Chapter 160.
The city was still dark when Christian’s phone began vibrating across the table.
He ignored it.
It vibrated again.
He opened one eye. He wasn’t sleeping, but he also needed no disturbance from outside his mind.
Christian reached across the bed, found the phone, and stared at the screen.
Adrian.
He considered letting it ring. He had a lot on his mind right now. Work was the last thing he wanted to focus on.
It was barely six in the morning.
The phone stopped.
Christian dropped it back onto the mattress.
Three seconds later, it vibrated again.
He sighed. "Persistent bastard."
He answered. "What?"
Adrian’s voice came through immediately. "Are you awake?"
"No."
"Well, you are talking now." Adrian pointed out. "I need you at the office."
Christian closed his eyes again. "What time?"
"Now."
Christian opened them. He stared at the ceiling. "You know, most people ease into requests like that."
"I don’t have time."
"Clearly."
"Thirty minutes."
The call ended.
Christian stared at the phone. Then at the ceiling.
He sat up.
The guest room was quiet.
For half a second, his mind went downstairs. He pushed the thought away. Not now.
He showered, dressed, picked up his few belongings, and left.
By the time Christian entered the private office, Adrian was already there.
He stood at the far end of the room, looking through several documents spread across the glass table.
Christian glanced at his watch. "Twenty-eight minutes." He dropped into the chair opposite him. "You called me before sunrise."
Adrian finally looked up. "I felt the urge to drag you out."
Christian stared at him, dumbfounded.
Adrian returned the look without blinking.
Christian sighed. "Fine. What are we doing?"
Adrian pushed a folder across the table. "Releasing the financial records."
Christian’s expression changed. He picked up the folder. "All of them?"
"All relevant records."
"To the board?"
"To the board members involved."
Christian opened the folder.
Numbers of transfers filled the pages. Shell companies, investment accounts, donations, consulting payments, offshore holdings, and assets.
Enough to bury careers.
Enough to destroy reputations.
Enough to make people who had spent years pretending they couldn’t be touched suddenly discover that they were, in fact, very touchable.
Christian flipped through another page. "That’s everything?"
"Everything we’ve confirmed."
Christian stopped at one particular figure. His brows lifted, and he chuckled with a head shake. "Forty-three million."
Adrian nodded.
He looked up. "These people are sitting on more than forty million dollars each."
"Yes."
Christian leaned back.
"And they still had the nerve to threaten a student over a scholarship."
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
Christian closed the folder.
Adrian walked around the table. "I want the records delivered to each of them before noon."
Christian looked at him. "You’re going straight to them?"
Adrian picked up one of the documents. "They’ll receive the evidence first."
"And then?"
"They’ll be given a choice."
Christian’s mouth pulled slightly. He loved wherever this could be going. "What kind of choice?"
"Silence."
Christian looked at him.
Adrian continued.
"They stop interfering with Emilia. They stop questioning the scholarship. They stop using the school as leverage. They stop discussing our personal lives as though they’re entitled to have an opinion."
"And if they don’t?"
"They can explain to the authorities where the money came from. I own Belmont companies, and that is my money."
Christian let out a quiet breath. "So we’re blackmailing them." he set it out straight.
"Yes."
Adrian said it so calmly that Christian actually stared at him.
"You’re not even going to pretend otherwise?"
"No."
Christian shook his head. "And you care about the legality of what we’re doing?"
"No."
That answer came without hesitation.
Christian studied him.
Adrian placed the document down. "I care about results."
"You’ve really stopped pretending to be a respectable man." Christian let out a small smile.
"I was never pretending."
Christian gave him a look.
Adrian ignored it.
He walked back toward the windows. He looked down at the streets below.
"I’m going to teach them the difference between wealth and protection."
Christian leaned back. "And Emilia?"
Adrian’s eyes shifted toward him.
"She doesn’t know about this?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?"
"Eventually."
Christian nodded.
Adrian turned back to the table. "The one-month restriction is over."
Christian paused. "Already?"
"Yes."
"Wow, that was quick. I lost track of time." Christian nodded. "So technically, you can be with her. You are no longer a professor there, or need to be. What’s stopping you?"
Adrian’s gaze settled on the folder. "They’re still talking."
Christian understood immediately.
Adrian picked up another document. "They could use something else on her if we’re not careful."
"So you want them shut completely." Christian flipped the folder open again. "You really don’t care if they hate you?"
"No."
"You don’t care if they call this extortion?"
"No."
"You don’t care if they come after you?"
Adrian looked at him. "No."
Christian stared for a moment. Then nodded. "Fair."
Adrian pulled another file toward him. "I need the transfer history from the subsidiary account."
"You already have it."
"I need the original metadata."
Christian frowned. "You think they’ll challenge the authenticity."
"I know they will."
Christian reached for one of his laptops on the desk. "I can pull it."
"Thank you, buddy."
Christian flashed him a grin, and opened the device. For the next twenty minutes, the room became quiet except for the tapping of keys.
Adrian worked through the documents while Christian accessed the accounts.
Adrian saw the entire board as a problem. Christian saw the system behind the problem. Together, they usually found a weak point.
Christian pulled up another screen. "Got it."
Adrian looked over. "The metadata?"
"Original timestamp. Original source. Original transaction trail."
"Genuise."
Christian sent the file across.
Adrian opened it. "Perfect."
Christian leaned back. "Anything else?"
"Three accounts."
"Which ones?"
Adrian gave him the names of three of the school board members.
Christian typed them in.
The room settled into silence again.
For a second, Christian stopped typing.
Adrian noticed. He didn’t say anything.
Christian stared at the screen. His hands rested on the keyboard. His eyes held a sudden far off gaze he couldn’t hide immediately.
For several seconds, he didn’t move.
Adrian waited.
Eventually Christian started typing again.
A minute later, Adrian said, "Are you sure you’re fine?"
Christian didn’t look at him. "I’m fine."
Adrian didn’t ask again. He simply returned to his documents.
Christian appreciated it. He had no energy for questions, and no energy for sympathy.
Adrian never did that. That’s why he could always count on Adrian to be his best friend in moments like this.
Another forty minutes passed.
The first batch of documents was ready.
Christian sent them to Adrian’s secure system.
"Done."
Adrian checked the files. "Good."
Christian closed his laptop. "Anything else?"
"Yes."
Adrian reached for another folder. He opened the folder.
"We leave tomorrow," he told Christain.
Christian opened the folder. "For where?"
"Brazil."
Christian’s brows rose. "That’s sudden."
"Not you and I." Adrian’s expression changed slightly. "Emilia is coming. Emilia and I."
There was a beat. Then Christian nodded. "I lowkey forgot I was no longer your only ride or die."
He leaned back. "I’ll join."
Adrian rolled his eyes. "You were never my ride-or-die. You were simply the only person stubborn enough to keep showing up."
Christian placed a hand over his chest. "Wow. And here I was thinking our friendship meant something."
"It does."
Christian smiled triumphantly.
Adrian continued, "It means I know exactly how much of a problem you are and have chosen to tolerate you anyway."
Christian’s smile disappeared. "You forget I can go to Brazil on my own."
"Then why are you coming?"
Christian closed his laptop. "Because I want to."
Adrian said nothing for a second. Then he let out an exaggerated exhale. "Okay."
"You’re the best." Christian stood.
Adrian returned his attention to the documents.
Christian walked toward the coffee machine. "You want coffee?"
"No."
Christian poured himself one anyway. "You should drink coffee."
Adrian didn’t respond.
Christian took a sip. The bitterness hit his tongue. He grimaced.
Then he smiled softly. The smile on his face did not reach his eyes, already swallowed with sadness.
"My grandfather is dead."
Adrian’s eyes lifted.
Christian’s hand remained around the coffee cup. He didn’t look at him.
The words seemed to have escaped before he could decide whether he wanted to say them.
"Five days ago."
Adrian said nothing.
Christian swallowed. "It feels like my mum orchestrated everything." His voice was quieter now. "She knew."
Adrian remained still.
"She knew he was dying. She knew he kept asking for me." Christian looked down at the coffee. "And she told the care center not to call."
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Christian shook his head slightly. "I don’t know what she wanted me to do with that. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel."
Christian looked toward him. "That’s why I was down." He nodded, and smacked his lips together. "That’s why I need to join you in Brazil. I just need someone around."
He took another sip. "Anyway." He set the cup down. "I’ll get the Brazil arrangements handled."
Christian reached for his laptop again.
He barely made a step before Adrian spoke.
"Christian."
He stopped.
"Come here."
Christian turned around.
Adrian had already stepped away from the table. For a second, Christian simply stared at him.
"What?"
Adrian didn’t answer. He walked over and pulled him into a brief hug.
Christian went still. He hadn’t expected it. Adrian had never been a hugger.
Adrian’s arm settled firmly around his shoulders, his other hand giving his back one quiet pat before he stepped away.
It lasted barely a few seconds.
There was nothing awkward about it.
Christian looked at him.
Adrian looked back.
"I’m sorry I had no idea," he said.
Christian’s jaw tightened. He nodded once. "Yeah."
Adrian gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. "Is there something else?"
Christian swallowed and nodded again. "Yes, but that is personal."
Adrian squeezed his shoulder again. "I’m sorry."