Chapter 709
Chapter 709:
On the stainless steel table lay a body bag. It was zipped up to the neck. Sienna’s face was pale, untouched by the fire that had consumed the rest of her body. She looked peaceful, almost like the girl he had known years ago, before the ambition and the drugs and the Syndicate had twisted her into a weapon.
Liam reached out. His hand trembled slightly. He touched her cold forehead.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. The sound was swallowed by the hum of the refrigeration units.
He wasn’t sorry for her death. She had made her choices. He was sorry for what he had to do to her memory. He was sorry that he had to use her corpse as a billboard for his own simulated madness.
“They have to believe it,” he murmured to the dead woman. “They have to believe I’ve snapped. It’s the only way they’ll let me in p>
He pulled his phone from his pocket. He typed a message into an encrypted app. The recipient was labeled only as “J p>
The bait is in the water. The sharks smell blood.
He hit send.
He looked at Sienna one last time, then zipped the bag shut with a final, decisive sound. When he walked out of the morgue, his face was a mask of stone again. No tears. No regret. Just the cold, hard resolve of a man walking willingly into hell.
The morning sun did not bring warmth to the Vance Estate; it only illuminated dust motes dancing in the silent library.
Julian Vance sat in his wheelchair by the window, a blanket draped over his legs. To the outside world, he was a recovering invalid, barely clinging to consciousness. To the select few in this room, he was the puppet master pulling strings visible only to him.
Skye paced the length of the Persian rug, her heels sinking into the thick pile. She held a tablet in her hand, her knuckles white.
“Have you seen this?” she demanded, thrusting the screen toward Julian.
Julian didn’t look at the tablet. He looked at her, his expression serene. “I assume you’re referring to the headline: ‘Kensington Tyrant Denies Funeral Rites to Tragic Fiancée p>
𝗢𝘯l𝗒 𝘤𝘰𝗺𝗉𝗅е𝗍𝘦d 𝗻𝗈𝗏е𝗹𝘴 𝘰𝗻 𝗯е𝗹𝗇𝗼𝘷𝖾𝗅ѕ.𝖼𝗼𝗆
“It’s everywhere,” Skye said, her voice rising. “Twitter, the news networks, the financial blogs. People are calling him a sociopath. BoycottKensington is trending number one globally. The stock opened down twelve percent p>
“Excellent,” Julian said. He took a sip of his herbal tea.
Skye stopped pacing. She stared at him, incredulous. “Excellent? Julian, he’s destroying his legacy! The board is calling an emergency meeting. They’re going to vote him out. They’re going to strip him of everything p>
“That is the plan, Skye,” Julian said gently. “Sit down. You’re making me dizzy p>
Skye sat on the edge of the sofa, her body coiled tight. “What plan? Suicide by media p>
“Liam needs to be severed from the company,” Julian explained, setting his cup down. “As long as he is the CEO of Kensington Global, he is a target for the Syndicate’s legal attacks. They can squeeze the company to get to him. But if he is… disgraced? If he is ousted? He becomes a rogue element. A loose cannon. The Syndicate loves loose cannons. They try to recruit them p>
“He’s going undercover,” Skye realized, horror dawning on her. “He’s making himself toxic so the board kicks him out, and he can infiltrate the Syndicate from the bottom up p>