She Rejected Him—Then His Helicopter Arrive

CHAPTER 2 — The Price of Her Apology

Vanessa ran after Adrian.

The helicopter blades were beginning to turn when she reached the landing pad.

"Adrian, wait!"

He stopped but did not return to her.

Vanessa tried to explain that her mother had pressured her. Celeste Ashcroft believed Adrian was an ordinary consultant with no future and wanted Vanessa to marry financier Nathan Cross.

"You could have told me who you were," Vanessa said.

"I told you I worked for Laurent International."

"You said you restored struggling hotels."

"I do."

Adrian had used his late mother's surname because he wanted to build a career without the Laurent name controlling every relationship.

His modest apartment belonged to him. His old car had belonged to his mother.

Nothing about his life had been fake.

Only Vanessa's affection was uncertain.

"I made a mistake," she whispered.

"You made a decision."

Adrian boarded the helicopter.

However, he did not cancel the Ashcroft acquisition out of revenge. More than eight hundred employees depended on the rescue agreement.

Instead, he ordered his attorneys to complete an immediate financial review.

The results arrived before sunrise.

Ashcroft Hotels had borrowed millions from its employee retirement fund. Martin denied authorizing the transfers.

The documents carried Celeste's signature.

They also carried Vanessa's.

Adrian met the Ashcroft family inside their headquarters.

Vanessa stared at the paperwork.

"I never approved this."

Celeste placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You signed several company documents before the gala."

"You said they were event expenses."

Martin looked at his wife.

"You used our daughter's signature?"

Celeste remained calm.

"The company needed liquidity. Adrian's investment would have replaced everything."

Adrian closed the file.

"My money was supposed to save the hotels, not conceal theft."

Vanessa asked whether he believed she was involved.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

An investigator entered with another report.

The missing retirement funds had been transferred into a company owned by Nathan Cross, the man Celeste wanted Vanessa to marry.

Then Adrian learned that Vanessa's public rejection had been planned before he ever opened the ring box.