Chapter 8: The Man Who Arranged Our Love
For several seconds, I couldn’t understand the words.
The runway noise disappeared.
The voices around me faded.
All I could hear was Aaron.
“Adrian wasn’t just my investor.””
He swallowed.
“He was the person who introduced me to you.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
It was the only word I could say.
Because the alternative was too impossible.
Too cruel.
Aaron looked away.
“I should have told you.””
“Yes.””
My voice was quiet.
“You should have.””
He closed his eyes.
“I didn’t know how.””
That answer made something inside me tighten.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
“You didn’t know how to tell your wife that the man who helped build your company also brought you into her life?””
Aaron didn’t respond.
Because there was no response.
No explanation could make that sound normal.
I looked at him carefully.
“When?””
“Before we met.””
“Tell me everything.””
He hesitated.
I stepped closer.
“No more half-truths, Aaron.””
He nodded slowly.
“Four years before our wedding, Prescott Technologies was nothing more than an idea.””
I listened.
“Adrian was one of the first people who believed in it. He introduced me to investors, helped me find legal advisors, helped me build relationships.””
I crossed my arms.
“And my family?””
His face changed.
“He knew about Bennett Applied Systems.””
Of course he did.
Adrian knew everything.
“My father’s research.””
“Yes.””
“The patents.””
“Yes.””
“The technology.””
Aaron nodded.
I felt cold.
“How?””
“Because he studied the industry.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t understand.””
I looked at him.
“My family kept those projects private.””
Aaron looked uncomfortable.
“That’s what I thought too.””
The words made me stop.
“What does that mean?””
He took a breath.
“Adrian had access to information before anyone else.””
“How?””
Silence.
Again.
I almost laughed.
“Aaron.””
He looked at me.
“You cannot keep revealing pieces of this like you’re trying to protect me.””
“I’m not.””
“Then stop making me drag the truth out of you.””
His expression fell.
Because he knew I was right.
Finally, he spoke.
“Adrian had someone inside Bennett Applied Systems.””
My stomach dropped.
Someone inside my family’s company.
Someone who knew the research.
Someone who knew the patents.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
His frustration rose.
“I spent years trying to find out.””
I stared at him.
“Years?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
He looked away.
That was the moment I realized something.
Aaron wasn’t just hiding information.
He had been carrying secrets for a long time.
Secrets that involved me.
My family.
My work.
Our marriage.
“You knew there was a threat.””
“I suspected.””
“And you still married me.””
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Aaron looked hurt.
“That’s not fair.””
I shook my head.
“Isn’t it?””
“No.””
He stepped closer.
“I loved you before any of this.””
I looked at him.
The sentence should have comforted me.
Once, it would have.
But now every memory had a question attached.
Was it real?
Or was I part of someone else’s plan?
“Aaron.””
My voice softened.
“Did Adrian know you were going to marry me?””
He didn’t answer.
And that was enough.
I felt my heart sink.
“He knew.””
Aaron finally whispered:
“Yes.””
The world felt strangely quiet.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“I swear.””
He ran a hand through his hair.
“When he found out I was seeing you, he told me it was a good opportunity.””
I stared.
“Opportunity.””
The word tasted disgusting.
“What exactly did he say?””
Aaron looked ashamed.
“He said I was finally getting access to something bigger than investors could provide.””
My chest tightened.
“And you didn’t think that was strange?””
“I did.””
“Then why?””
He looked at me.
“Because I thought he meant your family connections.””
I laughed softly.
A painful sound.
“So you knew.””
“I knew you came from wealth.””
“You knew my family had resources.””
“Yes.””
“And you still let Adrian see me as a business opportunity.””
“No.””
His answer came immediately.
“I never saw you that way.””
I wanted to believe him.
That was the worst part.
A part of me still wanted to believe him.
But trust wasn’t built on what someone said when they were caught.
It was built on what they did before.
And Aaron had chosen silence.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Rebecca.
*Emergency update. We identified the internal source.*
I opened it.
A file appeared.
A name.
My breath stopped.
Because the person helping Adrian wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t an employee.
It wasn’t someone from outside the company.
It was someone who had stood beside Aaron from the beginning.
Someone I had trusted.
I looked at Aaron.
He noticed my expression.
“What?””
I didn’t answer.
I showed him the screen.
His face changed.
“No.””
The word came out immediately.
“No, that’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
He stared at the name.
His oldest friend.
His first employee.
The man who had been called the “architect” of Prescott Technologies.
Daniel Brooks.
Aaron shook his head.
“Daniel wouldn’t do this.””
I looked at him.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“You were sure about your mother.””
His face fell.
“You were sure about Jasmine.””
He said nothing.
“You were sure about Adrian.””
Each word landed harder.
Because every person he trusted had been hiding something.
Aaron looked broken.
Not angry.
Broken.
“I don’t understand.””
I believed him.
That was the painful part.
Because maybe he truly didn’t.
Maybe he had spent years building a company without realizing how many people around him were using him.
But that did not erase what he had done to me.
A security vehicle arrived at the edge of the runway.
Two lawyers stepped out.
My father’s legal team.
Rebecca was with them.
She approached me quickly.
“Mrs. Prescott.””
“What happened?””
She looked at Aaron.
Then at the documents.
“We found the original source of the forged authorization.””
“Daniel?””
She nodded.
Aaron immediately stepped forward.
“No.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Mr. Prescott, we have digital records.””
Daniel’s access.
His login.
His authorization.
His communication with Adrian’s company.
Aaron looked stunned.
“He was my partner.””
Rebecca’s expression softened slightly.
“Sometimes the people closest to us have the most access.””
The words were simple.
But they hit him.
Because that was exactly what happened.
The people closest to him had been the ones who hurt him.
Rebecca handed me another folder.
“There’s more.””
I opened it.
Inside was a copy of a contract.
The date was from five years ago.
Before Aaron and I married.
Before Prescott Technologies became famous.
The contract was between Adrian Vale and Daniel Brooks.
My eyes moved down the page.
Then I saw it.
A clause.
A hidden agreement.
A percentage.
A plan.
But the final page was what made my blood run cold.
Because it wasn’t about Daniel.
It wasn’t about Aaron.
It was about me.
Rebecca pointed.
“Read the last paragraph.””
I did.
Slowly.
*Upon successful marriage between Aaron Prescott and Alyssa Bennett, all future access to Bennett family technology will be pursued through marital influence and corporate integration.*
I stopped breathing.
The words blurred.
Marriage.
Access.
Technology.
A plan.
A plan that started before Aaron and I even met.
I looked at Aaron.
He looked horrified.
“I didn’t know.””
I believed him.
But the truth hurt anyway.
Because even if Aaron hadn’t planned it…
He had been the doorway.
The person Adrian used.
The person I trusted.
The person who brought danger into my life.
My phone rang.
This time, it was my father.
I answered.
“Alyssa.””
His voice was urgent.
“We have a problem.””
“What happened?””
“Adrian made his move.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“How?””
“He filed a lawsuit.””
“For what?””
My father paused.
Then:
“Ownership of Bennett Technologies patents.””
I looked at the documents.
At Aaron.
At the people around me.
Everything finally made sense.
The jet.
The shares.
The board vote.
The marriage.
All of it.
Adrian had never wanted Aaron’s company.
He wanted mine.
And Aaron had unknowingly spent years helping him get closer.
My father’s voice became serious.
“Alyssa, listen to me.””
“Yes?””
“Do not go anywhere alone.””
A chill ran through me.
“Why?””
“Because Adrian knows he lost control of the company.””
A pause.
“And desperate people make dangerous decisions.””
I looked around.
At the runway.
At the jet.
At Aaron standing beside me.
Then I noticed something.
A black car parked near the hangar.
A car that hadn’t been there before.
The door opened.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Confident.
Calm.
I had never met him.
But I knew exactly who he was.
Adrian Vale.
He looked directly at me.
And smiled.
Then he said:
“Mrs. Prescott.””
My blood ran cold.
“After all these years…”
May you like
He adjusted his coat.
“It’s finally nice to meet the woman my entire investment was built around.””
