Tit For Tat Chapter 02
Adrian grabbed my wrist as I reached the hallway.
His grip was hard.
“Evelyn, the club, the media, the guests, both our companies—everything is set for tomorrow. If you cancel now, the Harts and the Coles will be a laughingstock up and down the East Coast.”
I shook him off.
“Your email already made us one.”
His jaw tightened.
“I told you, the email is fixable.”
“How? Are you going to personally open all 327 inboxes and make them forget?”
“We’ll issue a clarification, shut down the page, have legal contact anyone who reposted it.” His words came faster. “This will all blow over in two days, at most.”
I held my phone up to his face.
A local business blog had already posted screenshots.
The headline read:
“Cole Capital Heir’s Engagement “Joke” Turns Fiancée into Secondhand Merchandise “
It had been live for less than fifteen minutes and already had over ten thousand views.
In the comments, someone had recognized Noah.
Another was speculating about the real reason our engagement had been broken.
Others had followed the guest list and dug up the Harbor Dock redevelopment project that Hart Real Estate was trying to secure.
Adrian’s expression darkened as he read the screen.
“I’ll have it taken down.”
“You still don’t get it,” I said. “This isn’t just about Sloane saying a few nasty things. You personally used the official engagement account to send my private photos and humiliating content to our clients, our employees, and the press.”
“The backend asked you to confirm.”
“And you confirmed.”
Adrian fell silent.
At the end of the hall, a door opened and Sloane hurried after us.
Her eyes were already red.
“Adrian, I didn’t know the blog would get ahold of it. I told everyone in the room not to share it. Someone must have leaked it.”
Adrian turned to her, asking her first, “Where did you get the original photo?”
Sloane bit her lip.
“From the wedding materials folder you shared with me.”
I looked at Adrian.
That folder was supposed to be managed only by the two of us.
It held family photos, guest lists, hotel contracts, and scans of old albums my mother had kept for me.
Two weeks ago, I’d discovered Sloane had been added as an administrator and questioned Adrian about it.
He’d said that as a branding consultant for Cole Capital, she understood event publicity, and having her help would be easier.
I had explicitly told him not to give her access to my private albums.
Adrian had told me I was overthinking it.
And now, Sloane had used the access he’d granted her to take my old photos, then used the guest list he’d approved to display them to the world.
He hadn’t been a bystander at any step of the way.
Adrian closed his eyes for a moment.
“I gave her access. I’ll handle it.”
Tears immediately streamed down Sloane’s face.
“This is all my fault. Evelyn, blame me, but please don’t cancel the engagement over this.”
She reached for my hand.
I took a step back.
“You were recording my reaction when I saw the email. Was that also to liven things up?”
Her hand froze in midair.
“Everyone was just curious to see if you’d get mad.”
“Give me the phone.”
“What?”
“The original video. Give it to me.”
Sloane instinctively hid the phone behind her back.
Adrian frowned. “Sloane. Give it to her.”
“I already deleted it.”
She answered too quickly.
I studied her for a few seconds, then showed Adrian the evidence preservation confirmation our legal team had just sent me.
“I’ve already requested the website provider to freeze all backend data. I’ll also be asking the club to preserve the surveillance footage from the room.”
“If that video leaks, I will pursue legal action.”
The color drained from Sloane’s face.
Adrian’s expression turned cold.
“Evelyn, do you really need to drag our private affairs through the lawyers?”
I almost laughed.
“It stopped being private the moment you sent it to 327 people.”
He lowered his voice.
“Do you have to be so calculating?”
“Absolutely.”
“Adrian, for the last three years, I didn’t just wear your ring and enjoy the Cole family’s resources.”
“When your father had heart surgery, I stayed at the hospital with your mother for four days.”
“When Cole Capital had that M&A data leak, I led a team that worked seven nights straight to help you minimize regulatory losses.”
“When you asked me to get Sloane up to speed on company operations, and she sent a client press release to the media ahead of schedule, I was the one who cleaned up the mess.”
“For the Harbor Dock project, the Hart family’s land, our planning team, and our financial guarantees are worth just as much as Cole Capital’s investment.”
I paused.
“You helped me. I’ve never denied that.”
“And I’ve repaid you.”
“I never owe you a public execution.”
A flicker of hurt crossed Adrian’s eyes.
“When have I ever said you owed me anything?”
“Every time I wasn’t compliant.”
I looked straight at him.
“You’d remind me who pulled me away from the Bennett house that night, who helped Hart Real Estate through its cash-flow crisis, who made it possible for me to stand tall in front of everyone again.”
“Tonight, you finally turned that debt into a product description and sent it to the world.”
His throat worked.
“I never thought of it that way.”
“But you hit send.”
The hallway was so quiet I could hear the hum of the air conditioner.
I turned toward the elevator.
“Are your parents really going to approve of you being this impulsive?” Adrian asked coldly from behind me.
The elevator doors opened.
I turned back and held up the backend log.
“After they see this page, who do you think they’ll call impulsive?”