Chapter Ten: Spies
1136 Words
BRYAN
“There are rumours,” Jason continued carefully, his voice measuring the way it always was when he knew he was standing on a minefield, “that Arnold is in league with Suzanne. They’re the reason the paper company was exposed and the reason you’re being investigated.”
The room went quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet.
The kind that rang.
I stood there for over ten seconds without saying a word. I didn’t blink. I didn’t move. My mind ticked forward in slow, deliberate steps, connecting lines that had been forming for years.
Arnold.
Suzanne.
The leaks.
The timing.
Then my mother lifted her hand and slapped me.
The sound cracked through the air.
Her hand trembled afterwards more than my face did as heat bloomed across my cheek. I barely felt the pain. I felt the insult.
“I warned you,” she said, her voice shaking now, sharp with fear rather than anger. “I warned you about provoking Arnold. Whatever you do, don’t mess with Arnold.”
She grabbed my shirt collar, fingers digging in like she was trying to anchor herself.
“I told you,” she went on, eyes wild, “that man is dangerous. Breaking him has exposed you. Expose us.”
I slapped her wrist away.
Hard.
“So I should let him walk away?” I snapped. “After being the first person who betrayed me? He switched to the Reds without my consent, so why should I show mercy?”
“You shouldn’t—” she started.
“I shouldn’t?” I cut in, my voice rising despite myself. “Why do I have to own every goddamn disaster in this family?”
I took a step back, breathing hard.
“I’m your scapegoat. Dad’s. Even my brother’s,” I growled. “And now I’m supposed to pretend Arnold didn’t tamper with half the company while I spent years cleaning his mess in silence?”
“Arnold isn’t the problem right now,” my mother said quickly. “Let’s stop this.”
I scowled. That was her trick.
Expose her truth, and she shifted the narrative.
“Your brother...” she began.
“I know,” I said flatly. “He sent Victor Volkov. I know exactly who pulled that string.”
My eyes flicked to Jason.
“He’s in the country,” I added.
A slow smile curved my lips.
“I’m going to give him a show at my wedding.”
My mother studied me, something sharp and amused glinting in her gaze.
“You needed leverage,” she said. “That’s why this wedding is happening.”
I didn’t deny it.
“That’s why a commoner dying at the scene wouldn’t hurt publicity too much,” I said coolly. “Though it would be… unfortunate if Mai got caught in the crossfire.”
Unfortunate.
I hadn’t even tasted her yet.
I hadn’t poured this much money into acquiring something just to lose it.
My mother smiled, satisfied.
“How is the wedding preparation coming along?”
“Everything’s fixed,” I replied.
She nodded, approval settling into her features.
“And your women?” she asked. “What will you do about them?”
I smiled through my teeth.
“That’s my business. I’ll discard them when they’re no longer useful.”
She studied me for a long moment, then turned and walked out.
I frowned slightly and turned back to Jason. His eyes were lowered now, tablet still clutched in his hands.
“What about Suzanne?” I asked. “Did you find her?”
“She met Arnold a few hours ago,” Jason said. “Then she went off the grid again.”
Suzanne.
My stepsister.
She’d haunted me for ten years ever since I took over as CEO. Every move she made was quiet, calculated, designed to rot foundations rather than burn them.
“Find her,” I ordered. “Watch her closely. She may show up at my wedding tomorrow.”
Jason nodded.
“And Arnold?” I asked.
Jason froze.
Something flickered across his face, shock, disbelief, fear. He looked down at his tablet, scrolling fast. His eyes widened.
I ripped the tablet from his hands.
Arnold...In Mai’s bedroom...Sitting beside her.
Tending.
My blood spiked.
“I gave clear orders,” I growled, grabbing Jason by the collar. “Clear orders. No one sees Mai. No visitors. No exceptions.”
“I’m sorry...”
“Sorry?” I shoved him back. “Or are you eager to keep losing men? Have all these killings finally rotted your brain?”
I tossed the tablet to the floor and stepped over it, already moving.
I reached Mai’s door.
The guards stood frozen.
“I’ll deal with all of you later,” I barked. “Get out.”
They scattered.
I tore the door open and Mai was sitting on the bed with Arnold seated beside her.
Too close.
He was smiling, whispering something into her ear. She giggled softly... softly... and turned her shoulder toward him as his fingers brushed her skin.
Arnold’s eyes met mine first.
Slowly, his hand slid higher to her neck.
“What about here?” he asked her, never breaking eye contact with me. “Does it hurt?”
I forced myself not to reach for my gun. I forced myself not to lose control.
“You’re here,” Arnold said mildly, as if announcing the weather.
Mai stood abruptly.
“B–Bryan,” she stuttered, as I’d just caught her somewhere she didn’t belong.
I stepped forward, my fury aimed squarely at Arnold.
“What are you doing in my wife’s room?” I asked.
Mai stood between us.
Not close enough.
I grabbed her and pulled her to my side, close enough to feel her heat, to let her feel the anger barely contained beneath my skin.
“I was helping her,” Arnold said calmly. “Your woman nearly tore her apart. I intervened.”
“She didn’t ask for your help.”
“She didn’t need to,” he replied coolly. “She’s seen enough since entering your world to make anyone ache.”
He leaned in slightly, “I was just trying to help.” He added with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
I clenched my jaw.
“No one touches my wife,” I said. “No one.”
Arnold’s gaze sharpened. Then a few laughs escaped his lips.
“Does she know?” he asked suddenly.
He stepped closer, voice dropping.
“That she’s going to die tomorrow?”
Mai gasped.
“That you’re staging a wedding to kill her.”
My vision tunnelled. My teeth gritted.
“Arnold—”
But it was too late.
Because Mai was already looking at me.
- Writer
