Page 1 of Reclaiming Adelaide

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That’snotfuckingpossible.But it was there… my username on her phone.

Blood rushed from my face as I clenched my fist around her phone, resisting the temptation to shatter the offending evidence of her betrayal against the wall into tiny fragmented pieces.

I should wake her.

No.

How could I trust myself to keep control of the rage bubbling beneath the surface?

Catatonia hung like a heavy drape over me until my thumb twitched along the screen, opening the conversation box, showing me all the corruption she’d taken part in—two private chats, a public one, and an invitation-only, with a green man as the icon.

Her sleeping frame raised with steady breaths then lowered on exhale, an invariable pace in contrast to the wild beat that was my heart.

How could she sleep so soundly, knowing she’d betrayed me like this?

My thumb jerked again as I squeezed her phone, clicking on the green man icon.

Scores of conversations between her and five other hackers.

I ground my teeth to powder as I read their congratulatory celebrations and files—files that had my business name on them.

A heavy thrum in my ears quickened as I read more with a deeper understanding of how far this betrayal went. She’d sent me her code on this chat just to use it against me, gain access to my computer systems, and steal from me.

What were they after, though? And for how long?

I clicked out of her chat after going back a month with the mention of something or someone calledSev Shen—a name that sparked recognition in me. I searched the rest of her phone, forgoing her privacy.

Her stable breathing filled the room as I looked at her in my periphery, my spine vibrating. How had this evening turned from a successful night of pulling her back toward me to searching through her phone like a jealous lover and wanting to do terrible things to her?

Fuck.

I could wake her up and force her to answer my questions—demand she tell me everything. I wanted to know their agenda and anything else they had planned. But how could I believe a word she said now? I couldn’t trust her, not anymore.

Turning back to her phone, I flipped through her ridiculous selfies with her Betta fish and Monica. She’d snapped a picture of my freshly tattooed hand wrapped around my gear shifter…

She’d taken this tonight.

Dammit.

Didn’t they say tattoos cursed a relationship? Well, that didn’t take long—less than twelve fucking hours.

My knee bobbed, and my jaw ached from the constant pressure against my teeth. I flipped through them until I paused on a photo with two individuals I’d recognize anywhere.

Son of a bitch.

My vision tunneled, the edges pitch black like ink as I swiped up, getting the metadata on the phone. She took it weeks ago, before the incident at the awards ceremony.

I pinched the screen, zooming in on the couple sitting at the same ice cream parlor I’d met her at before dragging her into the park behind it and fucking her.

So that meant… she not only hacked my company and infiltrated my life but also stalked my best friend.

How could I have not known? She’d played me so hard.

I should’ve known.

What a fucking fool.

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