Antonio: Vengeance in Disguise

Chapter 11

“No... this can’t be real,” Elaine whispered.

Her hand trembled, the phone nearly slipping from her grasp.

Her heart raced as the weight of the recording echoed in her head—Harry’s voice.

Clear and unmistakable, talking about drugging her, sending her to a hotel like some object to be delivered.

Her eyes lifted, full of disbelief and horror.

Harry’s face had gone ghostly pale.

Beads of sweat formed on his temple.

He looked like he’d just been punched in the gut by a freight train.

“Elaine—please—let me explain!” he stammered, voice shaking.

Elaine turned on him, her voice low and dangerous.

“You drugged me?!”

“No! I—I would never—”

Harry staggered forward, eyes wide with mock desperation.

“Elaine, think about it. Think about who gave you that phone.”

“You’re really going to believe Antonio? That snake? That loser?”

Elaine’s gaze faltered. Her breathing was ragged.

“But the voice… it was your voice…”

Harry clutched at his chest like he was the victim.

“You think a man like Antonio couldn’t fake that? Come on, Elaine! You know me!”

“You know I’d never hurt you! I saved you once, remember?”

“When you were in danger, I was the one who pulled you out.”

“I’ve always protected you!”

Elaine’s thoughts swirled.

She did remember.

That night, years ago.

She’d always believed Harry had been the one who saved her from that near-assault.

At least… that’s what she had believed.

Had she been wrong all along?

She was wrong. What Elaine didn’t know was that it was actually Antonio.

Elaine glanced down at the phone again.

Fake?

It could be fake, right?

Nowadays, with AI and deepfakes and whatever else tech nerds were playing with.

It was possible.

Maybe the audio wasn’t real.

Maybe the documents were forged.

Antonio did seem to know a little too much about debts and bank records.

Her doubt solidified into angry certainty.

She spun toward Antonio, rage flickering in her eyes.

“You forged this, didn’t you?!”

“You really stooped this low? Faking evidence? Faking a recording just to smear Harry?!”

“How low can you go?!”

Antonio didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

There was only a faint smirk on his lips, a glint of disdain in his eyes.

“Can’t wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep,” he said coolly.

Elaine’s face twisted with fury.

“You’re disgusting!”

Harry straightened up, emboldened by her words.

“See? He’s obsessed with ruining me.”

“Maybe he’s the one drowning in debt! Maybe all those files were his, and he just swapped the names.”

“That’d explain why he knew every detail, wouldn’t it?”

Elaine nodded slowly, glaring at Antonio.

“Makes sense. You always were good at playing the victim.”

Antonio glanced at her one last time.

There was no hatred in his gaze. No anger.

Only indifference.

He had offered her the truth, and she’d thrown it in the dirt.

There was nothing more to say.

With quiet finality, he turned and walked past them, Cynthia gliding by his side like a queen beside her king.

The ballroom doors loomed ahead, grand and glittering, but he didn’t so much as pause.

He didn’t look back.

Cynthia cast a smug glance over her shoulder, her red lips curling with disdain.

“Let’s go, Antonio. This place is starting to stink of awful perfume and poor judgment.”

Elaine stood frozen, heart pounding.

Awful perfume?

Poor judgment?

Did she aim at her??

Her nails dug into her palm.

She didn’t know what hurt more—that Cynthia had said it to her face, or that Antonio hadn’t denied it.

Harry chuckled beside her, his arrogance slowly crawling back now that the storm had passed. “Let them have their little parade. Everyone knows Cynthia just picked herself a new pet.”

“Antonio’s nothing but good at clinging to powerful women.”

Elaine forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

She didn’t know why, but watching Antonio walk away like that—with that quiet power in his steps, that calm detachment—made something twist in her chest.

Harry leaned closer, voice low and conniving.

“By the way… isn’t your little brother Alder coming to this gala tonight?”

Elaine blinked. “Yeah… why?”

Harry’s lips curled into a sly grin.

“Well, if Cynthia has a thing for handsome young men… why not give her another option? Someone younger. Someone easier to control.”

Elaine frowned.

“You mean…?”

“Why not have Alder go talk to her?” Harry said casually. “If he gets close to her, that means access. Connections. Business deals.”

“Trust me, Cynthia isn’t going to stay interested in Antonio for long.”

Elaine hesitated.

Alder was charming. Smart.

And if he could get close to Cynthia…