After the break-in, Adrian wanted me gone.
I refused.
We argued about it at two in the morning in a bedroom guarded by two armed security officers.
“You’re leaving at sunrise.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“You don’t get to decide.”
“Someone entered this house because of us.”
“Because they think we’re engaged.”
“Exactly.”
“So sending me away tells them the threat worked.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
“I do.”
He stared at me.
“Why?”
“Because this is bigger than fifty thousand dollars now.”
“That is precisely why you should leave.”
“And what happens to Lucia?”
“She’ll be protected.”
“What happens to you?”
His expression hardened.
“I don’t need protecting.”
“That may be the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”
He stepped closer.
“You were grabbed tonight.”
“And you’re blaming yourself.”
“Yes.”
At least he didn’t deny it.
I softened.
“Adrian.”
“If I had not brought you here—”
“The person threatening your family would still exist.”
“But you wouldn’t be involved.”
“Maybe I’m involved because I can help.”
“How?”
“I know your company better than half your executives.”
“That’s unfortunately true.”
“I manage access requests, travel schedules, vendor appointments, guest lists.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You think the intruder came through something connected to my office.”
“I think whoever is doing this knew about the engagement before most of your family did.”
Silence.
That landed.
The only people who knew Friday night were Adrian and me.
By Saturday morning, his security team knew.
Then the family.
But the warehouse message had appeared before we arrived.
Someone had known Lucia’s birthday was the pressure point.
“Internal leak,” Adrian said.
“Maybe.”
He sat on the edge of the desk.
For once, he looked tired rather than invincible.
I sat beside him.
Not touching.
Just close.
“You can’t solve everything by pushing people away.”
He looked at me.
“You’ve known my mother three days and she’s already recruited you.”
“She didn’t have to.”
His gaze remained on my face.
“You really aren’t afraid of me.”
“We established that.”
“You should be.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not always the man you see.”
“Maybe you’re not always the man everyone else sees either.”
His expression changed.
Slowly, his hand moved between us.
His fingers touched mine.
No performance.
No family watching.
No reason.
I should have pulled away.
I didn’t.
He intertwined our fingers.
My heartbeat became painfully loud.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to say something I shouldn’t.”
“That sounds promising.”
His thumb moved across my knuckles.
“When that man grabbed you tonight, I forgot this was an arrangement.”
I stopped breathing.
“I didn’t think about the company. I didn’t think about my mother’s trust. I didn’t think about the fifty thousand dollars.”
“What did you think about?”
His eyes held mine.
“That if he hurt you, I would never forgive myself.”
The room became unbearably quiet.
I whispered, “That doesn’t sound fake.”
“No.”
Neither of us moved.
Then Adrian stood abruptly.
“You should sleep.”
I almost laughed.
“You cannot say something like that and then tell me to sleep.”
“I’m trying to make one good decision tonight.”
“And walking away from me is the good decision?”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you work for me.”
“That didn’t bother you when you offered me money to pretend to marry you.”
“It bothers me now.”
I understood.
The power imbalance.
The money.
The contract.
For all his flaws, Adrian was trying not to use any of them against me.
I stood.
“Then cancel the arrangement.”
His eyes sharpened.
“What?”
“Cancel it.”
I walked to the dresser, opened my purse, and removed the check.
I had never deposited it.
I held it out.
He stared at it.
“Emily.”
“I don’t want it anymore.”
“You earned it.”
“No.”
“You’ve been threatened because of me.”
“And money won’t change that.”
I placed the check on the desk.
“From this moment on, I’m not doing this because you paid me.”
His eyes dropped to the check.
Then back to me.
“What are you doing it for?”
My courage disappeared.
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
For several seconds, Adrian said nothing.
Then he picked up the check.
He tore it in half.
Then again.
The pieces fell into the trash.
“Now what?” I asked.
His voice was low.
“Now we find out.”
The next two days were unlike anything I had expected.
We worked together.
Really together.
Adrian moved his temporary operations into the estate library while security investigated the break-in.
I reviewed access logs.
He reviewed financial records.
Luca tracked internal communications.
By Tuesday evening, we found something.
The maintenance company whose uniform the intruder had worn had been added to Moretti Logistics’ approved vendor list three months earlier.
Authorization had come from Salvatore’s office.
Adrian didn’t celebrate.
“He could have approved them legitimately.”
“You’re defending him?”
“I’m refusing to convict my uncle because of one form.”
“That is surprisingly reasonable.”
“Don’t sound disappointed.”
“I was hoping for a dramatic table flip.”
“I can arrange one later.”
Wednesday brought another discovery.
A series of consulting payments from a Moretti subsidiary had gone to a shell corporation.
The authorization signature belonged to Salvatore.
But the electronic approval had come from Adrian’s credentials.
“That’s impossible,” I said.
Adrian stared at the screen.
“Apparently not.”
“You didn’t approve this.”
“No.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred thousand over fourteen months.”
I felt sick.
“Someone stole your credentials.”
“Or wants it to appear that way.”
The implication was worse.
If the transfers were discovered publicly, Adrian could be blamed.
Suddenly the engagement made sense as a target.
Someone wanted Adrian destabilized before Lucia’s trust decision.
That evening, Lucia insisted we stop working for two hours.
She had arranged a small family dinner on the terrace.
Music played.
Children chased one another across the lawn.
For a little while, everything felt normal.
Then Lucia walked over to Adrian and me.
“Dance with her.”
Adrian looked horrified.
“Mom.”
“You’re supposed to be in love.”
Emily-the-paid-actress might have panicked.
Emily-without-the-check held out her hand.
“Come on, Moretti.”
His eyes narrowed playfully.
“You’re enjoying ordering me around.”
“Immensely.”
He took my hand.
We moved onto the terrace beneath strings of warm lights.
His palm settled against my back.
Mine rested on his shoulder.
“You dance?” I asked.
“My mother made all three of us learn.”
“Lucia continues to impress me.”
“She likes you more than me.”
“I’m more likable.”
“Debatable.”
We moved slowly.
No performance seemed necessary anymore.
“You never told me why you needed the money,” he said.
I looked up sharply.
“How did you know I needed it?”
“You stared at the check like it could save someone.”
I swallowed.
“My mother’s medical bills.”
His expression softened.
“She died three years ago.”
“I remember.”
Of course he did.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“My brother Noah gave up a semester of school to help. I wanted to cover his tuition so he wouldn’t have to keep paying for decisions we made during Mom’s illness.”
“You should have told me.”
“Why?”
“I could have helped.”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
He frowned.
“I didn’t want to become another problem for you to solve.”
His hand tightened slightly against my back.
“You’re not a problem.”
“I know.”
His eyes held mine.
“You’re becoming something much more complicated.”
The music faded into the background.
“What?”
Before he could answer, someone called his name.
Victoria.
Of course.
She approached in a deep red dress.
“I need to speak with you.”
Adrian didn’t release me.
“About?”
“Your uncle.”
That changed everything.
We followed her into the library.
Victoria closed the door.
“My father has been meeting with Salvatore.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“About what?”
“Control of Moretti Logistics.”
She handed him her phone.
There were photographs.
Salvatore meeting Victoria’s father.
Documents.
Messages.
One line stood out.
AFTER SATURDAY, ADRIAN WILL NO LONGER BE A PROBLEM.
I felt cold.
Adrian looked at Victoria.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Because my father thinks I’m still angry enough at you to help him.”
“Are you?”
She glanced at me.
“I was.”
Then back to Adrian.
“But I never wanted you destroyed.”
“What are they planning?”
“I don’t know everything. But Saturday matters.”
Lucia’s birthday.
The trust.
The engagement.
Victoria turned to me.
“I owe you an apology.”
I blinked.
“That’s unexpected.”
“I thought you were using him.”
“I thought you were trying to get him back.”
“I was.”
Adrian sighed.
Victoria rolled her eyes.
“I’m over it now.”
“Since when?” he asked.
“Approximately Tuesday.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
Victoria smiled.
Then she became serious.
“Be careful Saturday.”
She left.
Adrian locked the library door.
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
I stared at him.
“We have already had this argument.”
“This changes things.”
“So did the intruder.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
He came toward me.
“You don’t understand what these people may do.”
“Then explain it.”
“I cannot guarantee your safety.”
“You can’t guarantee anyone’s.”
His voice rose.
“I can guarantee you wouldn’t be a target if you weren’t standing beside me.”
I stepped closer.
“Maybe I want to stand beside you.”
He froze.
There.
I had said it.
Not for money.
Not for Lucia.
For him.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you know the man who drinks coffee with you and argues about spreadsheets.”
“I know the man who carries his sleeping niece upstairs because nobody else notices she fell asleep. I know the man who calls his mother every Sunday. I know the man who remembers every employee’s spouse when he signs Christmas cards even though he pretends he doesn’t care.”
His eyes darkened.
“And I know the man who tore up fifty thousand dollars because he didn’t want me confused about why I was staying.”
He stared at me.
Then he kissed me.
No audience.
No cheering relatives.
No reason to pretend.
His hands framed my face.
Mine gripped his shirt.
The kiss was slower than the first.
Deeper.
Honest.
When we separated, both of us were breathing hard.
“That,” I whispered, “was not absolutely necessary.”
“No.”
“Rule broken.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
His forehead rested against mine.
“Not even a little.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
“What happened?”
I watched the warmth disappear from his eyes.
Luca’s voice came through faintly.
Adrian turned toward me.
“Mom’s trust documents are gone.”
And suddenly Saturday wasn’t just a birthday anymore.
It was a deadline.