Page 45 of His By Contract

“You know what fascinates me about you, Georgia?” Vaughn swirled the scotch in his glass. “You’re not like his other… acquisitions. There’s fire in you. The kind Adrian thinks he can control.”

Heat crept up her neck as his gaze traced over her face. The scotch sat heavy in her stomach, its sweetness turning bitter.

“I’ve watched him build his perfect world brick by brick.” Vaughn’s voice dropped lower, intimate. “But you? You’re the crack in his foundation. The flaw he can’t fix.”

The crystal tumbler felt brittle against her palm as she gripped it tighter. Vaughn’s satisfaction rolled off him in waves, filling the space between them.

“Think about it. Every time he controlled your designs, every decision he made for you…” His grin was sadistic. “You could watch him lose everything. His empire. His power. You.”

Georgia felt the weight of his certainty pressing against her skin.

“Adrian’s already lost, Georgia. He just doesn’t know it yet.” Vaughn’s fingers brushed her knee. “Do you want to be collateral damage, or do you want to hold the match that burns it all down?”

Georgia lowered her eyes to the crystal tumbler, letting her shoulders soften. The ice clinked as she rotated the glass, watching light fracture through the amber liquid. Her hesitation wasn’t entirely feigned, the stakes pressed against her chest like a physical weight.

When she lifted her gaze back to Vaughn’s face, she allowed a hint of yearning to surface. The trapped bird considering an open cage door. His satisfaction radiated across the space between them, warming like the scotch in her belly.

She raised the glass to her lips, taking a deliberate sip as she held his gaze over the rim. His smile widened, a predator watching prey step willingly into his trap.

“How long have you known Adrian?” Georgia’s voice came out soft, curious. She traced the edge of her glass with one finger, projecting the perfect mix of interest and uncertainty.

Vaughn leaned back, loosening his tie further. “Long enough to predict his every move.” Pride colored his tone as he launched into a story about their first business encounter.

Georgia watched him speak, noting how easily he’d fallen for her performance. Each word revealed more of his obsession with Adrian, his certainty of victory. He saw exactly what he wanted to see: a woman ready to betray her husband.

Vaughn rose, pacing with predatory grace as he unveiled his masterpiece. Georgia watched him move, noting how his excitement leaked through his calculated exterior. His words painted destruction in careful brushstrokes.

“The problem with Adrian?” Vaughn’s fingers traced abstract patterns in the air. “He trusts too deeply once someone’s proven their worth. Makes him vulnerable.” Pride colored his voice. “My source has been there for years. Someone he’d never suspect.”

Georgia shifted in her chair, allowing a flash of intrigue to cross her features. Her glass sat abandoned on the side table, ice melting into perfect rings.

“The takeover’s already begun.” He tapped his phone, bringing up a complex web of corporate structures. “See these subsidiaries? Each one is a piece of the puzzle. When they move, it’ll be too late for him to stop it.”

She leaned forward, studying the screen with careful attention. Let him see her interest, her growing investment in his scheme.

“But the real beauty?” His smile turned sharp. “Documents suggesting years of fraud. Wire transfers. Offshore accounts. All pointing to Adrian’s involvement in a massive financial scheme.”

Georgia uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, deliberately casual. “And these documents?”

“Masterpieces of deception. Impossible to distinguish from the real thing.” He settled back into his chair, satisfaction radiating from every pore. “When they surface, the SEC investigation will be… inevitable.”

She nodded, letting her eyes drift to the city beyond the windows. Her silence invited more confidence, more revelation.

“Think of it as… natural selection in the financial world.” Vaughn leaned closer, his cologne sharp in her nostrils. “Adrian’s time is ending. But you? You could emerge stronger. Independent.”

His hand brushed her knee once more. “I could ensure your designs reach the right people. Make sure you never need Adrian’s approval again.” His voice dropped lower. “Watch him realize you were his ultimate mistake.”

Georgia tilted her head, letting the light catch her face. Vulnerability and temptation played across her features as Vaughn filled the silence with more promises, more plans, more certainty of his victory.

Georgia let her gaze drop to where his hand still rested on her knee. The weight of it felt wrong, nothing like Adrian’s touch that burned through her skin. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, a calculated gesture of nervousness.

“What would you need from me?” Her voice was soft, hesitant. The perfect mix of fear and hope.

Vaughn’s fingers tightened slightly on her knee as he studied her face. The predatory gleam in his eyes shifted to something sharper, more focused. “Your story, Georgia. The truth about your marriage to Adrian Adler.”

She held her breath, watching as he leaned closer.

“Think about it—the controlling husband, the arranged marriage, the way he manipulates your career.” His words sliced through the air between them. “One interview. That’s all it would take. Adrian Adler’s wife exposing him for what he really is.”

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