I had hidden my lineage from Dominic to ensure he loved me for me, not my father’s bank accounts. My brothers had furiously opposed our marriage but ultimately respected my stubbornness, secretly subsidizing Dominic’s failing firm behind the scenes so he could play the part of the successful provider.
The dial tone rang once. A click echoed through the earpiece.
“Viv?” Victor’s deep, razor-sharp voice materialized, instantly detecting the abnormal silence on my end. “What’s wrong?”
I stared at Chloe, the storm brewing in my eyes matching the hurricane raging outside.
I stroked Sophia’s damp hair, keeping my voice distinct and completely devoid of any tremor as I delivered my report to the underworld kingpin of New York finance.
“Victor, I am standing in the ground-floor lobby of Vanguard Horizon. Sterling Capital holds the primary shadow stake in this firm, correct?”
A subtle shift occurred in the static of the cellular connection. “We do,” Victor murmured, his tone dropping a fraction of an octave into something lethal. “What happened there, Viv?”
“Dominic brought another woman to his corporate gala. He is parading her around as his wife. His secretary just threatened to have security drag us out into the freezing rain. Sophia is crying, Victor. Her heart is broken.”
An absolute, terrifying silence radiated from the other end of the line. I knew the protective older brother had just evaporated, replaced entirely by the cold-blooded executioner.
“I see,” Victor said softly. “That arrogant little nobody has forgotten his exact place in the food chain. What do you require from your brothers, Viv?”
I looked up at the opulent crystal chandelier hanging above the marble floor. “I want you to obliterate him, his new mistress, and every single executive who enabled this. Rip away every dime, every title, and every piece of status they believe they own. Strip them to the bone.”
“Understood. The operation initiates now,” Victor stated. “Take Sophia and leave the building.”
“No,” I replied, my voice hard as flint. “I am going to watch the end of their world with my own two eyes.”
“Give me exactly three minutes,” Victor said.
The line went dead. I slid the phone into my pocket and straightened my spine, pulling my shoulders back. The sudden, regal shift in my physical posture caused Chloe to flinch involuntarily.
“I don’t know what kind of cheap bluff you’re running,” Chloe mocked, recovering her haughty facade. “Our corporate defense attorneys will squash an amateur like you like a bug.”
