The atmosphere inside Newman Media’s executive floor felt unnaturally dense, as if the entire space were holding its breath. Chelsea Lawson halted in front of Adam’s office door, her fingers hovering a moment above the cold metal handle. She’d come intending to whisk him away for lunch—a rare break from corporate battles and never-ending strategy sessions—but the sound of his voice from inside stopped her in place. It wasn’t the content of his words that froze her. It was the tone: low, sharp-edged, and filled with that chilling authority he used in the worst chapters of his past.

“Don’t confuse patience with forgiveness,” Adam growled through the crack in the door. “You’re in this position because I let you stay there. Don’t forget it.”

Every instinct in Chelsea went on alert. She eased the door open just enough to see him standing in the dimly lit room, blinds casting bands of shadow across his profile. One hand strangled his phone; the other tapped a controlled, predatory rhythm against his desk.

“The exchange goes down tonight. Drop point Alpha. And Matt—if you veer even an inch from the coordinates, the leverage I’m holding becomes public. Are we clear?”

The name hit her like a punch. Matt. There was only one Matt orbiting their lives: Matt Clark—the ghost from the Newman family’s darkest nightmares. The man who’d terrorized Sharon. The man who’d resurfaced to torment Noah. The man everyone in Genoa City believed Adam wanted gone as much as they did.

But from what she was hearing… Adam wasn’t hunting Matt.

He was using him.

Adam shifted slightly as he listened to the voice on the other end. “Your safety isn’t my concern,” he snapped. “You stay invisible until I give the order. Operation Gemini comes first. Victor suspects nothing, and it needs to stay that way.”

Chelsea’s stomach flipped. Operation Gemini—whatever it was—sounded clinical, dangerous, and far bigger than a simple scheme. And Adam was commanding Matt Clark as if the man were a soldier under his command.

She took a step back from the door, bile rising in her throat.

Everyone—Victor, the Newmans, even Nick—had been preparing for war against Matt Clark. Yet Adam, the man who had sworn to her that he was done with manipulation, was directing the very monster who had been stalking their family.

“Execute the transfer,” Adam ordered, finishing the call. “And Matt—don’t make me remind you who’s in control.”

The phone hit the desk with a sharp crack. Adam stood still afterward, breath steady but heavy, like someone staring into a pit he no longer feared.

Chelsea’s heart twisted. Betrayal didn’t even begin to cover it. Was Adam orchestrating Matt’s attacks? Or exploiting them to advance some long-buried vendetta against Victor? She watched him through the narrow gap in the shadows—he looked nothing like the father who had helped Connor through therapy. He looked like the version of Adam who’d burn the world down to win.

“Soon,” he whispered to the empty room. “Checkmate… Dad.”

The single word confirmed everything. This wasn’t about Matt. This was about Victor—always had been. And Adam was gambling with everyone’s safety to settle his eternal score.

Chelsea backed away, pulse pounding. If she confronted him now, he would spin everything into a noble mission, make her question her own judgment, charm her into silence. He’d done it before. She wouldn’t fall for it again.

She needed truth—not his version of it.

That night, with Adam safely occupied at the ranch, she returned to Newman Media. Using skills from her con-artist past, she disarmed the hallway camera feed and picked the lock to his office. The space was submerged in shadows, the faint scent of Adam’s cologne mixing with the sharp tang of fear rising in her chest.

She tore through drawers and shelves, finding nothing… until she examined the heavy obsidian sculpture Victor had gifted Adam. A hidden compartment clicked open beneath it. Inside: a small silver USB drive.

Her hands trembled as she plugged it into Adam’s computer. The drive demanded a decryption key. Three failed attempts nearly triggered a full wipe. Then she typed legacy.

Success.

A flood of files loaded onto the screen—bank transfers, off-shore accounts, surveillance photos, encrypted directives. And every trail led to the same horrifying truth:

Adam was running a covert operation with Matt Clark as his weapon.

He was funneling money through shell companies. Hiring mercenaries. Targeting Billy Abbott. Engineering sabotage. And authorizing actions that could destroy entire families—including hers.

Chelsea ripped the drive out, shaking uncontrollably. She could take the evidence to Victor and ruin Adam forever. She could go to Billy and ensure he faced prison. Or she could do nothing and let Adam’s scheme spiral into catastrophe.

As she left the building, the weight of the truth pressed against her like a physical force. The war had begun—and Chelsea was the only one who knew Adam Newman was the enemy inside the gate.