Chapter 9
"What are you doing?!" Brielle shrieked, watching her audience, her leverage, and her protection sprint for the heavy mahogany doors. "You can't just dismiss them! My family's capos are in this room!"
The men loyal to the Shaw family did not stay. They took one look at the cold, calculating fury in Miles's eyes and the armed men loyal to the Ashford syndicate stepping out from the shadows, and they ran just as fast as the civilians.
Within ninety seconds, the expansive grand reception room was completely empty, save for Miles, Brielle, Audrey, Noah, and four heavily armed Ashford bodyguards.
The heavy mahogany doors slammed shut, sealing the room and locking Brielle inside with her greatest nightmare.
"Did you truly believe you could run a psychological torture operation against my child and remain standing in my home?" Miles asked, turning his terrifying focus entirely back to the woman in the emerald gown.
Brielle backed away from the Christmas tree, her heels clicking unsteadily against the polished marble floor. She wrapped her arms around her waist, a defensive posture that crushed the luxurious velvet of her expensive gown. Her diamond earrings shook as her aristocratic bravado finally shattered, leaving only primal terror in its wake.
"Miles, you cannot believe this is worth ending our alliance over," Brielle sobbed, her chest heaving as she tried to backpedal. "We are supposed to unite our syndicates! You cannot throw all of that away because of a misunderstanding! I will hire a painter! I will have a new portrait commissioned!"
Miles stood immovably in his tailored charcoal three-piece suit. He kept his broad shoulders squarely between his son and the woman who had attempted to erase their history. He felt absolutely nothing for her. The political affection he had feigned for the sake of the syndicate merger evaporated instantly, leaving behind a cold, calculating void that craved only survival and absolute retribution.
"Are you prepared to remove the ring from your finger, Brielle, or must I cut it from your hand?" Miles asked, his deep voice carrying a measured, lethal calm.
Brielle flinched violently at the threat. She dropped her hands, her fair skin streaked with ruined makeup. She knew the stories of what Miles Ashford did to traitors within his syndicate.
"You can't do this!" Brielle choked out, the venom returning as self-preservation took over. "My father is Victor Shaw! He commands the entire southern seaboard! He will burn your empire to the ground if you humiliate me like this!"
"Is your father a man who fights battles for foolish, sadistic daughters who assault the innocent?" Miles asked quietly.
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"He will kill you!" Brielle pleaded. "I am going to be your wife, Miles! We signed the contracts! You cannot back out now without causing a massive war!"
"Do you expect me to harbor a monster under my roof to appease a shipping magnate?" Miles asked.
