Chapter 1092
“Julian! My old friend!” Conrad exclaimed, his voice cracking as he took in the massive projection. He spread his arms wide, manufacturing bravado from nothing. “It’s been too long! I heard you were — abroad?”
Julian didn’t blink. He simply stared. “Sit, Conrad.”
Conrad collapsed into the guest chair, wringing his hands. “Look, I need a favor. A big one. Marcus Cain — he’s gone crazy. He’s threatening me.”
“Because of the ruby you stole,” Julian said flatly.
Conrad went pale. “How — how do you know about that?”
“I know everything,” Julian said softly. “Where is it?”
“I hid it,” Conrad stammered. “It’s safe. Look, if you protect me, I’ll give you a cut. Fifty percent. No — sixty!”
Julian let out a low chuckle. It sounded like dry leaves rustling in a graveyard. On the screen, he tapped a key on his laptop. The electronic locks on the conference room doors engaged with a loud metallic thud.
“You misunderstand the situation, Conrad,” Julian said. “I’m not negotiating with you. I’m dissecting you.”
He tapped another key, and a secondary projection appeared on the side wall — grainy footage from a casino security camera. It showed Conrad at a high-stakes table, losing chip after chip. Then it showed him signing a deed, a lien on a Hayes family property, over to a man who worked for Marcus Cain.
“You’re a double agent,” Julian said, his voice dropping to a whisper that, amplified through the surround sound, carried more weight than a shout. “You promised the gem to Marcus to cover your debts. But you got greedy. You tried to give him a fake, hoping to sell the real one elsewhere. And then you made a mistake, didn’t you?”
Conrad was shaking now, tears welling in his eyes. “I — I didn’t mean to…”
“Where is the real gem, Conrad?” Julian leaned forward, the light in the Swiss conservatory catching the deep hollows of his face.
“I don’t have it!” Conrad shrieked, breaking down entirely. “I lost it! I mean — I don’t know where it is!”
“You lost a billion-dollar encryption key?” Julian asked, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.
“I put it somewhere safe! But when I went back — it was gone!”
Julian sat back, disappointment settling over his features like a mask. “You are a waste of oxygen, Conrad. And unfortunately for you, oxygen is a resource I value highly.”
The air in the conference room was so thick with tension it felt solid. Conrad was sobbing into his hands, a pathetic heap of linen and regret.
“Enough theater,” Alistair said, stepping out of the shadows.
Conrad jumped, nearly falling from his chair. “Thorne?! What are you doing here?”
Alistair walked over to him, looming like a thunderhead. “Cleaning up your mess. Because apparently, the Hayes family produces nothing but liabilities.”
“I — I didn’t know you were allied with Vance,” Conrad stuttered, his wide, terrified eyes darting between the three of them and the giant screen.