Chapter 17 - The Mastermind's MoveThe screen went black.
I sat frozen in my chair, the blood turning to ice in my veins. Arthur Sterling. The wise elder. The man who had seemingly rescued Catherine's legal claim to the company and championed our victory against Daria.
He hadn't been an ally. He had been the architect of the entire conspiracy from the very beginning. Daria wasn't the head of the Shadow Board—she was merely its most aggressive pawn. Arthur Sterling was the hand that moved them all.
My phone rang violently on the table.
I looked at the screen. It was an incoming call from Arthur Sterling himself.
With trembling fingers, I tapped accept and brought the phone to my ear.
"Good afternoon, Samuel," Arthur’s voice came through, remarkably calm, smooth, and laced with chilling warmth. "I trust you and Catherine are enjoying the coastal view?"
I stood up so fast my chair tipped backward and crashed against the floor. "You..." I snarled, my voice shaking with raw fury. "You son of a bitch. You were behind everything. The kidnapping, the fake crash, Daria... all of it."
"Now, now, Samuel, let's not use such harsh language," Arthur replied smoothly, chuckling lightly on the other end. "Daria let her personal emotions cloud her judgment. She wanted to punish Catherine out of petty jealousy. But business is business. Kincaid Enterprises requires stability. And you and your wife were... inconvenient variables."
"If you touch them," I hissed, my voice dropping into a deadly whisper, "I swear to God I will burn every single asset you own to ash, and I won't stop until I'm standing over your grave."
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There was a brief pause on the line. Then Arthur sighed, sounding almost disappointed.
"Such passion. Just like your father," Arthur murmured. "But you're forgetting one crucial detail, Samuel. You're looking at documents on a laptop in a seaside safehouse. But do you know where your daughter is right now?"
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