One by one, the faces around him changed. Confidence turned to panic. Eyes shifted. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak.
Then Adrien leaned forward, his voice low and sharp, and said the words that froze the room.
“I know one of you betrayed me.”
Silence.
The kind of silence that makes every heartbeat sound loud.
Minutes later, the meeting exploded into accusations. One executive denied everything. Another blamed accounting. A third stormed out.
Adrien ended it with one final warning.
“By morning, I want names, proof, and full confessions. Anyone involved will be destroyed.”
He left the building furious.
Outside, the sky was gray, the wind was harsh, and the city felt colder than usual. Adrien barely noticed. He got into his car, loosened his tie, and stared out the window as his phone rang again. It was one of his senior executives.
Adrien answered immediately.
The voice on the other end was nervous, defensive, talking too fast. Excuses. Delays. Claims of innocence.
Adrien’s jaw tightened with every second.
Finally, he told the driver to stop the car. He needed air. Or maybe he needed distance before his anger became something worse.
He stepped out near the bridge, still on the call, and walked toward the railing as traffic rushed behind him. The executive kept talking, but Adrien was no longer listening. His mind was racing—the betrayal, the lies, the feeling that someone he trusted had been laughing behind his back for months.
Then everything changed in one second.
A cyclist speeding past swerved too close.
Adrien turned sharply.
His shoe slipped on the damp concrete.
His phone flew from his hand.
And before he could catch himself, his body slammed against the railing and tipped over the edge.
For one horrifying moment, the world disappeared beneath him.
Then his hands locked around the cold metal barrier.
He was hanging above the river.
The water churned below.
His polished shoes kicked wildly against the air. His arms burned instantly. Panic rushed through his chest so violently he could barely breathe.
“Help!” he shouted. “Help me!”
Cars slowed. People stopped. Faces turned.
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