The Playboy Heir Is Night Falcon

Adrian Hawthorne has spent fifteen years pretending to be Astra's most useless playboy. The public sees a spoiled defense heir. His stepmother sees a harmless failure. No one knows he is Night Falcon, the masked operative who rescues civilians and collects evidence against the country's most protected criminals. When a loophole allows foreign arms consortiums into a nationally televised security challenge, Adrian finally reveals enough skill to win. The prize gives him command of the new Federal Rapid Response Bureau and a political engagement to Evelyn Vale, the president's daughter. It also puts him directly against Victor Graves, the president's chief of staff, who buried the file on Adrian's mother's death and controls a network of private soldiers, shell companies, and foreign weapons deals. Evelyn despises Adrian but worships Night Falcon, never realizing they are the same man. Graves exploits that blind spot and persuades her to join a fake kidnapping designed to destroy the engagement. At Black Ridge, she stabs Adrian, the mercenaries turn on her, and Graves confesses that Serena killed Elena with NX-17 while he buried the toxicology and purchase records. When Damon turns a gun on Evelyn, the false Night Falcon fires in immediate defense. Federal teams cut the jammer, verify the encrypted recordings, recover Elena's evidence chain, and arrest Graves and Serena. Adrian unmasks himself, saves the country, and ends a political engagement built on contempt and betrayal.