Chapter 12
567 Words
Jae refused to wait for the inevitable attack. She moved first.
The moment she discovered that Claudette and Jonah had joined forces, she knew she was in danger. Not just her—Vivienne, Kellin, everyone she cared about. Jonah was ruthless, but Claudette was desperate, and desperation made people reckless.
So Jae played offense and defense at the same time.
She hired private security for Vivienne, men trained to spot a threat before it got close. She changed her routine daily, never taking the same route home, never staying in the same place too long.
But defense wasn’t enough. She needed to eliminate the threat before it reached her.
Jae dug into Claudette’s movements, calling in favors from old contacts, industry insiders, even a few people she would have rather left in the past. Then, finally, a breakthrough—one of Claudette’s former assistants, bitter over unpaid wages, let something slip.
Claudette had been reaching out to dangerous people. People willing to make problems disappear.
Jae paid handsomely for more details. A hacker friend decrypted Claudette’s messages, and what she found chilled her to the bone.
Kill Vivienne. Make it look like an accident. I want Jae broken.
Jae’s blood turned to ice. Claudette wasn’t just trying to ruin her—she wanted to destroy her.
But Jae had learned from her enemies.
She fed Claudette false information, letting whispers circulate that Vivienne would be alone and vulnerable at an upcoming charity event.
Claudette took the bait.
The night of the event, she arrived at the location, expecting to find an easy target. Instead, the police were waiting.
The moment the handcuffs snapped around her wrists, her eyes went wild with fury.
"You think this is over?" she screamed, struggling against the officers. "You think you’ve won?"
Jae met her gaze, her expression cold.
"This was never a game, Claudette."
And as Claudette was dragged away, Jae felt something shift.
She had won.
But victory always came at a cost.
Jonah’s control was slipping through his fingers, and nothing enraged him more.
Claudette had been useful—a pawn, a distraction. But she had failed. And now, she was in custody, a liability.
She had always been arrogant, believing she could manipulate any situation to her advantage. But now? Now she was trapped in a cell, surrounded by people looking for a deal.
And he knew exactly what would happen next.
She would talk.
She would try to save herself.
Jonah couldn't allow that.
So he made a call.
Less than forty-eight hours later, the news broke.
Claudette Dupont—found dead in her cell.
A supposed accident. No witnesses. No evidence.
The official report was vague, the details unsettling. A slip and fall. A freak occurrence.
Jae knew better.
Jonah had silenced her before she could expose him.
A message, loud and clear.
No one betrays Jonah and lives.
Jae had won this battle.
But Jonah wasn’t finished.
She could feel it—the weight of his rage, pressing in from the shadows.
He was watching. Waiting.
And the next time he came for her?
It wouldn’t be through whispers or alliances.
He would come for her himself.
But Jae wasn’t the same woman she had been when this all started.
She wasn’t just surviving anymore.
She was ready.
And if Jonah thought she would break?
He was about to learn just how wrong he was.
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