Chapter 10 10

Landon casually flipped open the cover of her business proposal. He glanced at the first page for less than two seconds before tossing it back onto the desk. The glossy document slid across the polished surface, coming to a stop with half of it hanging precariously over the edge.

Adelina's heart felt like it was hanging there with it.

"Your five core patents," Landon began, his voice dripping with condescension, "are a joke. Two of them are on the verge of being made obsolete by emerging technology."

"Our R&D team is already developing the next generation," Adelina countered, her voice tight. "With Apex's capital, we can accelerate the rollout."

Landon let out a short, sharp laugh. "Capital? You talk about capital, but you don't understand the first thing about risk." He gestured to a large screen on the wall, and a stock chart appeared. It was Starlight's, from three years ago. It showed a cliff. A steep, brutal drop.

"This," Landon said, his voice turning cruel, "is what happened to Starlight's market value the day you decided to run away from your wedding. Your little fit of pique cost your shareholders two billion dollars. Two. Billion. Dollars."

The words were a physical blow. The color drained from Adelina's face.

Behind her, she heard Gage's hand tighten around his whiskey glass. A faint creaking sound.

Landon pressed his advantage, his eyes merciless. "You want to know why no one will invest in you, Miss Alexander? It's not because of your balance sheet. It's because of you. You are a woman who walks away from her commitments. You are unreliable. You are, in Wall Street terms, corporate poison. A time bomb. And no one," he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a hiss, "is going to give a match to an arsonist."

Adelina felt the air leave her lungs. She tried to speak, to defend her grandfather's legacy, but her voice caught in her throat, trembling.

"So, no," Landon said, standing up to deliver the final, killing blow. "Apex will not be investing. In fact, I will be advising our network to short Starlight's stock. Heavily."

Her defenses crumbled. In this world of predators, she was nothing but prey.

She turned her head, her eyes, now shining with unshed tears, finding Gage's. "Is this what you wanted?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Gage looked at the raw pain on her face, the shimmer of tears in her eyes, and his heart felt like it was being crushed in a vise. But he couldn't show it. Not in front of Landon.

He forced a cold, mocking smile onto his lips. He tossed back the rest of his whiskey in one swallow. "I just came to confirm that you're as foolish as I remember," he said, his voice like gravel. "And you are."

A single, hot tear escaped and traced a path down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and lifted her chin.

Without another word, she walked to the desk and picked up her proposal. She slid it back into her briefcase with a steady hand.

She turned and walked toward the massive glass doors, her back perfectly straight, her heels clicking a defiant rhythm.

At the door, she paused. She looked back at the two men, at the kings in their castle. "One day," she vowed, her voice low but shaking with fury, "you will both pay for this."

Then she was gone.

The moment the door clicked shut, the crystal whiskey glass in Gage's hand shattered.

Crack.

Shards of glass dug into his palm. Blood, dark and red, welled up, dripping from his fingers onto the pristine white carpet.

Landon raised an eyebrow, his mask of cruelty dropping. "Don't you think you went a little too far?"

Gage ignored the pain, grabbing a napkin from the bar to wrap his bleeding hand. His eyes were dark, dangerous. "What you said about shorting the stock better have been an act," he snarled at his cousin, his voice a low growl. "I don't care how you humiliate her, but if you or anyone in your network shorts a single share of Starlight, I will burn your entire portfolio to the ground. She's mine to break. No one else."

Outside, the sky had opened up. A torrential downpour lashed the city. Adelina stood on the pavement, not bothering to shield herself. The cold rain soaked her red suit, plastering it to her skin and making her shiver uncontrollably. But the chill that ran through her bones was nothing compared to the glacial ice encasing her heart. She didn't care about the cold, or the ruined suit, or the stares of strangers.

She pulled out her phone, her fingers numb and clumsy. She scrolled through her contacts to a number that had been blocked for three years.

Her thumb hovered over the screen. Then she pressed "Unblock."

She wiped the rain from her face, her expression hardening into a mask of grim determination. The time for playing by their rules was over. It was time to call in a monster of her own.