Oh, how I savored that moment.
I let my lips curve, soft and knowing, tilting my head just enough to let him drown in his own doubt.
“You were wonderful,” I purred, my voice velvety smooth, laced with just enough warmth to sting. “Like always.”
I let him sit there, stewing in the aftermath—the shame, the guilt, the cracks in his carefully built walls widening with every second.
But deep down, he knew.
He hadn’t touched me. He couldn’t.
Della was the only one he wanted. And I knew that.
Still, it didn’t matter. The damage was done. The doubts were planted. His pride was shattered.
And the best part?
He had no idea that everything had gone even better than I’d planned.
That the phone call I intercepted last night—had been the perfect finishing touch. The final twist of the knife.
He didn’t know a thing. And I intended to keep it that way.
When he finally stood, pulling on his clothes with stiff, mechanical movements, he didn’t look at me.
“I’ll work with you,” he said, voice cold, distant, bitter. “But nothing else.”
As he turned to leave, his hand paused just long enough to take the envelope from the console by the door.
Not a word. Not a glance.
But I saw it.
That was all I needed.
I smiled, slow and satisfied. Because love wasn’t what I wanted from him.
Power. And money. That was always the endgame.
And now I had both.
Tighter than ever.
* * *
Now, as I sit in my penthouse office, towering above the city I’ve tamed, the soft chime of my private alert shatters the quiet.
I barely finish reading the message before her name burns into my mind.
Della Toma. Back in Chicago.
My fingers curl slowly around the crystal glass in my hand, the ice clinking softly against the rim. My gaze sharpens, lips pressing into a thin, cold line.
So, she dared to return.
The same girl who had nearly shattered everything I’d built. Everything I’d fought for.
I lean back in my leather chair, crossing my legs with deliberate grace, the city lights flickering behind me. My reflection in the window looks every bit the woman I’ve become—impeccably composed, clad in tailored silk, hair slicked back in a flawless knot. Power, poised on every inch of my skin. Power, I inherited.
