[CONTENT TEMPLATE HERE]
Chapter 688:
June. In Whole Foods. Laughing at something Easton Hahn had said, her head tilted back, her hand reaching for his arm in a gesture of intimacy that Crawford felt in his own body like a physical wound.
He swiped to the next image. Easton leaning close, his mouth near her ear, his hand on the small of her back. The angle suggested protection. The angle suggested possession.
Crawford’s hand tightened on the tablet until the screen spiderwebbed with cracks beneath his thumb. He didn’t flinch. He set it down gently on the desk, a faint, terrible smile on his lips. His chest rose and fell in a single controlled breath, the rage contained, focused into something far more dangerous than physical destruction.
“Sir.” His security chief’s voice came from the doorway, hesitant, aware of the danger in the room. “The team reports that Hahn made them. He’s skilled—ex-military, probably. He’s already taking evasive action p>
“Follow them.” Crawford’s voice emerged flat, controlled, the voice of a man who had learned early that displays of emotion were weaknesses to be exploited. “I don’t care how. I don’t care what it costs. I want to know where they go. What they do. Who they—” he stopped, his vision blurring with something that felt dangerously like rage, “—who they touch p>
“Sir, with respect, if we push too hard, he’ll know. He’ll tell her. She’ll p>
𝗟a𝘁eѕ𝘵 𝘤𝗵𝖺𝗽𝘵𝘦r𝗌 о𝗇 𝗴𝗮𝗅𝗇o𝗏е𝗹ѕ.𝖼o𝗆
“I don’t care what she knows,” Crawford said, his voice dropping to a terrifying calm. “I don’t care what she thinks. She is—” he stopped, taking another measured breath, “—she is mine. She has always been mine. And I will not let him take her from me p>
He turned to his security chief with an expression that was perfectly composed and absolutely terrifying.
“New orders,” he said. “Stand down the active surveillance. Pull the team back p>
“Sir p>
“She knows we’re watching. She’ll be expecting it.” Crawford moved to the window, looked out at the city that had always bent to his will, and smiled. “So we stop watching. We stop following. And we start preparing p>
“Preparing for what, sir p>
Crawford turned. His smile widened, and it did not reach his eyes.
“For the fallout,” he said. “The Beasley case is about to detonate, and Cole Compton is standing at ground zero. His company is over-leveraged, his board is nervous, and this scandal will be the final push p>
He moved to his desk, opened a drawer, and withdrew a file that had been prepared months ago, waiting for exactly this moment.
“Contact our M&A division. I want them ready. When Compton Group’s stock begins to hemorrhage, we will be positioned to acquire their key media assets from the wreckage. Not as a predator. As a savior p>
“Sir, that will still put us in direct conflict with her. She will see it as an attack p>