Chapter 5 - The Enemy Inside the House
Victor denied everything.
Of course he did.
He sat in Adrian’s private office at nine the next morning, immaculate in a navy suit, silver hair perfectly combed, looking offended rather than afraid.
“You think I hired some contractor to photograph your son?”
Adrian stood behind his desk.
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't need to.”
Sofia was not supposed to be there.
Technically.
She stood near the bookshelves pretending to review Noah’s lesson schedule.
Victor looked at her.
“Why is the tutor in this meeting?”
Sofia answered before Adrian.
“Excellent question. I’ve been asking myself that for ten minutes.”
Adrian ignored both of them.
“You spoke to Travis seven times.”
“I speak to hundreds of contractors.”
“From your private line?”
Victor’s expression barely changed.
“Sometimes.”
“About what?”
“I don’t remember.”
Dominic sat nearby.
“You're going to need a better answer.”
Victor looked at him.
“Are you accusing me?”
“No.”
Dominic smiled.
“I’m encouraging creativity.”
Adrian placed printed phone records on the desk.
Victor glanced at them.
“I authorized his facilities contract. Maybe he had questions.”
“At midnight?”
Victor looked up.
“Adrian, come on.”
Adrian said nothing.
Victor changed tactics.
“You've been under pressure since Claire died. Everyone knows that.”
Sofia saw Adrian stiffen.
“You built this entire security apparatus because you can't tolerate uncertainty.”
The words sounded almost exactly like things Sofia had said.
But from Victor, they felt different.
Weaponized.
“You’re exhausted,” Victor continued. “You’re seeing betrayal everywhere.”
Adrian’s voice was cold.
“Did you speak to Travis?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor exhaled.
“He was feeding me information.”
Silence.
Adrian’s expression became lethal.
“About what?”
“Security spending.”
“What?”
Victor stood.
“The board is worried.”
Sofia understood.
Money.
Power.
Control.
Victor continued.
“You've tripled protective-services costs in three years. You cancel investor meetings for school pickups now. You shut down floors because somebody sends a photograph.”
“That photograph threatened my son.”
“Yes.”
“And you had contact with the photographer.”
“I didn't know what he was doing.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Then what did you think you were paying him for?”
Victor froze.
Tiny mistake.
Sofia caught it.
So did Dominic.
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“Paying.”
Victor stared.
“You said he was feeding you information. You never said he was being paid.”
Victor’s face changed.
There it was.
The first crack.
Dominic stood.
“Victor, I'd recommend you stop speaking.”
“I'm not your client.”
“Exactly why I'm enjoying this.”
Victor looked toward Sofia.
Something ugly entered his eyes.
“This started when she arrived.”
Adrian moved instantly.
Not violently.
Just between them.
Sofia noticed.
Victor noticed too.
“She fills your son's head with nonsense about neglect,” Victor said.
Sofia stepped around Adrian.
“No. Your boss manages that independently.”
Dominic muttered, “I adore this woman.”
Adrian ignored him.
Victor pointed at Sofia.
“You think she cares about your son? She sees what everyone sees. Money.”
Sofia felt the insult.
Adrian answered before she could.
“Get out.”
Victor blinked.
“Adrian.”
“Now.”
“You're making a mistake.”
“Probably.”
Adrian’s eyes were hard.
“But it won't be the first one I've survived.”
Victor left.
Security escorted him from the executive floor.
His access was suspended.
His accounts audited.
Within hours, Dominic found the first real evidence.
Payments.
Not directly to Travis.
Through a consulting shell company.
Victor had been paying several employees for information about Adrian’s routines.
Not kidnapping plans.
Not initially.
He wanted leverage.
The board was preparing a vote that could reduce Adrian’s operational control.
Victor had been building a case that Adrian’s judgment was compromised by paranoia over Noah’s safety.
The threats had been designed to trigger predictable reactions.
More guards.
Lockdowns.
Canceled meetings.
Exactly what Sofia suspected.
But Travis had escalated.
He wanted more money.
Then he had threatened to expose the operation.
Two days later, he was dead.
Police reopened the investigation.
Victor disappeared.
That was when things became frightening.
Not because they knew who the enemy was.
Because he no longer needed to pretend to be a friend.
Adrian moved Noah to a private villa outside the main resort.
Sofia went with them.
This time she agreed.
That shocked Adrian.
“What?”
“You’re waiting for me to complain.”
“Yes.”
“I complain when you're wrong.”
“And now?”
“Now you're irritatingly reasonable.”
He almost smiled.
The villa sat behind two gates and looked across the desert.
Noah loved it.
“There are lizards.”
“Yes,” Sofia said.
“Can I keep one?”
“No.”
“You didn't even think.”
“I thought about saying no before you finished.”
Adrian walked past.
“He can have one.”
Sofia turned.
“No.”
Noah’s face lit up.
“Dad said yes.”
“Your father also owns a casino. That doesn't qualify him to make lizard decisions.”
Adrian stopped.
“Lizard decisions?”
“Yes.”
“What certification do you have?”
“Common sense.”
“I have that.”
Both Sofia and Noah stared at him.
Adrian looked offended.
“Interesting.”
That night, Noah went to bed early.
Sofia found Adrian outside beside the pool.
He had a drink but wasn't drinking it.
“Dominic called,” he said.
“And?”
“Police found Victor’s car.”
“Where?”
“Airport parking.”
“Did he leave?”
“No record.”
Sofia sat beside him.
Adrian stared at the water.
“I trusted him.”
“I know.”
“He held Noah at the hospital the day he was born.”
Sofia said nothing.
“He stood beside me at Claire’s funeral.”
His voice cracked slightly.
Barely.
It hurt to hear.
“You can be smart and still trust the wrong person.”
“I should’ve seen it.”
“No.”
“I should have.”
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
“You can't make yourself responsible for every bad thing other people choose.”
“That seems to be a recurring issue.”
“Yes.”
She smiled faintly.
“You should work on that.”
He laughed once.
Then the silence shifted.
He looked exhausted.
Sofia touched his hand.
She intended comfort.
Nothing more.
Adrian looked down at their fingers.
Then at her.
She should have moved.
She didn't.
“You promised me not to do that,” she whispered.
“Do what?”
“That thing.”
“What thing?”
“The looking.”
“I’m looking at you.”
“Exactly.”
His mouth curved.
She hated how much she liked it.
“Sofia.”
“What?”
“Tell me to stop.”
She looked at him.
Every sensible thought she possessed arrived at once.
Employer.
Child.
Danger.
Complicated.
Then Adrian touched her cheek with extraordinary gentleness.
Sofia whispered, “This is a terrible idea.”
“Yes.”
“Possibly catastrophic.”
“Probably.”
“That wasn't supposed to encourage you.”
“I know.”
He kissed her.
Not dramatic.
Not desperate.
Just careful.
As if asking a question.
Sofia answered.
For several seconds, there were no threats.
No casino empire.
No security reports.
No broken promises.
Just warmth.
Then a voice behind them said:
“Oh.”
They separated instantly.
Noah stood in the doorway wearing dinosaur pajamas.
Sofia closed her eyes.
Adrian said, “You should be asleep.”
Noah stared between them.
“I wanted water.”
“Kitchen.”
“I know.”
He continued staring.
Sofia felt heat crawl up her face.
“Noah.”
“Were you kissing?”
“No,” Sofia said.
“Yes,” Adrian said.
She turned.
“Seriously?”
Adrian looked confused.
“He asked.”
Noah smiled.
“You like her.”
Adrian appeared to reconsider honesty.
Sofia stood.
“Bed.”
Noah pointed at his father.
“He does.”
“Bed.”
“You like him too.”
“Immediate bed.”
Noah walked backward toward the hallway.
“This is the best thing that’s happened all week.”
“NOAH.”
He disappeared laughing.
Adrian looked at Sofia.
“You handled that well.”
“Don't speak.”
His phone rang.
Perfect.
He answered.
Dominic.
Adrian listened.
His expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
Sofia’s stomach tightened.
Again.
Always again.
Adrian put the call on speaker.
Dominic’s voice filled the patio.
“The board received a package.”
“What package?”
“Documents claiming you diverted corporate money into illegal surveillance operations.”
Adrian stood.
“That’s false.”
“I know.”
“What else?”
Dominic hesitated.
“There’s a petition requesting emergency suspension of your voting authority.”
Sofia looked at Adrian.
Victor wasn't trying to kidnap Noah.
He was attacking something Adrian understood almost as deeply.
Control.
Dominic continued.
“And there’s a second document.”
“What?”
“A petition claiming your current mental state makes you an unfit sole guardian.”
Adrian went completely still.
Sofia felt cold.
Dominic’s voice lowered.
May you like
“Victor is coming after custody of Noah.”
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