THE MILLIONAIRE STOPPED TO BUY FLOWERS — BUT DESTINY STRUCK WHEN HE SAW HIS EX WITH TWIN DAUGHTERS

Before Adrien could ask another question, the heavy wooden door of the apartment was thrown open without a knock.

A tall, lean man in a flashy leather jacket stepped into the living room. He had slicked-back dark hair, sharp, predatory eyes, and smelled heavily of cheap cologne and tobacco.

"Isabella!" Marcus barked, sweeping his gaze across the apartment until his eyes landed on Adrien. "What the hell is going on down there? Some suit from a property management firm just came to my house and told me my lease buy-out was processed!"

Isabella immediately stood between Marcus and the cushion fort where the twins were peeking out, terrified.

"Get out of my house, Marcus," Isabella commanded, her voice dropping into a fierce, protective growl. "You don't have a key to this apartment anymore."

"I have a twenty-percent stake in The Blossom Co.!" Marcus sneered, taking a step closer to her. "You can't just sell the building out from under me! I spent three years putting up with your little hobby shop!"

Adrien stepped smoothly into Marcus’s path.

Standing six-foot-two, with broad shoulders trained by years of private athletic coaching, Adrien completely dwarfed the intruder. The warm, playful father who had been sitting on the floor wearing a plastic tiara ten seconds ago instantly vanished. In his place stood Adrien Blake, the ruthless corporate predator who crushed competitors for breakfast.

"You're standing in my way, pal," Marcus growled, trying to push past him.

Adrien caught Marcus’s wrist in a grip so tight metal might as well have been clamping down on his bone. He twisted Marcus’s hand back slightly, forcing the man to drop his knees in pain.

"Listen to me very carefully," Adrien said, his voice dropping into an icy, deadly calm that made the temperature in the room plummet. "You are in a private residence. You are scaring my children. If you raise your voice again in front of my family, I will personally see to it that you spend the next ten years in a federal penitentiary."

Marcus gasped for air, his face turning red as he tried to pull his arm free from Adrien’s vice-like grip. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I am the owner of this building," Adrien said softly. "And I am the man who currently holds all of your outstanding personal debt."

Adrien released Marcus’s wrist with a dismissive shove. Marcus stumbled backward, clutching his bruised arm, staring at Adrien with a mix of rage and sudden, creeping dread.

"Marcus Vance," Adrien continued, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping a quick command. "You are Isabella’s distant cousin. Two years ago, you forged her signature on a thirty-thousand-dollar business credit line to pay off your personal gambling debts at the Riverside Casino."

Marcus’s eyes widened in sheer terror. "How... how do you know that?"

"I know everything about anyone who comes near my family," Adrien said coldly. "As of eight o'clock this morning, my legal team purchased your credit line from the collection agency. You owe my holding company forty-two thousand dollars, effective immediately."

Adrien stepped closer, leaning down until his face was inches from Marcus’s pale nose.

"Sign over your twenty-percent share in The Blossom Co. to Isabella right now, or my attorneys will file criminal fraud charges with the District Attorney’s office before lunch."

Marcus looked from Adrien’s terrifyingly cold eyes to Isabella, who was watching the scene with her arms folded, her expression unyielding.

"You're crazy," Marcus stammered, pulling a pen from his jacket pocket with trembling fingers. "You're all crazy!"

"On the kitchen counter," Adrien commanded softly. "The transfer document is in the navy folder."

Five minutes later, Marcus signed the paper, grabbed his leather jacket, and sprinted down the stairs as if the devil himself were chasing him.

The apartment fell into a quiet hush.

Adrien picked up the signed transfer document, checked the signature with a practiced eye, and handed it to Isabella.

"Your shop is now one hundred percent yours," Adrien said calmly. "Marcus will never bother you again."

Isabella stared at the paper, then looked up at Adrien. Her chest was heaving, her dark eyes filled with an overwhelming mix of shock and awe.

"How did you get that information so fast?" she whispered.

"I hired the best intelligence firm in the country on Thursday night," Adrien admitted simply. "I wanted to make sure there was no one in your life who could harm you or the girls."

Lily and Maya slowly crawled out from their cushion fort, running straight to Isabella’s side.

"Is the mean man gone, Mama?" Lily asked softly.

Isabella knelt down, wrapping her arms tightly around both of her daughters, kissing their foreheads. "Yes, sweetie. The mean man is gone forever."

Maya looked up at Adrien, her little blue eyes wide with admiration. She walked over, wrapped her tiny arms around Adrien’s leg, and looked up at him.

"You pushed him away like a superhero," Maya said proudly.

Adrien felt his heart completely melt. He knelt down, lifting Maya into his arms and holding her close against his chest.