.
“So this is how you've operated for twenty years.”
Victor raised the gun.
“Twenty-three.”
Then another voice came from behind.
“Victor.”
Malcolm.
Adrian's heart dropped.
Malcolm stepped into the room.
No weapon.
No fear.
“You should have left,” Malcolm said.
Adrian stared at him.
“You.”
Malcolm sighed.
“I was hoping you'd stay away longer.”
“You helped kill my father.”
Malcolm's expression hardened.
“Your father was going to destroy everything.”
“You murdered him.”
“No.”
Malcolm paused.
“Your mother did.”
The room went silent.
Adrian stared.
Malcolm continued.
“I warned her not to poison him.”
Victor frowned.
Malcolm looked at him.
“But she did it anyway.”
Adrian's anger rose.
“Then why did you help her?”
“Because I believed she was right.”
“About what?”
“You.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“Me?”
“Your father believed you were too soft to run this company.”
“He was my father.”
“He was afraid you would destroy his legacy.”
Malcolm stepped closer.
“So Evelyn built a system around you.”
“A system?”
“She created the version of you the world feared.”
Adrian stared.
“You are the one who advised me to fire people.”
“Yes.”
“You convinced me fear was necessary.”
“Yes.”
“You made me believe nobody deserved a second chance.”
“Yes.”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“All these years…”
Malcolm nodded.
“You became exactly what she wanted.”
Grace looked at Adrian.
He suddenly understood.
His entire personality as a CEO had been shaped.
Every brutal decision.
Every suspicious instinct.
Every employee fired without mercy.
Every executive humiliated in front of the board.
Malcolm had been whispering in his ear.
Evelyn had been controlling the strings.
And Adrian had mistaken the strings for free will.
“Why?”
Malcolm looked tired.
“Because fear makes people predictable.”
Victor raised his gun.
Adrian moved.
He grabbed a metal chair and swung it.
The shot exploded through the room.
Grace screamed.
Victor staggered.
Adrian tackled him.
The gun slid across the floor.
Malcolm ran.
Grace grabbed the weapon.
“Get him!”
Adrian chased Malcolm through the tunnel.
They reached the hidden exit.
Malcolm escaped into the forest.
Adrian followed.
Then stopped.
A black SUV was waiting.
Malcolm climbed inside.
Before the vehicle disappeared, the rear window lowered.
Evelyn sat inside.
She looked directly at Adrian.
And smiled.
The SUV vanished into the trees.
Grace reached him.
“Are you hurt?”
Adrian shook his head.
Then his phone rang.
It was his attorney.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“We have a serious problem.”
“What?”
“The board has just received your death certificate.”
Adrian's face went blank.
“That’s impossible.”
“I thought so too.”
The attorney continued:
“And there is more.”
“What?”
“Someone has activated the succession clause in your estate.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Adrian stared toward the forest.
“On what date?”
The attorney paused.
“Yesterday.”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“That means she already declared me dead.”
“Yes.”
May you like
Then came the final sentence.
“And tomorrow morning, she's taking control of Whitmore Global Holdings.”
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