ffic, pulling up to a discreet, pre-war buildin

as hers. Polished concrete floors, exposed brick, minimalist furniture in shades of charcoa

les of her feet. She walked to the industrial-style kitchen and pulled a bottl

in the gilded cage of the Lloyd estate, a glass of cold water in he

countertop. Darius. She silenc

ink I'm going to believe a ridiculo

ss the screen. Her message

stimate based on Lloyd Group's last qua

walked away from the ph

city of it made his blood boil. He threw the phone onto

f his silk robes. The gardenia scent clung to her like a second skin. She wra

. "She's demanding over a billion and a

h, my God. How could she be so greedy? Darius, she's from whatever forgotten hollow

every ugly prejudice he held. Reinforcing the nar

ed, her lips brushing his ear. A soft poison. "She must have used

e. It was easier-so much easier-to believe Isabel was a criminal

"We won't let her get away with this. We can look into where she got the mon

ion. "We can offer her ten million. It's more than enough for her to go ba

You're always right." He kissed her, finding solace in th

how fragile t

und her as her mind drifted back three years. To the crisis. Lloyd Group had b

ations-and injected the capital the company desperately needed. She had provided the propri

e. A secret deal struck with a desperate Magnus Llo

billion and a half dollars without trying to tear her apart. T

them

lack laptop on her desk. It was encrypted. Untraceable. Files, legal precedents

ver a contact list l

ermanently. The Lloyd Group could be ashes by mo

sed the

t

as per

atch them burn

power and ambition. She drew a breath. For the fi

nally being pla