In the study room, Sterling Villa
Damien was catching up on work when his phone rang. The name on the screen, Daniel Anderson, immediately alerted him.
Daniel Anderson was the man carefully dismantling Laurent Industries from the inside, feeding Damien classified information of the company to ensure the company's downfall was irreversible.
He was a crucial pawn in Damien's grand scheme.
Given the day's events due to Aveline's actions, Damien was already on edge. He answered the call, expecting good news. New information to soothe his nerves before he sleeps the night peacefully.
"Yes?" His voice was cold, emotionless. He was paying handsomely for this job. Neither pleasantries nor politeness were required.
Daniel's nervous voice sounded, [Director Ashford, the deal…] There was heavy and anxious silence for a moment, [it's off.]
The grip on Damien's phone tightened. His jaw clenched hard enough to hurt, his fury ticking to another level, "What the hell do you mean it's off? I'm paying you for the damn deal." His voice dropped into a dangerous growl.
Daniel let out a nervous chuckle. [Yes, well... something ca-came up.]
Damien's patience snapped. His tone razor sharp, "I don't give a damn about 'something.' Fix it."
However, the line went dead. The silence that followed was deafening.
Damien exhaled sharply, his fury simmering just beneath his composed exterior.
Daniel had backed out. A man who had nothing to lose but everything to gain from betraying Laurent Industries had suddenly severed ties.
Damien slammed his phone down on the desk, "F**ker." The curse slipped past his clenched teeth.
He ran a hand through his hair, glaring at the reports in front of him. This wasn't just an inconvenience. It was deliberate damage.
Daniel wouldn't have walked away from their deal unless… Someone interfered with his plan.
His mind raced. His gaze flickered toward the door, suspicion curling in his gut.
Aveline?
'Impossible,' He had been watching her the entire day.
Then, "Who the f*ck—" Damien hissed under his breath, already dialing a number. He needed to find out exactly who had ruined his plan.
Well, he didn't know that the man behind his failure was sitting across from Daniel Anderson.
…..
At Obsidian,
The tension in the private lounge was suffocating Daniel. Pale-faced, hands clammy, shaking in fear, Daniel Anderson nervously smiled, unable to look at Alaric, who was eerily calm, yet radiating quiet dominance.
He had called off the deal, he wanted to leave from there. So he met Ezra's sharp gaze, and that made it even harder to breathe.
It was easy for Ezra to find out who was working for Damien. However, it was difficult to enter Laurent's secured network to find the damage in such a short time. Thus, he invited the man for a drink.
And Alaric hadn't even threatened Daniel outright. Just a simple conversation over a drink, where a few pieces of information "accidentally" fell into place.
A missing business license of a vendor of Laurents - Damien's men to steal it.
A hidden financial blunder of the Laurent Industries - The papers were in Damien's hands.
A transaction that could get Daniel thrown behind bars - Millions of dollars paid to a mere manager of a team.
It was too late for Daniel Anderson to realize that Alaric didn't dig into the plan as a friend of Damien.
Thus, by the time Alaric set his glass down, the man had been willing to sever all ties with Damien, just for the chance to walk away unscathed. Because no one could find out his whereabouts if he disappeared from the Obsidian.
Alaric finally spoke, so lazily that it sent shivers down the spine of Daniel. "What are you going to do next?"
Daniel felt the question like his death sentence. He stammered out, "I-I… I will resign from Laurent Industries. Ret- return Damien Ashford's money and… and leave the country." Then he breathed out shakily, waiting for Alaric's approval.
Alaric tilted his head slightly, unimpressed and unsatisfied. He didn't care if Daniel fled the country to avoid getting caught by Damien or returned the money. All he cared about was Aveline and the battle she had to fight.
"Resign - Yes. Money - Use it."
Daniel stiffened, 'Use it?'
Anyway, he nodded vigorously and stood up to flee, but Alaric wasn't finished.
Ezra's gaze pinned Daniel in his position while Alaric leaned forward slightly to reach a napkin on the table. He casually scribbled something on it.
"Write a letter." his voice was unhurried, like he had all the time in the world. "Every detail." He added, "Address it here." He merely glanced at the napkin.
Daniel hesitated. He initially thought that having high-profile connections would be good for his career, but little did he know the conspiracy and dangers of associating with them.
Thus, he wasn't in a position to refuse Alaric but accept it. "Ab-absolutely." He quickly grabbed the napkin and followed Ezra out to another room.
Under the watchful gaze of Ezra, quivering, Daniel wrote the letter with all the details and sealed the letter in the envelope. Then he opened the napkin and wrote an unfamiliar address until his eyes landed on the recipient's name.
Aveline Laurent!?
Daniel's heart nearly stopped. He turned to Ezra in horror.
Did he just write the letter to the daughter of Henry Laurent?
He panicked. He wanted to rip the letter with the envelope and flee the country as soon as possible before Damien Ashford or Henry Laurent hunted him like prey in the wild.
But before Daniel could react to his thoughts, Ezra took the envelope and grabbed Daniel by his collar. He dragged Daniel as he spoke, "You are our guest for the night, Mr. Anderson." His tone was unnaturally polite, "What's the hurry?"
Daniel has to be the one dropping the envelope. Because Alaric didn't want an anonymous appearance of the letter to complicate Aveline.
Hence, Daniel had to stay in the luxurious presidential suite of the Obsidian, yet he wasn't in a state to enjoy any world-class service of the clubhouse.
….
Entrance of the Obsidian,
Alaric stood outside, looking up at the towering clubhouse. He had never expected to use Obsidian like this.
He had once sworn to uphold its neutrality. But for Aveline, he was willing to break all the rules.
A black Rolls-Royce came to a halt beside him. He stepped inside, ready to leave.
Beside him, Giselle Lancaster crossed her legs, her arms folded. "So," she mused, "what's your next move?"
She was in Obsidian to meet a high-profile client who requested to keep their meeting a secret.
So why not quench her curiosity on her way out?
Alaric glanced at his stepsister. They shared a father but not a mother. Nevertheless, young Giselle had grown up to understand Alaric wasn't her enemy.
He would have ignored her and her question if she hadn't been involved in the plan. Thus he exhaled, adjusting his cuffs, "Damien's secret will be out."
Giselle frowned. Damien didn't have one secret, and Alaric wouldn't bother about any secret other than that involving Aveline. "What if she doesn't want it?" She challenged him to rethink.
Alaric's lip arched to a slow, devilish smirk. He never had a chance to associate with Aveline, but he believed in his judgment.
Now that he had stripped Damien of a crucial advantage and bought time for Aveline to put her plan down, "She won't let me down."
He was confident as though he knew her better than she knew herself.
Aveline wasn't going to sit quietly while being stepped on. Even if she tried to walk away from the Ashford family quietly, Damien wouldn't let her.
When she could fight for the livelihood of orphans, she would stake her life to protect her family.
And when she realized she had no easy way out, she would strike back.
"If anything," Alaric murmured, his voice dropping, "She will be phenomenal."
Because a quiet woman isn't an easy target—she's a hidden threat.