The world went silent as the door shut behind him.
Inside the Maybach, everything was dark leather, polished steel, and quiet power. The kind of luxury he only ever saw when serving VIP tables.
Selena slid into the seat across from him. She didn't sit like a CEO who commanded billions. She sat like someone used to giving orders that saved lives.
The car moved forward, smooth as liquid.
Adrian stared at her, trying to piece her together.
"You just...walked in and threatened them."
"I warned them," she corrected. "Threats are for people who don't have power, learn the difference."
He blinked.
She glanced at him briefly, with an unreadable expression.
"Everything I said was backed by the Vale family."
"Right," Adrian murmured. "The family I supposedly belong to."
"You do," she said without hesitation. "More than you realize."
A lump formed in his throat.
Selena's eyes softened for just a second.
"You don't have to trust me yet. You don't even have to believe me. Tonight, your entire world was torn apart. It's normal, anyone would resist."
Adrian exhaled shakily.
"Then why do you sound so sure?"
Selena looked directly into his eyes.
"Because I've been watching you for three weeks."
His heart skipped.
"What?"
"We needed to confirm your identity before approaching," she said. "Your habits. Work ethic. Temperament. Behavioral patterns. Risk factors."
"Risk factors?" His chest tightened. "So I'm like some…..experiment?"
"No."
She leaned back, crossing her legs, the dim light catching on the silver pendant that rested easy between her cleavage.
"You're an heir. And heirs attract enemies. My job is to make sure you stay alive long enough to claim what's yours."
Adrian's pulse jumped.
"Why me?" he whispered.
Selena's gaze held his firmly.
"Because the dynasty needs you," she said quietly. "More than they will ever admit out loud."
The car slowed.
Adrian turned toward the tinted window and his breath became ragged.
A skyscraper towered above the city lights, its upper floors glowing like a crown. Sleek, modern and terrifyingly expensive.
Selena spoke gently.
"This is the Vale Penthouse. And the floor you see at the top…."
She pointed upward.
"..…is yours."
His world tilted. For the first time, someone had come for him because he mattered.
And that terrified him most of all.
The door opened, a waiting butler bowing low.
Selena stepped out first, her voice steady.
"Come, Adrian. Let's show you the life you were meant to have."
Adrian stepped out of the car, his legs unsteady as marble floors replaced asphalt beneath his feet.
The lobby alone felt so unreal, vaulted ceilings, muted gold accents, and security that didn't look like security. Men and women in tailored suits stood still in places no one would question, their eyes alert, hands relaxed, weapons invisible but present.
The butler straightened. "Welcome home, Mr. Vale."
Those words hit harder than any slap ever could.
"This…..this is home." He whispered to himself.
Selena didn't correct him.
They moved quickly, escorted into a private elevator that responded only after Selena pressed her thumb against a hidden biometric panel. The doors closed silently, and the ascent began, it was smooth, fast and relentless.
Adrian swallowed. "How many people know about me?"
Selena didn't hesitate. "Officially? There's only Five. Unofficially?" She exhaled. "Too many, but we're handling that already."
"Handling?..."
The elevator opened directly into the penthouse.
Adrian froze as he stood there in awe of what he saw.
Glass walls revealed the city sprawled beneath them like a conquered kingdom. The space was vast but restrained. It was art that didn't scream for attention, furniture that spoke of taste rather than price. Everything here existed because it belonged.
A man stood waiting near the center of the room. Tall. Gray at the temples. His eyes are sharp enough to cut glass.
He inclined his head slightly. Not a bow. A calculation.
"Selena," he said. "You're late."
"Adrian needed air," she replied evenly. "Victor."
Victor Vale.
The name echoed in Adrian's mind. He'd heard it once...whispered by a drunk investor at the club he once worked at, spoken with awe and fear.
Victor's gaze slid to Adrian, weighing him like a chess piece.
"So," Victor said calmly. "This is the ghost."
Adrian stiffened.
Selena's voice sharpened. "He's not a rumor. He's blood."
Victor studied Adrian's face for a long moment, then nodded once. "He has his mother's eyes."
Adrian's breath caught. "You knew her?"
Victor's jaw tightened…..just a fraction. "Briefly. She was...stubborn."
"Well that's nothing new, it runs in the family," Selena said.
Victor ignored her. "You were never meant to grow up without protection but certain members of this family disagreed with that."
Adrian frowned. "Disagreed?"
Victor turned toward the windows. "Power is never shared willingly. It is negotiated, stolen, or killed for."
Selena stepped closer to Adrian. "The Vale family isn't just wealth. Its influence. Shipping lanes, private security contracts, pharmaceutical patents, data infrastructure. Entire governments owe us favors they pretend don't exist."
Adrian's head spun.
Victor continued in a cool voice. "When you were born, the board split. Some wanted you erased. Others wanted you hidden."
"And you?" Adrian asked quietly.
Victor looked at him again, more carefully this time. "I couldn't do anything, but my father…..oh my father."
A sudden vibration broke the moment.
Selena checked her phone, her expression darkening. "They know already?"
Victor sighed. "Of course they do."
Adrian's stomach dropped. "Who….who knows what?"
"That you've been found," Selena said. "And that tonight changed the balance."
Victor turned to a wall. With a subtle gesture, it came alive, screens displaying stock movements, news feeds and encrypted messages.
"Within forty-eight hours," Victor said, "someone will challenge your legitimacy. Within seventy-two, someone will try to scare you. Within a week..."
"They'll try to kill him," Selena finished flatly.
Adrian's heart pounded. "You're saying this like it's...routine."
Victor faced him fully now. "Because it is. On these streets, there's only the wolves, the vulture and the jackals. The sheep never come out to the street and sometimes, it is the jackals protecting the sheep. Right now, you are a sheep."
Silence stretched.
Then Adrian straightened.
"What happens if I say no to all of this?" he asked. "If I walk away?"
Selena watched him closely.
Victor studied him longer this time, then nodded once more. "Then we protect you anyway. Because blood is blood."
Selena's lips curved slightly. "But now the world won't leave you alone. Whether you claim the name or not."
Adrian looked around the penthouse then at the city beneath him, at the people who spoke of power like weather, at the life that had just wrapped its fingers around his throat.
For years, he'd survived by being invisible.
Now invisibility was no longer an option.
He exhaled slowly. "If I stay…..I don't want to be a pawn."
Victor smiled faintly. "Good. Pawns don't survive long here anyway."