CHAPTER 8: THE FALSE SURRENDER
Evelyn entered the courthouse alone.
Adrian waited beside his attorneys, his broken nose covered by a thin bandage. Dark bruises circled his eyes.
He looked less powerful than he had at the gala.
That made him more dangerous.
“Where is Mara?” Evelyn asked.
“Safe, as long as you behave.”
The courtroom was closed to the public, but Malcolm Shaw sat in the front row.
He gave Evelyn a sympathetic smile.
It was the same expression he had worn at her father’s funeral.
Dr. Vance testified first.
He described Evelyn as paranoid and emotionally unstable. Adrian’s lawyers presented edited recordings of arguments, medical reports, and staff statements.
Then Evelyn was called.
Naomi sat at the opposing table, pretending to have abandoned her. Roman remained hidden with federal agents, searching for Mara.
Adrian watched Evelyn take the stand.
She lowered her shoulders and allowed her voice to shake.
“I may have misunderstood certain events.”
Adrian relaxed.
The judge asked whether she believed her husband had tried to harm her.
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
“I believe he was trying to help me.”
The lie tasted bitter.
Malcolm’s smile widened.
The judge granted Adrian temporary authority over Evelyn’s voting shares until a full evaluation could be conducted.
Adrian leaned toward her as they left.
“You finally learned.”
Evelyn kept her eyes lowered.
“I was afraid.”
“You should be.”
That afternoon, Adrian called an emergency board meeting. With Evelyn’s shares under his control, he proposed removing Malcolm as chairman and appointing himself.
It was exactly what Evelyn had expected.
But Malcolm was not surprised.
Instead, he stood and applauded.
“You’ve done well,” Malcolm said.
Adrian smiled proudly.
Then Malcolm’s security officers surrounded him.
“What is this?” Adrian demanded.
Malcolm adjusted his cuff links.
“You were useful when Evelyn trusted you. Now you’re injured, publicly disgraced, and under investigation.”
Adrian’s face changed.
“You promised me the company.”
“I promised you whatever was necessary.”
Evelyn watched the live feed through Naomi’s hidden camera.
Adrian had spent years believing he was the predator.
Now he understood that Malcolm had always considered him disposable.
Malcolm ordered his men to take Adrian away.
But Adrian grabbed a glass paperweight and struck one of them. He escaped through the private elevator before the doors could close.
At the same moment, Roman called Evelyn.
“We found Mara. She’s alive.”
Evelyn exhaled.
“Do you have the ledger page?”
“No.”
“Adrian took it?”
Roman’s answer came quietly.
“There was another body in the house.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Vance.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Then Naomi pointed toward the live feed.
Malcolm had turned directly toward the hidden camera.
He smiled.
“I know you’re watching, Evelyn.”
May you like
He leaned closer to the lens.
“And I know where your mother is.”
