Chapter 7 - A Desperate Man’s Last Stand
When a narcissist loses their money, their status, and their audience, they become dangerous.
Evan Whitmore was not a mastermind; he was a coward who had lived his entire life behind the shield of his family’s wealth. Stripped of his CEO title, facing bankruptcy from Adrian’s acquired debt, and hunted by creditors, he snapped.
It happened late Thursday evening. I was working late at the corporate headquarters, putting the finishing touches on the new Riverfront development proposal. The building was empty; the cleaning staff had already finished on the twentieth floor. Outside, another violent autumn storm was battering Charlotte, thunder rattling the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
I packed my laptop into my leather tote, clicked off the office lights, and stepped into the private executive elevator.
The elevator descended smoothly to the basement parking garage. When the doors slid open with a soft chime, the underground garage was cold, damp, and dimly lit. My heels echoed on the concrete as I walked toward my SUV.
A shadow detached itself from behind a concrete pillar.
“You look very comfortable, Claire.”
I spun around.
Evan stepped into the yellow beam of an overhead fluorescent lamp. He was unrecognizable. His designer suit was stained, his hair was greasy and uncombed, and his eyes were wild, bloodshot, and sunken. In his right hand, he held a heavy steel crowbar he had grabbed from the maintenance closet.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I forced my chin up, refusing to show fear. “What are you doing here, Evan?”
“You ruined me,” he hissed, taking slow, deliberate steps toward me, dragging the iron tip across the concrete floor. A screeching metal whine echoed off the walls. “You took my company. You took my home. You turned the entire city against me. I don’t have a dime left to my name.”
“You did this to yourself,” I said, slowly sliding my hand into my pocket to trigger the emergency SOS on my phone. “You embezzled money. You signed predatory loans. You chose Megan.”
“Megan is a parasite!” he screamed, saliva flying from his lips. “She told the police I forged her signature on the company expenses! The DA issued an arrest warrant an hour ago!”
“Then turn yourself in. Don't make this worse.”
“There is no worse!” Evan lunged forward with terrifying speed, raising the crowbar. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me! You think you can give my empire to Adrian Cole? You think you can parade around town with him while I rot in a cell?”
He swung the crowbar down toward my head.
I dodged sideways, the heavy steel smashing into the driver’s side window of my SUV, shattering the safety glass into a million glittering diamonds. I scrambled backward, tripping over my heels and hitting the cold concrete hard, scraping my palms.
Evan towered over me, his face twisted in psychotic fury, raising the iron bar for a fatal strike. “Goodbye, Claire.”
Tires shrieked violently against the slick concrete.
High beams blinded us both as a black Range Rover roared into the parking bay, slamming its bumper directly into Evan’s lower legs with a sickening thud. Evan was knocked off his feet, crashing onto the hood before tumbling onto the floor, the crowbar clattering away into the dark.
The driver’s door flew open.
Adrian leaped out into the storm of exhaust and rain. He didn't hesitate. Before Evan could scramble up, Adrian pinned him to the concrete with a knee to his chest, driving his fist into Evan’s jaw with brutal, professional precision.
Evan went limp, groaning, his nose broken and bleeding freely onto the floor.
Adrian stood up, chest heaving, his dark coat soaked in rain. He turned toward me, his face pale with raw panic. He dropped to his knees beside me, pulling me up into his arms, checking my face, my hands, my trembling shoulders.
“Are you hurt? Claire, look at me. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I gasped, clutching his soaking lapels, the adrenaline suddenly draining from my body, leaving me shaking violently. “How did you... how did you know?”
May you like
“Your security phone triggered,” Adrian whispered fiercely, burying his face in my hair, holding me so tightly I could feel the thundering rhythm of his heartbeat. “I was already driving over. I couldn't leave you alone tonight.”
In the distance, the wailing sirens of Charlotte police cruisers echoed down the concrete ramp.
