Chapter 22; The Reveal BeginsLayla Luxter POVThe office felt colder the longer I stood there, not because of the temperature, but because of the way he spoke, the way he looked at me like every word I said had already been measured and priced before I even opened my mouth.I did not sit.I refused to.My hand rested lightly on the edge of his desk, the smooth surface cool beneath my fingers, grounding me as I held his gaze. The rain outside traced faint lines down the glass behind him, soft and steady, but the quiet inside the room felt sharper than the storm.“You think this is a game,” I said, my voice controlled, even though I could feel something tightening in my chest.He didn’t react immediately.That was what made it worse.“No,” he said calmly. “I think it’s a decision.”The difference sat between us, heavy and deliberate.I straightened slightly, refusing to let the moment lean in his favor. “You forced a public statement that affected more than just business,” I said. “You

Chapter 24; Cracks in the CrownGabriel Luxter POVThe boardroom no longer felt like mine.That was the first thought that settled in my mind as I stepped in that morning, the glass walls reflecting a city that looked the same as always, but carried a different weight now. The long table was already occupied, documents spread out, screens lit, voices low and controlled, yet beneath all of it, there was tension that no one bothered to hide anymore.I walked to the head of the table, adjusting my cuff once before taking my seat, my expression composed despite the pressure building from every direction.“Let’s begin,” I said.The room quieted immediately, but it wasn’t the same kind of silence I used to command. This one came with expectation, with questions waiting to be asked instead of orders waiting to be followed.One of the senior investors leaned forward slightly, his fingers resting against a stack of reports.“We’ve reviewed the latest market data,” he began, his tone measured b

Chapter 26; After the SlapGabriel Luxter POVThe silence did not end when the announcement was made; instead, it stretched and settled into the room like something heavy that refused to lift.I stood there, feeling every pair of eyes shift between Michael and me, between certainty and disbelief, between what they had known and what had just been revealed. The weight of it pressed against my chest, not because I did not understand what had happened, but because I understood it too well.This was not a coincidence.This was a calculated strike.“Impossible,” I said finally, my voice steady even as my mind worked rapidly to dismantle what I had just heard. “Michael Krux is dead, and no document changes that.”The media representative still held the paper, his hands slightly tense as if unsure whether to keep reading or step away entirely. Around us, the murmurs had grown louder, no longer whispers but open conversations that carried disbelief, curiosity, and something more dangerous int

Chapter 28; The Cell That SpokeMichael Krux POVThe prison did not smell like regret.It smelled like rust, damp concrete, and something stale that never quite left the air no matter how often the corridors were cleaned. The fluorescent lights above flickered just slightly, casting uneven shadows along the narrow hallway as I walked through, my shoes echoing against the floor with a rhythm that did not belong in a place like this.Guards moved ahead of me, keys clinking softly, their posture stiff with the kind of respect that came from instruction rather than understanding.“Right this way, sir,” one of them said.I nodded once, my attention already fixed on the door at the end of the corridor.Room 17.It had taken time to get here, not because access was difficult, but because timing mattered. Everything about this visit had to align with what was already in motion outside these walls.The guard unlocked the door and stepped aside.“He’s inside,” he said.I walked in without hesit

Chapter 30; The Call That Changed EverythingGabriel Luxter POVThe meeting ended without resolution, and that was the part that bothered me the most..But the fact that for the first time, I had walked out of that room without controlling the outcome.The corridor outside felt unusually quiet as I walked back to my office, my steps steady, my mind anything but. Every conversation, every reaction from the board replayed itself in pieces, none of them complete, all of them pointing in the same direction.We were losing ground.Not publicly yet, but internally, the cracks were there.I pushed the door to my office open and stepped inside, loosening my tie slightly as I moved toward the desk. The city stretched out beyond the glass, unchanged, unaware of the shift happening behind it.My phone buzzed with an unknown number.I stared at it for a second before answering.“Speak,” I said.There was no greeting from the other end.Just a voice.Calm.Familiar.“You should be careful who you