The Billionaire Beneath
At twenty-four, Adrian Cole has nothing. No money. No powerful family. No university degree. No future anyone can see. He lives with his sick mother in a crumbling house on the forgotten....
At twenty-four, Adrian Cole has nothing. No money. No powerful family. No university degree. No future anyone can see. He lives with his sick mother in a crumbling house on the forgotten edge of the city, surviving from one small job to another—construction work, deliveries, repairs, anything that puts food on the table. But poverty is not what hurts Adrian the most. The deepest wound in his life is Elena Hart. She is the woman he has loved since they were teenagers. For seven years, they have dreamed about escaping poverty together. Adrian promised her that one day he would build her a beautiful home, give her the wedding she deserved, and make sure their children would never know hunger. Elena believed him. Until life became too difficult. Her father’s business collapses. Her family falls into enormous debt. Her younger brother needs an expensive operation. And then one of the richest families in the country makes Elena an offer. Marry their son, and every problem disappears. She refuses. At first. But when Adrian tries desperately to help and fails, Elena makes the most painful decision of her life. She chooses her family. And leaves Adrian. The night before her wedding, Adrian stands outside the gates of the luxurious Hart estate in pouring rain. Elena comes outside to see him one last time. He asks only one question. "Did you ever really love me?" She looks into the eyes of the man she still loves more than anything. And lies. "No." Adrian walks away completely destroyed. He does not know that Elena waits until he disappears before collapsing into tears. He also doesn't know that the man she is about to marry is connected to a secret that destroyed Adrian’s family decades ago.