Chapter 11
Evelyn’s hands shook.
She stared at her forged signature until her vision blurred.
Marcus avoided her eyes.
That was the confession.
Not legal.
Emotional.
“You were going to remove me.”
Marcus rubbed his jaw.
“Eventually.”
Her laugh came out broken.
“Eventually.”
Lorenzo watched them.
Neither looked powerful now.
Just married people discovering their alliance had always had an expiration date.
Evelyn whispered:
“When?”
Marcus said nothing.
She looked up.
“When?”
His shoulders dropped.
“After the council stabilized.”
Her breathing hitched.
“You used my foundation votes.”
“Yes.”
“My donor relationships.”
“Yes.”
“My cousin.”
Marcus finally looked at her.
“You used him too.”
She recoiled.
The truth landed.
Both had turned Lorenzo and Leo into pieces on a board.
Marcus simply intended to keep playing after Evelyn thought the game was over.
Then Dominic spoke.
“I need to tell him something.”
Lorenzo turned.
Dominic’s face had aged during the afternoon.
“What?”
“The driver incident.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
“What about it?”
“You didn't hospitalize him.”
Lorenzo stared.
Dominic continued.
The driver had suffered injuries during a separate bar fight later that night.
Dominic merged the settlement records to make the problem disappear faster.
Caleb allowed the internal rumor that Lorenzo caused all the injuries because fear kept other drivers careful.
Lorenzo’s expression changed.
“You let people believe I did more than I did.”
Caleb nodded once.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His voice lowered.
“Because fear worked.”
Lorenzo laughed softly.
Nothing amused him.
“So when Marcus needed evidence I was unstable…”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“…we had already built it.”
Another betrayal.
This one without greed.
The men closest to Lorenzo had exaggerated his brutality because it made management easier.
Then hidden his real excesses because loyalty demanded it.
They turned his reputation into a weapon everyone could use.
Including Marcus.
Lorenzo sat.
For the first time that day, he looked tired.
Leo’s birthday party had started with a slap.
Now almost every relationship around Lorenzo had been exposed as something slightly different than he believed.
Then Anthony entered from upstairs.
His face was tight.
Lorenzo immediately stood.
“Leo?”
“He’s okay.”
“Then what?”
Anthony held up a child’s tablet.
“Leo recorded something before the party.”
Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed.
“He was playing with the camera.”
Anthony nodded.
“And he caught Evelyn and Marcus arguing before the guests arrived.”
Evelyn went pale.
May you like
Marcus’s hands stopped.
The child everyone treated as bait had accidentally recorded the part of the plan neither villain wanted anyone else to hear.
