Chapter 24
Victoria sat on the couch in her living room, her knees tucked under her as she stared into the crackling flames of the fireplace. The news of Gregory’s supposed death had left a heavy cloud hanging over her. Elena sat next to her, clutching a cup of tea like it was the only thing grounding her. Tobias and Jonathan were across from them, both leaning forward, their faces grim.
“They took him out,” Tobias said firmly, breaking the silence. His tone was sharp, his hands steepled in front of his face. “There’s no other explanation. Gregory knew too much. He wasn’t just some middleman—they used him for everything.”
Elena shook her head, her brows furrowing. “It has to be Selena or Damian. Who else would have the means and the motive?”
Jonathan nodded, his voice calm but no less serious. “Selena’s reaction at the board meeting was over the top, even for her. She knows the walls are closing in, and Damian…” He trailed off, glancing at Victoria. “Damian doesn’t exactly have a clean conscience.”
Victoria’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Selena was furious,” she murmured, her fingers tracing the rim of her tea mug. “But Damian… I don’t think he knew. He looked too—”
“Clueless?” Tobias interrupted, his voice dripping with disdain. “That’s his specialty. Playing dumb while he lets Selena do the dirty work. Don’t let his act fool you, Victoria. He’s just as complicit as she is.”
Victoria’s gaze hardened, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she turned to Tobias. “What about Gregory? Why him?”
Tobias leaned back, crossing his arms. “Gregory was the most dangerous of all their puppets. He knew everything. He was their go-to for all the financial dirt—embezzlement, offshore accounts, falsified reports. If he ever decided to talk, it wouldn’t just take Selena and Damian down. It would destroy them.”
Jonathan chimed in, his voice low. “And that’s why they couldn’t let him live. He was a liability, plain and simple.”
“But why now?” Elena asked, setting her tea down on the coffee table. “The timing feels… off. Why not take him out months ago, when Victoria wasn’t a threat?”
“Because Gregory didn’t have a reason to talk back then,” Tobias explained. “He was loyal as long as he was useful. But after the arrest, he became a loose end. They panicked.”
Elena exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just so… blatant. A death in custody? They’re not even trying to hide how desperate they are.”
Victoria frowned, her fingers tightening around her mug. “Desperate people make mistakes. And they’re going to regret this one.”
Jonathan leaned forward, his eyes fixed on her. “Do you think Gregory told anyone else what he knew? Left evidence behind?”
“It’s possible,” Tobias said, though he didn’t sound optimistic. “If he had a contingency plan, we need to find it. Otherwise, everything he knew dies with him.”
The room fell into a heavy silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. The weight of what Gregory’s death meant—another move in Selena and Damian’s game, another piece of the puzzle lost—pressed down on all of them.
Suddenly, Victoria’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, the sound startling in the quiet room. She reached for it instinctively, unlocking the screen. Her eyes scanned the message, and she froze, her breath catching in her throat.
“Victoria?” Elena asked, noticing the change in her expression. “What is it?”
Victoria didn’t answer right away. Her eyes widened as she reread the message, her pulse quickening. Slowly, she lowered the phone, her hand trembling.
“Victoria, what’s going on?” Tobias pressed, his voice sharp.
She looked up at them, her face pale, her voice barely above a whisper. “Gregory… he’s still alive.”
The room erupted into chaos.
“What?!” Elena gasped, sitting up straighter. “How is that possible? The police said—”
“They lied,” Victoria interrupted, her voice trembling but firm. “Or someone else lied to them. The message says he’s alive.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed, his tone laced with suspicion. “Who sent it? Can you trust the source?”
Victoria glanced at the screen again, her mind racing. “It’s an encrypted number. No name, no identifier. Just… this.” She held up the phone, the words on the screen glaring back at them:
“Gregory is alive. But for how long depends on you.”
Tobias leaned over, reading the message aloud. “Depends on you? What the hell does that mean?”
Elena stood abruptly, pacing the room. “If this is true, it changes everything. Gregory might still have the information we need to take them down. But how do we know where he is? Or if this isn’t some kind of trap?”
Victoria’s mind spun, possibilities and dangers colliding in her thoughts. If Gregory was alive, it meant there was still hope—hope for the evidence, for her plan to succeed. But it also meant he was still in danger, and whoever sent the message was playing their own game.
Jonathan broke the silence, his voice calm but urgent. “We need to figure out who sent this and why. If Gregory is alive, we can’t waste time. Selena and Damian will be scrambling to cover their tracks, and if they find him before we do…”
“They’ll finish the job,” Tobias finished grimly.
Victoria stood, clutching her phone tightly. “Then we have to move fast. No more waiting, no more guessing. If Gregory has what we need, we’re going to find him. And we’re going to end this.”
The room fell silent again, the weight of her words sinking in. The stakes had never been higher, and the clock was ticking.
