Chapter 5
The center of the grand salon felt like an executioner’s block. Selena knelt on the cold marble, her emerald satin gown pooling around her in a stark contrast to the white stone. Her diamond earrings swayed as she trembled, no longer the untouchable heiress. Beside her, Arthur Cross looked pale and furious, sweating profusely under the aim of the Mercer rifles.
Damon pulled a carved walnut chair from a nearby table and placed it directly in front of his former fiancée. He sat down, leaning forward, resting his tattooed hands on his knees. He radiated a quiet, suffocating menace.
"Explain," Damon commanded softly.
"I loved you, Damon," Selena cried, her polished mask completely shattered, leaving behind a frantic, desperate woman. "From the moment our families started doing business. But you chose her. A nobody. A civilian who flinched every time a gun went off. She didn't understand what it takes to rule this city."
"So you decided to play God," Damon said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"I did what had to be done!" Selena spat, a venomous edge returning to her tone. "I arranged the accident. I paid the paramedics to switch the bodies. I brought her here because... because I wanted her to know that I won. I wanted her to sit in the dark and realize that I took her husband, I took her home, and I took her life."
Arthur Cross stared at his daughter in sheer horror. "Selena, are you insane? You dragged our entire syndicate into a war over jealousy?"
"It wasn't just jealousy, Father!" Selena shrieked. "It was power! The Mercer empire combined with ours makes us untouchable. Damon needed a strong queen, not a weeping liability!"
Damon tilted his head slightly, his sweeping, dark hair catching the light of the chandeliers. "You couldn't have pulled this off alone, Selena. Bribing paramedics is one thing, but altering the coroner's report, manipulating my personal security detail the night of the crash... you had help. Someone inside my house."
Selena’s lips curled into a cruel, desperate smile. If she was going to burn, she was determined to take the rest of his world with her.
"Of course I had help, darling," Selena mocked, her eyes glinting. "You think you inspire such perfect loyalty? Your men respect power. When Miriam started talking about wanting to leave the life, about wanting to take Lily away so she wouldn't grow up around killers... your own people decided she was a liability."
Damon’s blood ran cold. The betrayal wasn't just an external attack; it was a rot deep inside his own foundation.
"Who?" Damon asked, his voice dropping to a lethal timber.
"I'll never tell you," Selena laughed bitterly. "You can kill me, Damon, but you'll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, wondering which one of your trusted lieutenants is waiting to put a bullet in your back."
Damon stood up slowly. He adjusted the cuffs of his tailored suit, his luxury wristwatch gleaming. He looked down at Arthur Cross.
"Arthur. Your daughter has committed an act of war against the Mercer family. Her life is mine," Damon stated, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
May you like
"Damon, please, she's my only child," Arthur begged, pride completely abandoned.
"Take them both to the holding cells beneath my estate," Damon ordered his men, turning his back on the pleading father and the laughing daughter. "And prepare the cars. We are leaving this cursed house."
