Chapter 19 - The Man at the Beginning
The old clinic was dark.
Adrian entered through the maternity entrance.
Rain struck the windows.
Marcus waited inside Evelyn’s former room.
The same room where Adrian had kissed her goodbye.
The same room where Lily had slept against her mother’s chest.
Marcus stood near the window.
“You came.”
“You knew I would.”
Marcus looked tired now.
Not powerful.
Not victorious.
Just empty.
“You destroyed everything.”
Adrian walked closer.
“You did that years ago.”
Marcus laughed softly.
“I built everything.”
“You inherited your father’s name.”
“I made people fear it.”
“And that still wasn’t enough.”
Marcus turned.
“No.”
“For the first time in my life, I wanted something that belonged to you.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“The company?”
“Your place.”
Marcus’s voice cracked.
“Your father treated you like a prince.”
“Evelyn looked at you like you were worth saving.”
“Then Lily was born and suddenly everyone spoke about legacy.”
“Your blood.”
“Your future.”
“Your daughter.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I gave fifteen years to you.”
“And I would still always be the man standing one step behind.”
Adrian stared at him.
“So you murdered Evelyn.”
Marcus looked away.
“She wasn’t supposed to die that day.”
“You keep saying that like it matters.”
“The SUV was supposed to be intercepted.”
“Lily was supposed to disappear.”
“Evelyn fought Pike.”
“The vehicle went through the barrier.”
Adrian’s face turned pale.
“You ordered my three-day-old daughter kidnapped.”
“I needed the heir gone.”
“And when she survived?”
“I ordered them to find her.”
“Dead or alive?”
Marcus did not answer.
He did not need to.
Adrian stepped closer.
Marcus raised his weapon.
Adrian stopped.
“You’re recording this.”
Marcus smiled bitterly.
“I know you.”
Adrian slowly removed his phone and placed it on the floor.
Marcus fired into it.
The device shattered.
“Now we’re alone.”
A speaker above them clicked.
Thomas’s voice filled the room.
“No, you’re not.”
Marcus looked up.
The clinic’s old security system had been activated.
Every word had been transmitted to investigators outside.
Marcus turned toward the exit.
Police entered both hallways.
His weapon dropped slightly.
Adrian could have attacked him.
He wanted to.
For Evelyn.
For Lily.
For eight months beside an empty grave.
Instead, he remembered the letter.
Choose her.
Adrian stepped backward.
Marcus stared at him in disbelief.
“You’re letting them take me?”
“Yes.”
“That’s weakness.”
Adrian looked toward the room where his daughter had been born.
“No.”
“For the first time in my life, I know the difference.”
Marcus was placed in handcuffs.
As officers led him away, he turned once.
“You’ll lose your empire too.”
May you like
Adrian answered quietly.
“Then maybe Lily will inherit something better.”
