Chapter 9 - CHECKMATE IN THE PENTHOUSE"Hello, children," Uncle Richard said smoothly, stepping out of the lift with a calm, grandfatherly smile that didn't reach his dead eyes. "I must say, Christian, your breaking and entering skills have improved since last year. But you really should learn to lock your doors behind you."
Julian didn't flinch. His hand slid slowly inside his jacket, but before his fingers could wrap around the grip of his concealed firearm, one of the tactical guards cocked his rifle with a sharp clack.
"Don't do it, Julian," Richard warned, tapping his cane softly against the hardwood floor. "My men are trigger-happy, and graphite-tipped rounds go right through custom charcoal wool."
"You're trespassing, Richard," Julian said, his voice a low, vibrating growl of pure menace. "Step foot in my tower and you forfeit your life."
"My life?" Richard chuckled, a dry, rattling sound. He walked further into the room, his eyes passing over Christian, over the files scattered on the floor, and finally landing on me. "Nora, my dear. Look at you. You look entirely too healthy. I told Colin to keep you on a tighter leash."
The blood rushed in my ears. Every piece of the puzzle snapped into place with a sickening clarity.
"You," I breathed, my voice trembling with rage. "You orchestrated all of it. My mother's death... my apartment... Colin... all of it was just to keep me quiet about the shipping logs I found in my father's old study when I was twenty."
Richard smiled warmly, as if praising a child for solving a simple math problem. "Smart girl. Just like your father. He thought he could hide the audit trails in the old warehouse. Unfortunately, accidents happen when people play with fire. And when you started asking uncomfortable questions five years ago, I had to make sure you were too broken, too poor, and too terrified to ever look back at the past."
"And Julian?" I spat, stepping forward, my fists clenched so hard my fingernails bit into my palms. "Why push me into his path? Why let me marry the most dangerous man in the city?"
Richard’s smile widened, a truly terrifying expression of absolute arrogance.
"Because, my dear Nora, iron sharpens iron. I didn't want you to stay broken forever. I needed you to heal just enough to infiltrate Vance Holdings from the inside. I needed Julian distracted, besotted, and vulnerable."
May you like
Richard raised his cane, pointing the silver tip directly at Julian’s chest.
"And tonight... checkmate."
