8. Bella
— ? —
Bella
The next morning, I wake to the sound of Adrian’s phone ringing. He answers it quickly, his voice low and urgent. I sit up, rubbing sleep from my eyes, and watch as his expression shifts from concern to satisfaction.
“They got him,” Adrian says, ending the call and turning to me. “Detective Morrison just called. Marcus was arrested an hour ago at his apartment. He’s being held without bail.”
Relief floods through me, so intense it’s almost painful. “He’s really in custody?”
“He is,” Adrian confirms, pulling me into his arms. “He can’t hurt you anymore, Bella. He can’t threaten you or intimidate you. He’s done.”
I bury my face in Adrian’s chest, feeling tears of relief slip down my cheeks. “It’s really over.”
“Not quite,” Adrian says gently. “We still have to make sure the case against him is solid. We still have to ensure he’s convicted and sentenced. But the immediate danger is gone. You’re safe.”
I pull back to look at him. “What happens now?”
“Now, we finish what we started,” Adrian says, his expression determined. “We make sure Marcus Webb goes to prison for a very long time.”
Over the next two weeks, Adrian and I work tirelessly to build an airtight case against Marcus.
We coordinate with Detective Morrison and the district attorney’s office, providing them with every piece of evidence we’ve gathered.
Financial records, emails, witness testimony - everything that proves Marcus’s guilt.
The investigation reveals even more than we initially suspected. Marcus’s crimes go back years, a pattern of corruption and violence that’s shocking in its scope.
We discover that Marcus didn’t just bribe city inspectors for the Riverside development.
He bribed officials across multiple projects, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to overlook safety violations, environmental regulations, and building codes.
The Riverside development was just the tip of the iceberg.
“Look at this,” Adrian says one evening, spreading documents across his dining room table.
We’ve been working from his penthouse, surrounded by files and laptops, barely stopping to eat or sleep.
“Marcus paid off a city councilman to fast-track zoning approvals for the Harborview project. The councilman is on record saying the project met all requirements, but these documents show it didn’t.
Marcus knew the building was structurally unsound, and he built it anyway. ”
I scan the documents, my stomach churning. “People live in that building. Families.”
“I know,” Adrian says grimly. “We’ve already alerted the city. They’re conducting an emergency inspection. If the building is as unsafe as these documents suggest, it’ll have to be evacuated.”
“How many other projects are like this?” I ask, looking at the mountain of evidence we’ve compiled.
“At least six that we know of,” Adrian says. “And there are probably more. Marcus has been cutting corners and paying bribes for years. It’s how he’s been able to undercut his competitors and win so many contracts.”
I sit back, overwhelmed by the scope of Marcus’s crimes. “He could have killed people. If one of those buildings collapsed-”
“I know,” Adrian says, his jaw tight. “That’s why we have to make sure he never has the opportunity to do this or something like this ever again.”
But the most damning evidence is related to David Reed’s murder. The district attorney has been working with the hitman Marcus hired, a man named Vincent Russo, who agreed to testify in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Detective Morrison brings us a transcript of Russo’s testimony, and reading it makes my blood run cold.
According to Russo, Marcus contacted him through an intermediary, a man named Derek Thompson who worked as Marcus’s assistant. Derek arranged the meeting, but Marcus was the one who gave the order.
“He told me the target was a problem,” Russo’s testimony reads. “Said the guy was going to ruin him, destroy everything he’d built. He offered me fifty thousand dollars to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. I took the job.”
David Reed was killed on a Friday night, walking home from work. Russo followed him, waited until he was alone on a quiet street, and shot him. He took David’s wallet and phone to make it look like a mugging, then disappeared.
The police investigated, but without any leads, the case went cold. David’s family was left without answers, without justice.
Until now.
“Derek Thompson is cooperating fully,” Detective Morrison tells us during one of our meetings.
“He’s provided emails, text messages, and recorded phone calls that prove Marcus ordered the hit.
Combined with Russo’s testimony and the financial records showing Marcus withdrew fifty thousand dollars in cash the day before the murder, we have a solid case. ”
“What about Derek?” I ask. “Is he being charged?”
“He’s pleading guilty to conspiracy and accessory to murder,” Detective Morrison says. “In exchange for his testimony against Marcus, he’ll serve five years instead of twenty. It’s not ideal, but we need his testimony to make sure Marcus goes away for life.”
I nod, understanding the necessity of the deal even if it doesn’t feel entirely just. Derek helped facilitate a murder, but Marcus was the one who ordered it. Marcus is the one who needs to pay the highest price.
As the investigation progresses, Adrian also moves forward with his plan to dismantle Marcus’s business empire. With Marcus in custody and unable to manage his company, Webb Industries begins to crumble.
“The board of directors is in chaos,” Adrian tells me one morning, reading an email on his phone.
“Half of them want to distance themselves from Marcus, the other half are trying to keep the company afloat. But with the criminal charges and the revelations about the bribery and unsafe buildings, investors are pulling out. The stock price has dropped forty percent in the last week.”
“Good,” I say, and I mean it. Webb Industries was built on corruption and crime. It deserves to fail.
“I’ve made an offer to acquire the company,” Adrian continues.
“For pennies on the dollar. The board is desperate enough that they’ll probably accept.
Once I own it, I’ll clean house - fire everyone who was complicit in Marcus’s schemes, bring in new management, and make sure the company operates ethically going forward. ”
I look at Adrian, seeing the determination in his eyes. “You’re not just doing this for revenge, are you?”
“No,” Adrian says. “I’m doing it because it’s right.
Because Webb Industries employed hundreds of people who had nothing to do with Marcus’s crimes, and they deserve to keep their jobs.
Because the buildings Marcus constructed need to be fixed before someone gets hurt.
And yes, because I want to make sure Marcus loses everything, just like he made you lose everything. ”
I reach across the table and take his hand. “Thank you. For fighting for me. For fighting for justice.”
“Always,” Adrian says, bringing my hand to his lips. “That’s easy. I promise I will always fight for you, Bella.”
The evidence against Marcus just continues to mount. We discover that he didn’t just bribe officials and order one murder - he’s been involved in a pattern of criminal activity that spans years.
One afternoon, Adrian receives a call from a woman named Jennifer Martinez. She’s a former employee of Webb Industries, and she has information she wants to share.
Adrian puts the call on speaker so I can hear.
“I worked in Marcus’s accounting department for three years,” Jennifer says, her voice shaking. “I knew something was wrong with the books, but I was too scared to say anything. After what happened to David Reed…” She trails off.
“You didn’t want to be next,” Adrian surmises. “Listen, Jennifer. I can promise you that won’t happen. Marcus won’t be able to hurt you like he did Mr. Reed. You have my word.”
“I better have your goddamn word, because I’ve got kids, Mr. Sterling,” she says fiercely. Concern laces her voice and my heart pangs.
“And trust me when I say, the world will be a better place for your kids without Marcus in it. You’re doing the right thing, Jennifer. Now, tell me, what did you see?” Adrian asks gently.
“Marcus was embezzling money from the company,” Jennifer says hesitantly.
“Millions of dollars. He’d create fake vendors, approve payments to them, and then the money would disappear into offshore accounts.
I have copies of the transactions. I kept them as insurance, in case Marcus ever came after me. ”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” I ask.
“Because I was terrified,” Jennifer admits. “David tried to do the right thing, and he ended up dead. I have a family, kids. I couldn’t risk it. But now that Marcus is in custody, now that he can’t hurt me… I want to help. I want to make sure he pays for what he did.”
Adrian arranges for Jennifer to meet with Detective Morrison and the district attorney. The evidence she provides is damning - detailed records of Marcus’s embezzlement, showing that he stole over five million dollars from his own company over the course of three years.
“This is huge,” Detective Morrison says after reviewing Jennifer’s documents. “This adds multiple counts of embezzlement and fraud to the charges. Combined with the bribery, the safety violations, and the murder, Marcus is looking at life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
I should feel triumphant. I should feel vindicated. But mostly, I just feel sad. Sad for David Reed and his family. Sad for all the people Marcus hurt. Sad for the woman I was six months ago, who thought she was marrying a good man.
“Are you okay?” Adrian asks that night as we lie in bed together.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’m glad Marcus is going to prison. I’m glad he’s being held accountable. But I keep thinking about how I almost married him. How I almost spent the rest of my life with a murderer.”