Chapter 117\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 117\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood in front of Craig and watched the color drain from his face as the murmurs in the hall turned into laughter, then into shocked whispers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many moments later, people fell into a stunned silence. Everyone\u2019s eyes were now on the two culprits, judgment already coating the air in my favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes darted to Bella and through my bond I felt her anxiety as she watched me. Through the bond I sent her an assurance that everything will be fine. She swallowed as she nodded, her eyes misty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s mouth opened, but no words came out at first. His eyes darted from one phone screen to another, as if he was hoping the video would change if he looked at it again. His hands trembled, and I could tell he was trying to breathe like a normal person, but panic was winning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, he found his voice. \u201cHow\u2026 how is this possible?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t bother hiding my satisfaction. But my voice defied every ounce of calm control I had been holding all week. I said roughly, \u201cBecause you were never in control, Craig.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes snapped to mine. \u201cNo. That\u2019s not true. I had the leverage. I had the video. You\u2019ve changed the video. This one is fake! How did you manipulate it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tilted my head a little. \u201cYou had a lie. The video you showed to me was fake.\u201d I pointed at the one playing on the screens. \u201cThat one is true.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig stepped forward like he wanted to grab me, like he wanted to do something stupid, but the moment he saw the way my men had formed a loose circle around him, he stopped. Troy was at my side, quiet and watchful, and my security team had already shifted positions so smoothly that none of the guests even realized what was happening until it was already done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig swallowed as disbelief etched on his face. After a few minutes of contemplating what is going on, he pointed a shaking finger at me, \u201cMy men told me\u2026 They told me you were moving funds. They told me you were panicking. That you were trying to pay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a short scoff. \u201cOf course they did. Because they heard what I wanted them to hear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Then his eyes widened in stupefaction. \u201cYou planted it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shrugged. \u201cYou thought you were pulling me into a trap, but you were the one walking into mine.\u201d I needed him confident and smug. I needed him to believe I was desperate, because that is the only way a man like him makes a mistake in public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s lips parted again in pure panic. \u201cNo. You\u2019re lying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d I replied evenly. \u201cAnd you can ask your associate who got approached.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He blinked. \u201cWhat associate?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one you hired, who thinks he\u2019s very private,\u201d I answered, watching his face carefully. \u201cThe one you trusted\u2013who told you I was moving funds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s nostrils flared. \u201cHe was approached?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYep! By a third\u2013party fixer,\u201d I explained, and I saw his fear sharpened. \u201cA financial problem\u2013solver. The kind of person who speaks in careful words and never offers anything directly, because the people who deal with blackmail don\u2019t like direct offers. They like hints. They like \u2018possibilities. They like the idea that they are still the ones making decisions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s throat bobbed. \u201cWhat did he say?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I made my tone almost bored, because I wanted Craig to feel how small he was in this game. \u201cHe approached your man quietly, mentioning I was asking about \u2018private settlements,\u2018 that I wanted everything resolved without law enforcement. He used very deliberate language.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s face twitched. \u201cYou played me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said smoothly. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what you needed to hear, because you interpreted it the way you always interpret things. You heard: Scott is scared. Scott is trying to protect his image. Scott will pay anything to avoid scandal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s jaw tightened as if he wanted to deny it, but his eyes gave him away. He had believed it. In fact, he had enjoyed believing it. His confidence was built around my fears, and now it was collapsing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped closer, lowering my voice just enough that only Craig could hear me. \u201cYour smug satisfaction is what made this work. You were so busy imagining yourself winning that you didn\u2019t notice the ground shifting under your feet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s chest rose and fell hard. \u201cBut\u2026 the video\u2026 the one Maya showed\u2026 that was Bella.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes slid to Maya. She was still standing on the side, frozen in place, her face pale, her lips trembling, and her eyes shiny with real fear now instead of fake tears. She looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was never Bella,\u201d I almost roared. \u201cIt\u2019s all you,\u201d I told Craig, and then I let him have the truth properly. \u201cWhile you were busy threatening my wife, I was busy finding the source of your little masterpiece.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s eyebrows pinched. \u201cWhat source?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked him in the eyes. \u201cDigital forensics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stared blankly, so I continued, still in easy words. \u201cI have people who do nothing but trace files. They pull the truth apart piece by piece. I used hackers!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig swallowed, but he tried to hold his ground. \u201cYou can\u2019t find anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already did,\u201d I replied. \u201cThe file Maya showed? It was edited. The face overlay was Bella\u2019s, but the original footage belonged to Maya. We found the original file.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And this time Craig shuddered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I continued, \u201cOn your private server.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He went still. \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I replied. \u201cAnd my team accessed it easily.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s face twisted in pure shock. Like he couldn\u2019t believe that I hacked his ultra\u2013secure server. One he had bought for thousands of dollars. \u201cYou hacked it?\u201d he rasped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shrugged slightly. \u201cYou tried to destroy my life and my wife\u2019s life. I destroyed yours in return. Don\u2019t act offended.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig looked around like looking for a miracle, but all he found were phones still open with the same video playing. The real video. Craig\u2019s shoulders sagged, realizing that he was actually destroyed for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cThe moment you tried to press \u2018send,\u2018 you didn\u2019t send what you thought you were sending.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were now wild, panic\u2013struck. Oh, how I loved that look. I was waiting for it for so long. The fucking vermin. Fury washed over me like nothing. My Lycan wanted to surge, but I closed my fists, digging my fingernails in my palms to hold him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you never controlled the final trigger,\u201d I scoffed. \u201cYou thought you did. You thought you were clever, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
you could humiliate Bella in front of a room full of people and then walk away with cash. Did you think I wouldn\u2019t know what you were planning? I knew you were going to release this video even after I had succumbed to your extortion demands!\u201d I leaned in a fraction. \u201cYou underestimated me, and you underestimated the kind of resources a man like me has,\u201d I said with a half\u2013snarl that belonged to Storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s throat moved as he swallowed hard. He looked like a man ruined forever. Like someone who was really defeated. \u201cYou\u2026 you set me up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I gritted. \u201cAnd you walked into it willingly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s eyes flicked toward the exit, and I saw the decision form in his mind. He was going to run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 117 Chapter 117\u00a0 Chapter 117\u00a0 Scott\u00a0 \u00a0 I stood in front […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-world-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}