Chapter 580
Chapter 580:
He pulled it out. It was a piece of paper, folded into a tight square, smeared with blood.
He unfolded it.
It was a receipt from a shipping container rental facility. On the back, in handwriting Alistair recognized from a hundred business contracts, was a scrawled message:
Docks. Pier 13. Victoria Hayes stole the reserve during the extraction. She has it.
Liam.
Alistair stared at the note. “Victoria,” he breathed. “She must have been Lucian’s fail-safe. Or she scavenged it when he went down p>
Skye’s eyes widened. “Victoria? Why would she have it p>
“Because she’s a survivor,” Alistair said, his face darkening. “And she knows exactly what it’s worth to me.” He looked at Skye. “Hold on. Just a little longer p>
The rain had stopped, leaving the city slick and black.
At the container yards, shadows moved.
Liam Kensington sat in the driver’s seat of a stolen sedan, watching the entrance to Pier 13. He had bandaged his head wound with duct tape. He looked like a madman.
He saw a limousine pull up. Victoria Hayes stepped out. She was wearing a trench coat and sunglasses at midnight.
“Subtle, Vic,” Liam muttered.
She was carrying a cooler.
Liam reached for his gun, but stopped. He saw another car approach—a Thorne Security vehicle.
Alistair had gotten the note.
Inside the Thorne Estate, the atmosphere was poisonous.
Victoria Hayes stood in the grand foyer. She was flanked by two of Alistair’s guards, who held her arms, but they hadn’t confiscated the cooler she clutched to her chest. She had made it clear: if anyone touched her, she would drop it, shattering the glass vials inside.
She held a blue vial in her hand, taunting Alistair.
о𝗋і𝗴i𝗇𝘢𝘭 𝗏е𝘳𝗌𝗶𝗈n оո 𝖻𝘦l𝗻𝗼𝘃e𝗅ѕ.𝘤о𝗆
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Victoria smiled. “Lucian called it his masterpiece. I call it my insurance p>
Alistair stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Give it to me p>
“I don’t think so,” Victoria tutted. “We have unfinished business, Alistair. You left me at the altar five years ago. You humiliated me for her p>
She pointed the vial at the ceiling. “So here is the deal. You marry me. Tonight. We sign the papers, merge the assets, and you announce to the world that you made a mistake with Skye p>
“Do that, and she lives p>
“You’re insane,” Alistair said.
“I’m a Hayes,” Victoria corrected. “We take what we want p>
“Don’t do it, Alistair p>
Skye was at the top of the stairs. She was leaning heavily on the banister, wearing a silk robe. She looked like a ghost, but her eyes were burning.
“Skye, go back to bed,” Alistair warned.
“If you marry her,” Skye said, her voice shaking but clear, “I will die anyway. I’d rather die free than watch you shackled to that monster p>
Victoria laughed. “So dramatic. Look at you, Skye. Dr. Aris said twenty-four hours, didn’t he? Well, by my watch, you have maybe… thirty minutes before your heart stops. Tick tock p>