Lukas ended the call and lowered his phone slowly.
A quiet laugh escaped his lips as he leaned back on the sofa. He could still hear the pleading in Gloria’s voice.
It amused him. It sounded like music to his ear.
“Of course I knew she would call,” he muttered, lighting up another cigarette. “I made sure she had no other choice.” Everything had gone exactly as he planned.
From the beginning, he had been the one pulling the strings, pressuring company executives, making quiet threats, ensuring that every job Gloria applied for would reject her. He might not be as powerful as his stepbrother yet. But he was powerful enough. Powerful enough to corner her. And those companies wouldn’t want to be in his bad book.
Lukas puffs off smoke from his cigarette, his gaze darkening. “I’ve always wo
