Chapter 18 - Melissa Runs
The encrypted message came from the corporate investigator.
Melissa had failed to report for work.
Her apartment was empty.
Her company laptop had been wiped.
Several accounts connected to Orion Navigation Systems had transferred money overnight.
Investigators believed she was attempting to flee.
Dakota read only the information she was authorized to share.
Adam watched her expression.
“What happened?”
She did not answer.
His hidden phone began vibrating again.
This time, no name appeared.
Just an international number.
Adam refused the call.
Trinity looked at him.
“Melissa left you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She told you to delete the files. Now she’s gone.”
Adam’s breathing became erratic.
The partnership he believed protected him had collapsed.
Melissa had likely taken whatever funds she could access and left Adam holding the most visible evidence.
Dakota saw realization spread across his face.
For years, he had manipulated people by identifying what they feared losing.
Melissa had done the same to him.
She knew Adam feared humiliation more than prison, poverty, or divorce.
So she allowed him to believe he remained in control until escape was impossible.
Trinity leaned back in her seat.
“Was she your mistress too?”
Adam said nothing.
That silence answered her.
Dakota felt no surprise left.
Melissa had helped him construct lies, schedule trips, move money, and target Trinity.
Their relationship had likely begun before either woman knew.
Trinity gave a hollow laugh.
“You cheated on your wife with me while cheating on me with your assistant.”
Adam’s voice cracked.
“It wasn’t like that.”
Dakota looked at him.
“It was exactly like that. Every relationship was a transaction to you.”
The captain announced their descent toward Paris.
Seat backs rose.
Tables were secured.
The cabin lights dimmed slightly.
Adam stared through the window at the approaching city.
He had imagined landing beside a pregnant woman carrying his future.
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Instead, he was arriving with two witnesses and a trail of evidence.
👉 As the landing gear lowered, Adam begged Dakota to delete one recording—and finally admitted why it terrified him.
