Chapter 708
Chapter 708:
“You cannot do this,” Beatrice said, hobbling into the room. “It is barbaric. Sienna was a Quinn. Her family has been allied with ours for three generations. You cannot toss her away like garbage p>
“She forfeited her name when she lit that match,” Liam said, standing up. He towered over the desk, his presence filling the room with a menacing energy. “And don’t talk to me about alliances, Grandmother. I know you introduced her to Lucian p>
Beatrice flinched, but recovered quickly. “I did no such thing. But even if she was misguided, we must maintain appearances. The stock is plummeting. If you act like a monster, the board will eat you alive. We need a tragic narrative. The grieving fiancé p>
“I am done with narratives,” Liam snapped. “I am done with lies p>
Skye watched from the open doorway. She had come to confront him about the rumors circulating in the press regarding the funeral, but she felt like an intruder in a violent domestic dispute.
She looked at Liam. He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes that no amount of expensive concealer could hide. But more than that, he looked… cruel. This wasn’t the man who had held her in the rain. This was the tyrant the tabloids painted him to be.
“Liam.” Skye stepped into the room. Her voice was soft, trying to de-escalate the tension. “Beatrice is right about one thing. Not for the press, but for Harper. Harper raised Sienna. She needs closure. A small service. Just for the staff p>
Liam turned to her. The look he gave her made her breath hitch. It wasn’t anger. It was worse. It was total dismissal.
“You’re soft, Skye,” he said, sneering slightly. “That’s why you’ll never truly rule this city. You think with your heart. You think closure matters p>
“It’s called basic humanity,” Skye shot back, stung.
Liam walked around the desk. He stopped inches from her face. She could smell the coffee and scotch on his breath.
“Humanity?” He laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “Did Sienna show humanity when she drugged Harper? Did your precious Parker show humanity when he coded the algorithm that stole millions from the poor in Haven City? Wake up. If you want to survive in this jungle, you have to become the apex predator. And predators don’t bury their lunch p>
𝖱e𝗮𝖽 𝘸𝗂𝘁𝗁𝘰ut l𝗶𝗺і𝘵𝗌 𝘰𝗇 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗇𝗈𝗏e𝗹ѕ.c𝗈𝗆
He grabbed his coat from the rack.
“Do what you want with the ashes,” he threw over his shoulder at Mrs. Higgins. “But if I see a single flower on Kensington property, you’re fired p>
He stormed out, leaving a vacuum of shock in his wake.
Beatrice sank into the guest chair, clutching her chest. “He’s lost his mind. He’s trying to destroy us all p>
Skye stared at the empty doorway. Her heart was pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Why? Why was he doing this? He knew Sienna was a pawn. He knew she was a victim of Lucian’s manipulation. This level of cruelty… it felt performative. It felt like he was trying to make everyone hate him.
That night, the city morgue was quiet.
The fluorescent lights buzzed with the sound of a thousand trapped flies. The air was frigid, kept at a constant temperature to preserve the dead.
Liam stood alone in viewing room three.