Chapter 3 - The Ghost of the Past"You heard me," I wept, wiping a single tear from my cheek before it could fall, keeping my voice tight and controlled so as not to frighten Noah, who was hugging my neck tightly. "You chose her. You chose the woman who systematically leaked fake stories to the tabloids to ruin my acting contracts. You chose the woman who framed me for corporate theft at your agency!"
"Claire..." Adrian took a sudden, frantic step toward me, his hands reaching out, his face pale as paper. "Listen to me! By God, listen to me! I never chose Vanessa!"
"I heard your voice, Adrian!" I yelled, my voice ringing off the glass walls. "'You've been wronged long enough.' Those were your exact words!"
"BECAUSE SHE WAS BEING BLACKMAILED BY THE FALCO CARTELL!" Adrian roared back, his voice shaking the crystal chandeliers above our heads.
The room dropped into an absolute, suffocating silence.
Noah whimpered slightly, burying his face deeper into my shoulder. I stroked his back, staring at Adrian in complete, speech-bound shock.
Adrian took a deep, shuddering breath, running a hand through his dark hair, his posture slumping for the first time in six years. He looked at me with an agonizing mix of grief, rage, and profound regret.
"Six years ago," Adrian explained, his deep voice trembling with raw emotion, "Vanessa Cole came to my office because her father had run up a twenty-million-dollar debt with the Falco syndicate. Falco was using Vanessa to plant tracking devices in my office and leak stories about my agency's talent—including you."
My breath caught in my throat. "What...?"
"The day you came to my office," Adrian continued, walking over to stand right in front of us, his gray eyes swimming with unshed tears, "I had just discovered that Falco was threatening to execute Vanessa's family if she didn't help them destroy your career. When I told her 'You've been wronged long enough,' I was telling her that my enforcers were taking over her father's debt and insulating her from Falco so she could never touch you again!"
I reeled backward, my mind spinning into a dizzying vortex of shock.
For six years, I had believed Adrian had discarded me for his mistress. For six years, I had believed he had willingly allowed my career to be burned to the ground out of indifference.
"I spent six months hunting down the men who leaked those fake videos about you, Claire," Adrian whispered, reaching out and gently laying his hand over mine as I held Noah. "I destroyed three Falco front companies to clear your name. But when I went to your apartment to tell you... you were gone. You had changed your number, erased your records, and vanished into thin air."
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He looked down at Noah, then up into my tear-filled hazel eyes.
"I thought you left me because you hated my world," Adrian choked out, a tear finally spilling down his cheek. "I had no idea you were carrying my son."
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