Page 6 of Beautiful Lies

Knox

The boardroom carriesthe scent of polished wood and power. The kind of power that doesn't ask for anything. Ittakes.

Sunlight cuts across the glass walls like stage lights, turning every surface reflective. From up here on the forty-second floor of Vale Global, I have a perfect view of the city sprawling below like a kingdom I've already conquered, feeding me the sweetest lie of all:control.

I've always been addicted to that lie.

Men like me don't just want control. We demand it, crave it. And we always get what we want. No matter the cost.

Joining me around the long mahogany table is my father, Jeremiah Vale. He sits at the head like the emperor of the dynasty he built. Surrounding us are my three brothers: Dorian, the strategist who runs the private equity division with me; Levi, the numbers man behind our hedge fund empire; and Locke, the charmer who keeps our investors docile and the markets in our favor.

A room full of predators. Just like me.

For the last three days, the fallout from the John Monroe fraud scheme has consumed us. Every hour, every breath, every thought. I've just dropped the news about this morning's conquest, and every pair of eyes is riveted to me, intrigued.

I’ve shocked the hell out of them. No one anticipated me coming up with a plan so quickly, let alone one that included marriage to expand our empire.

Once again, I’ve proven there’s nothing I won’t do to become the leader I was born to be.

I earned the nicknamethe Monsterback in my Harvard football days. I was one of the toughest linebackers they’d ever had. I didn’t just crush the opposition, I erased them. I played to dominate. Fear earned me the name. And I carried that same bloodthirst to Wall Street when I started working at Vale Global.

Dad leans forward with his fingers steepled and eyes brimming with pride.

People say my brothers and I look like different versions of him. We have his muscular physique, raven hair, piercing blue eyes, and the olive skin we inherited from our Italian roots. But I'm the one who mirrors him best.

At thirty-two, I’m the eldest. The heir who didn't just walk in his footsteps. I perfected them.

Dorian, Levi, and Locke trail behind at thirty-one, twenty-nine, and twenty-eight. They're successful, having achieved more than most men twice their age. But they haven't accomplished half of what Dad and I had already claimed before we were thirty.

And now I’ve come up with the same kind of ruthless plan a man like him would conjure. The kind that doesn’t just punish the one who wronged you but seeks vengeance from their family, too.

“Do you think the girl will agree to the marriage?” Dad gives me a cool, assessing stare. He knows we have this in the bag. He’s just checking.

“She will. She can’t afford not to.” I smile, remembering my encounter with the beautiful,fieryIsla Monroe.

The way she looked at me with those hazel eyes like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare hands was to be expected. But the fire beneath? That caught me by surprise.

Her tone told me she had a smart mouth but knew when to bite her tongue. Most likely, she was choosing her battles wisely because she knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on.

I also didn’t fail to notice that my little bride-to-be was more striking in person than her pictures on file. And she had a body made for hours of sin.

In three days’ time, the platinum-haired beauty could very well turn me down, but I know she won’t. Unlike me, she has a heart. And she loves her mother.

She won’t let her mother suffer, or die for the sake of pride. That makes her desperate. Desperate people say yes when they have no other choice.

“What about the trust?” Dad’s voice cuts into my thoughts, muddying the memory of Isla Monroe. “Are there any legal loopholes we need to be aware of?”

“No.” I shake my head and smirk. “Just the six-month time frame restriction and the marriage clause.”

“I looked into all legal matters personally and found nothing else we need to be concerned with,” Dorian adds quickly, and we exchange mischievous glances. It was he who stumbled over the evidence of John’s treachery in an audit, then he followed the trail to hell and opened Pandora’s box. “Everything seems to work to our favor.”

"Are you sure it wouldn’t be more beneficial to drag them through court?” Levi suggests with narrowed eyes. He’s alwaysbeen the hothead rebel, preferring brute force over strategy. “It would certainly make an example of them and expose John Monroe."

“No. No court.” My voice slices through Levi’s suggestion. “The man is dead. There’s no point making an example of someone who can’t feel shame. The one thing his family has left is the restaurant. And now that I hold an interest, I won’t let its value be tainted. We also don’t want to be tied to another public scandal.”

“Or reporters digging into the original embezzlement case," Locke says, giving Levi a sharp stare.

"No. We don’t need more press. Knox’s plan makes sense," Dad agrees, and I savor the familiar satisfaction from gaining his approval. "We barely survived that scandal eight years ago. We need to keep this quiet as best as possible. The marriage arrangement solves multiple problems. It keeps the debt in the family, avoids headlines, and ensures we have complete control over the situation."