His Fiancée Betrayed Him Publicly—Then the Mafia Boss Chose the Woman Everyone Mocked
Chapter 4
Elena became part of Adrian’s inner circle without realizing it.
She wasn’t an executive.
She wasn’t family.
But she was becoming essential.
She knew which managers lied.
Which contracts were fragile.
Which employees were afraid.
And which problems Adrian never saw.
She also noticed something else.
People were afraid of him.
Not because he was cruel.
Because nobody knew what happened when he became angry.
Elena didn’t care.
One afternoon, a young employee named Jason made a mistake that cost the company money.
The finance director wanted him fired.
Adrian called Jason into the office.
“What happened?”
Jason explained.
Adrian listened.
Then asked,
“Did you hide the mistake?”
“No.”
“Did you try to fix it?”
“Yes.”
Adrian nodded.
“Then you’re not fired.”
The finance director looked shocked.
“But the loss—”
“Was caused by a bad process.”
Adrian looked toward Elena.
“Fix the process.”
Elena smiled.
That night, she asked Adrian,
“You’re not what people think.”
He looked at her.
“You’ve known me for three weeks.”
“Three weeks is enough to notice patterns.”
He laughed.
“You really do ask questions.”
Elena shrugged.
“Someone has to.”
One evening, Adrian drove her home.
She was surprised.
“You didn’t need to.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
He looked at her.
“You’re important to the company.”
“Only the company?”
He glanced at her.
A moment passed.
Elena looked away.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know.”
They stopped outside her apartment.
Elena reached for the door.
Then she noticed Adrian’s knuckles again.
“They’re worse.”
“It’s nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out antiseptic wipes.
“Hold still.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You’re cleaning my hand?”
“Yes.”
“Nobody talks to me like this.”
“That’s your problem.”
He laughed softly.
She carefully cleaned the cut.
Neither spoke.
When she finished, she looked up.
Their faces were close.
For a moment, the world disappeared.
Then Adrian looked away.
“Good night, Elena.”
“Good night.”
She entered her apartment.
Adrian waited until the door closed.
Then he sat in the car alone.
He had spent years controlling every part of his life.
Now one woman with no interest in power had entered it.
And he had no idea what to do about that.
