Chapter 16 - Fractures in the Sanctuary
We returned to Luca’s private penthouse suite on the top floor of the Waldorf Astoria past midnight.
The glittering lights of the Strip stretched endlessly beneath our balcony, but inside, the atmosphere was fraught with danger.
Gabriel was already inside, waiting with a team of forensic cyber analysts.
On the dining room table sat the titanium briefcase Ryan had told me about.
Gabriel’s team had retrieved it from the abandoned boat at Lake Mead just two hours earlier.
The briefcase had been breached using the micro-key extracted from Ryan’s old wedding watch.
Inside lay hundreds of encrypted flash drives, original property deeds, and ledger notebooks bound in dark calfskin.
Luca poured two glasses of scotch and handed one to me.
His hands were steady, but the exhaustion was beginning to show around the corners of his eyes.
"The SEC freeze bought us forty-eight hours," Luca said, staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass.
"Eleanor’s offshore attorneys are already filing an emergency writ of habeas corpus to unfreeze the domestic holding accounts."
"Worse, my board of directors had an emergency meeting tonight."
I set my glass down, a knot tightening in my stomach.
"What did the board decide?" I asked softly.
Luca looked at me, his jaw set in a hard, protective line.
"Marcus, my Chief Financial Officer, led a faction demanding that I step down as Chief Executive until the Macau laundering allegations are dismissed."
"They claim the reputational risk to the firm is fatal."
"Marcus was Ryan's former associate before I brought him into my fold three years ago," I said, putting the pieces together instantly.
"He’s Eleanor's inside man."
Luca nodded grimly.
"He had access to my digital signature keys."
"He is the only one who could have forged those transfer authorizations to make the Macau accounts look legitimate."
I felt a surge of guilt burning in my chest.
Luca had saved me when I was penniless and broken on the red carpet.
He had given me the resources to build my empire, to reclaim my dignity, and to exact my retribution on Ryan.
And now, my past was dragging him into the fire.
"Luca," I said, walking over to him and taking his hand.
"Step back from the hospital project."
"Distance your firm from me publicly."
"Let Eleanor focus all her venom on me."
"You don't deserve to lose your legacy for a war that started between me and the Bennetts."
Luca pulled me toward him, his grip firm, unyielding, and fierce.
He looked deep into my eyes, and there was no doubt, no hesitation, only an overwhelming, absolute devotion.
"Listen to me, Claire," he whispered, his voice resonating through the silent room.
"I didn't choose this alliance because it was convenient."
"I chose you because you are the only woman in this entire corrupt city who possesses a spine of pure steel."
"We built this kingdom together, and we will burn anyone who tries to tear it down."
"There is no stepping back."
May you like
"Tomorrow morning, we expose Marcus."
"And then we break Eleanor Bennett once and for all."
