Chapter 4

Sophie's expression curdled instantly.

She reached out to snatch the document.

A hand in a black leather glove got there first.

Elias calmly pulled the document away and handed it to the assistant beside him.

"Blair's things," he said, his voice low and deliberately quiet, "aren't for just anyone to touch."

The cold edge in his tone made Sophie flinch. She shrank back and ducked behind Julian.

"Julian, they are out of line!"

"This is a charity gala — they came here just to start trouble!"

Julian didn't even glance at her.

His eyes never wavered from my face, holding a kind of bone-chilling insanity.

"Who are you, really?"

"The reserve price on that project is Croft Group's most classified information. How could you have hit it so precisely?"

That data — Julian had encrypted it himself, specifically to keep the board in the dark.

And I was the one who had written the code logic behind it, line by line, over seven years.

No one in the world knew his algorithm patterns. No one except him.

And the dead Audrey.

I watched the vein pulse at his temple and idly brushed my nails against my fingertips.

"President Croft must have a short memory."

"Business is war. Apex Capital is simply better at playing the game."

Julian lunged forward and seized my wrist.

His grip was crushing — like he wanted to grind the bones to dust.

"Impossible!"

"The backdoor to that algorithm — only Audrey knows it!"

"Are you even her?!"

The familiar flutter in my chest never came. Instead, a wave of deep disgust washed over me.

I watched him lose his mind, my expression cold as ice.

The day of the fire, he hadn't hesitated for a single second before strapping that gas mask onto Sophie's face. Had he spared even one thought for me?

"Please conduct yourself with dignity, President Croft."

I wrenched my hand free and, in one smooth motion, threw what was left of my wine straight into his face.

The dark red liquid trickled down his sharp nose and bled into the white of his shirt.

A wave of sharp gasps swept through the hall.

Sophie shrieked and lunged forward, fumbling with her handkerchief as she frantically dabbed at him.

"You crazy woman! Security! Get her out of here!"

Several broad-shouldered guards closed in immediately.

But Julian just stood there, hollow-eyed, letting the wine drip.

He stared at his own empty palm, murmuring to himself.

"The temperature's wrong…"

"Audrey's hands were always cold. Yours are warm."

A body rebuilt by the system wouldn't carry the perpetual chill that years of anemia had left behind.

I didn't bother wasting even a glance on him.

I turned and slipped my arm through Elias's.

"It seems President Croft isn't in any shape to talk business tonight."

"Let's go."

I'd barely taken a step when a thunderous crash exploded behind me.

I turned. Julian had collapsed straight down, hitting the floor hard, shattering glass in every direction.

What had been a perfectly elegant dinner party dissolved into chaos in an instant.

The wail of an ambulance cut through the night sky over Oakhaven.

On the ride back, sitting in the Rolls-Royce, Elias pulled off his mask to reveal that hauntingly beautiful face beneath.

"You provoked him on purpose."

Not a question. A statement.

I leaned back against the leather seat, closed my eyes, and pressed my fingers to my temple.

"I just wanted him to get a taste of what he lost."

"Compared to everything he's done, that barely counts as an appetizer."

Elias turned the black onyx ring on his finger and let out a quiet, dry laugh.

"When a woman decides to be ruthless, men really don't stand a chance."

The cabin fell silent, nothing left but the low hum of the engine.

Then my phone screen lit up.

A text from an unknown number — no name, no contact saved.

"Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock. Abandoned warehouse, west side of the city. Come alone. Don't, and you'll regret it."

A photo was attached.

In it: a gas mask, burned completely black.

The same one Julian had put on Sophie's face three years ago.