Chapter 6 - Five Words That Changed Everything
Louis told her the truth that night.
His father had built an empire with two faces.
One appeared in financial magazines.
The other existed in locked rooms.
Victor Sloane had helped manage the second.
When Louis inherited everything, Victor expected him to continue it.
Instead, Louis destroyed it.
But before doing so, he copied records.
Names.
Accounts.
Payments.
Crimes.
Insurance.
“If Victor kills you,” Corrine said quietly, “the evidence comes out?”
“Yes.”
“So he can’t touch you.”
“Not directly.”
“But he can touch me.”
Louis’s silence answered.
Corrine stood.
“This ends.”
Louis looked at her.
“The fake marriage?”
“Yes.”
He nodded immediately.
“If that’s what you want.”
The absence of resistance surprised her.
“You agree?”
“You asked for a choice. You have one.”
She studied him.
“What happens after?”
“I protect you until Victor is dealt with.”
“Without pretending?”
“Yes.”
“And Dawson?”
“We handle him legally.”
Corrine almost smiled.
“You saying ‘legally’ sounds suspicious.”
“It often does.”
She laughed despite herself.
Then someone fired through the window.
Louis moved before the sound registered.
He pulled Corrine to the floor and covered her with his body.
Glass exploded across the room.
Security rushed inside.
Louis lifted his head.
“Corrine?”
“I’m okay.”
“Are you hit?”
“No.”
His hands moved over her shoulders, checking.
“I’m okay.”
Their eyes met.
They were inches apart.
For one suspended second, neither moved.
Then Louis stood and pulled her behind a marble wall.
Another shot never came.
The shooter had delivered a message.
On the floor, among the broken glass, lay the photograph Victor had sent earlier.
A bullet had passed directly through Louis’s father’s face.
Corrine stared at it.
Louis’s expression became cold.
The rules had changed.
May you like
And somewhere in the city, Victor Sloane had just made the mistake Louis had spent years hoping he would never make.
He had aimed at Corrine.
