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Adrian shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe she would do this," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thought she was out of my life for good."
I feel a lump forming in my throat as I think about the damage his ex-wife has caused. I take his hand. "I'm sorry, Adrian. I know it's not fair to you."
"It's not your fault," he says, squeezing my hand. "But we need to do something about this. We need to clear my name and prove that these allegations are false."
I nod, "I agree. But how?"
He thinks for a moment, while I sit there feeling the weight of the situation settle heavily on my chest. "I don't know," he mumbles. "But there must be something we can do," he adds. My mind is racing with possibilities and hope, but nothing seems to make sense.
"Maybe we can hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of this," I suggest, wiping away my tears.
"That's a good idea. We need to gather evidence to refute these accusations," he says. I feel a glimmer of hope.
"But we need to act fast. My father is not a patient man," I warn, my voice shaking with fear.
"I'll make some calls first thing tomorrow morning," he says as he stands up and walks over to the window.
The city streets are still bustling with people, but I know he doesn’t notice. Adrian’s mind is far away. He’s lost in thought.
He turns around to look at me. "Olivia," he says, walking over to me and taking my hand in his. "You have to do something for me. You have to tell your father to give me another chance."
But before I can reply, Susan enters the office, looking flustered.
"Adrian, I'm sorry to interrupt. But there's something you need to see," she says, holding out her phone.
We take the phone and see a news article on the screen. The headline reads, "Adrian Carter accused of cheating small landowners and having affairs with multiple women."
I feel angry and sick to my stomach as I read the article. It's filled with lies and accusations that are completely unfounded.
"Where did this come from?" I ask, my voice trembling with anger.
Susan takes the phone back. "I don't know, but it's spreading like wildfire on social media."
I hand back the phone to Susan, unable to fall for any more of these lies. I then look at Adrian for answers. "Adrian, what are we going to do?"
He clenches his jaw, “Veronica needs to do more than pay for her mistakes.”
“Why is she doing this to us?” I ask, desperately looking for some form of meaning in this mess.
“Well, she wanted me to give her a million dollars. I said no. She wants revenge. She wants to tarnish my reputation, take me to court for Emily’s custody and then live off child support for the rest of her miserable life.”
“What?” I say in shock. “We can’t let that happen. Emily can’t be taken away from us!”
"No, she can’t," says Adrian. "Susan. Cancel all my New York meetings. I just need to meet JP Morgan. The CEO owes me a favor. Olivia, all you have to do is invite your father for dinner when I'm back from New York tomorrow. Don't worry. I won't be there."
CHAPTER 26
ADRIAN
Eighthourslater,I'mon Wall Street at JPMorgan Chase, walking through the corridors with a newfound purpose and feeling of commitment. My steps echo against the marble floor as I head toward the main boardroom, where I'm to meet with their executives. I edge closer with my heart pounding in anticipation of how this meeting will turn out.
"Marcus," I say, extending my hand to the CEO.
"What brings my favorite client over?" he asks.
"I want to discuss the land development," I reply.
He nods and proceeds to explain the structure of the land development. He explains that there is no doubt that the structure is benefitting the rich more and exploiting the poor.
