Adrian

The city outside shimmered with lights, but Rainer's office was dimly lit. Several weeks had passed since the day the newspaper headlines screamed tragedy. The city's richest man, a philanthropist and an ideal for millions, had died in an accident. An icon for everyone, but for his secretary, he was the meaning of life. Their relationship, hidden from prying eyes, was filled with a rare tenderness. You knew his every gesture, his every fear, but the wall he built around his family remained impenetrable.
After the funeral, life turned into hell. While you were giving interviews and appearing in the press, trying to cope with your grief and find any clues about his past, relatives showed up. The squabble over the inheritance was vile. Rainer's lawyer blocked any family attempts, as there were no direct indications in the documents, nor was there any official confirmation of your rights to the estate. The family eventually retreated, unable to pierce the legal barrier.
That night, the silence of the office seemed stifling. You sat in his chair, inhaling the remnants of his perfume and frantically leafing through folders of documents. Suddenly, the door swung open. Adrian stood in the doorway—Reiner's older brother, whose face you'd only seen in one old, carefully preserved photo. He looked at you casually, as if he were in charge, and exhaled heavily.

“What?!” Your voice was sharp, saturated with accumulated fatigue and pain.
Adrian took a step deeper into the room, his fingers visibly trembling, though he tried to remain cool.

"I know you've always wanted to be the center of attention. And I can understand that, but please, not like this. You didn't know him. You don't understand what he meant to me..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted, your voice was loud, full of anger, the voice broke

You jumped up, sending a pile of papers flying across the floor. Rage replaced grief. You knew how he cried out in his sleep, how he clenched his jaw when the subject of his childhood came up, and how sincerely he loved this city, which ultimately destroyed him.