THEY THOUGHT I WAS THEIR NEXT VICTIM — THEY WERE WRONG
PART 2
I drove home without turning on the radio.
My hands were shaking so badly that I had to pull over twice.
Not because I was afraid of what I had seen.
Because I was finally beginning to understand how carefully Adrian had planned everything.
The man I thought loved me wasn’t trying to marry me.
He was trying to acquire me.
My company.
My accounts.
My reputation.
And eventually, my entire life.
By the time I reached my apartment, I had already made one decision.
I wasn’t going to confront Adrian.
Not yet.
I needed evidence.
I locked the door behind me, closed the curtains, and placed my phone on the kitchen table.
Then I replayed the recording.
Eleanor’s voice.
Adrian’s voice.
Rachel’s crying.
Every sentence was there.
Especially the one that mattered most.
“Once Maya signs the management merger, her firm’s liquid assets will belong to this family.”
I listened to it three times.
Then I forwarded the recording to my attorney.
I also sent copies to my company’s chief financial officer and my business partner.
My attorney called less than five minutes later.
“Maya, where did you get this?”
“I recorded it tonight.”
There was a long silence.
Then he asked quietly,
“Do you understand what you’ve just uncovered?”
“Yes.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t think you do.”
He explained that if Adrian and his family had been deliberately planning to obtain control of my company through marriage, the evidence could become extremely important.
Then he said something that made my stomach tighten.
“Don’t tell them you know.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment they realize you’re aware of their plan, they’ll change theirs.”
I looked toward the engagement ring on my finger.
For the first time, it didn’t look like a symbol of love.
It looked like a key they believed would unlock everything I owned.
The next morning, I called my company’s legal department.
“Freeze every pending transfer.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
I also revoked Adrian’s access to every company document he had been given during our engagement.
Then I contacted my bank.
I changed passwords.
Updated security questions.
Removed every authorized device.
And placed additional verification requirements on all major transactions.
By noon, Adrian called.
“Hey, beautiful. You disappeared last night.”
I forced myself to sound normal.
“I was exhausted.”
“You seemed distracted when you left.”
I smiled even though he couldn’t see me.
“Wedding planning.”
He laughed.
“You don’t need to worry about anything. After we’re married, I’ll handle the stressful business stuff.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
He didn’t notice the sarcasm.
That was exactly what I needed.
Three days later, Rachel contacted me from an unknown number.
Her message contained only six words.
“Please don’t come here alone.”
I immediately called her.
She answered in a whisper.
“Maya, they know something is wrong.”
My heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“Eleanor found the kitchen camera.”
I froze.
“What camera?”
“The one you used last night.”
I looked at my phone.
My recording.
The evidence.
“They know I recorded them?”
“No,” Rachel whispered. “They don’t know you have the recording.”
A pause.
“They think someone else was watching.”
“Rachel, get out of that house.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Her voice cracked.
“Because Ethan came home.”
I remembered Adrian’s older brother.
The man everyone claimed was overseas.
“What does he know?”
“Everything.”
My blood ran cold.
“Rachel, listen to me. You need to leave now.”
“I tried.”
“Then try again.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Rachel began crying.
“Because Ethan told me if I leave, he’ll make sure everyone believes I’m mentally unstable.”
I closed my eyes.
Then I heard something in the background.
A man’s voice.
“Rachel?”
She immediately hung up.
I sat completely still.
Then another message appeared.
It was from Rachel.
A photograph.
A passport.
Her passport.
And beneath it, a handwritten note.
“They keep this locked in Eleanor’s office.”
I stared at the photograph.
Rachel wasn’t just being controlled.
They had taken her identification.
They had planned everything.
I immediately called my attorney again.
This time, I didn’t ask what I should do.
“I want an emergency meeting.”
“Today?”
“Now.”
Two hours later, I sat across from him and placed my phone on his desk.
He listened to the recording.
Then he looked at the photograph.
His expression changed.
“Maya, this is much bigger than your wedding.”
“I know.”
He leaned forward.
“Then we’re going to do something they won’t expect.”
“What?”
“You’re going to continue with the wedding.”
I stared at him.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
He opened a folder.
“But we’re changing one thing.”
“What?”
“You’re going to make Adrian believe he has already won.”
I slowly understood.
For the first time since entering that family’s house, I smiled.
Because they believed they were preparing to take control of my life.
They didn’t know I was preparing to take theirs apart.
And the wedding they thought would give them access to my company…
was about to become the day their entire scheme was exposed.