Chapter 5 - The Dark Truth
I thought the confrontation at the office would be the end of it. I thought breaking Gregory financially and emotionally would force him to disappear quietly into the night.
I underestimated the desperation of a drowning man.
Later that afternoon, Marcus walked into my office. His face was grim, a rare expression for a man who had seen war zones.
“We found something else,” Marcus said, bypassing pleasantries. He placed a single piece of paper on my desk. “And it elevates this from a messy divorce to a criminal conspiracy.”
I picked up the document. It was an insurance policy.
A life insurance policy.
“He took this out three days before your wedding,” Marcus explained, his voice low and dangerous. “Two million dollars. And the clause is very specific. It pays out double in the event of accidental death or a fatal home invasion.”
A chill ran down my spine, freezing the blood in my veins.
Suddenly, the dinner incident made terrifying sense.
Gregory kicking the table, throwing the food, isolating my accounts, trying to break my spirit... he was establishing a pattern of domestic volatility.
“He wasn't just trying to bully me into giving him my credit cards,” I realized out loud, my voice barely above a whisper. “He was setting the stage. If a 'home invasion' happened, or if I had a fatal 'accident,' he would play the grieving husband. The broken plates, the fights... he could easily spin that to the police as marital stress leading up to a tragic event.”
Marcus nodded. “The gambling syndicate he owes money to? They aren't just bookies. They are violent enforcers. We intercepted a burner phone text from Gregory to one of their lieutenants this morning. He promised them a payout by the end of the month.”
The anger I had felt the night before was nothing compared to the dark, consuming fury that ignited in my chest at that moment.
Gregory didn't just want my money. He had put a price tag on my life.
“What are your orders, boss?” Marcus asked, cracking his knuckles. “Say the word, and I'll have a team pick him up. He'll disappear into a black site before dinner.”
It was tempting. God, it was tempting. To let Aegis handle him the old-fashioned way.
But I was my father's daughter. I didn't just want him gone. I wanted him to face justice, humiliated and stripped of every ounce of his false dignity. I wanted him to be caught red-handed.
“No,” I said, standing up and walking to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the city. “If we make him disappear, we are no better than criminals. We let him play his hand.”
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“He's going to try to kill you, Elara.”
“He's going to try,” I corrected, a cold smile touching my lips. “We are going to set a trap. And Gregory is going to walk right into it.”
