**DAMIAN’S POV**
The office is silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning. Outside, the building settles into evening calm, but inside my office the light from my desk lamp lands in a tight circle over the growing pile of files. I should have left hours ago, yet I remain, unable to look away from the ink, the dates, the quiet marks of a history I never bothered to investigate.
I stare at another report involving Adrian. A bar incident from eight years ago. A complaint filed by a young waitress. Her statement describes him cornering her after closing, his temper, his slurred threats. She claimed he grabbed her arm. Hard enough to bruise. She attached photographs.
A week later, she retracted everything.
Settlement paid. Case closed. No charges filed.
The pattern is unmistak
