Page 12 of Forbidden Empire

"You'll thank me for this," she said, stepping around me with a fluidity that made her feel untouchable, untethered. Shemoved toward the box with purpose, her shoulders set with the resolve that came before something final.

"Esme," I warned, my voice sharp, a thread of desperation bleeding through.

But she ignored me and opened the case, the lid creaking in a way that made my chest tighten with a sense of foreboding and dread.

Inside the ornate wooden box lay a collection of documents, photographs, and a small flash drive. Despite their unassuming appearance, I felt the weight and power emanating from these objects.

She turned to me, her once gentle expression hardening into something resolute and unreadable. "This is everything. Zeno's empire, his secrets, his vulnerabilities. It's all here."

I stepped closer, my eyes examining the evidence with a narrowed focus. The air grew heavier with each step, like the secrets within the box pressed against me.

"And you're just handing it over?"

Her smile lacked any real joy as she replied, "Do you think this is easy for me? That I haven't considered every possible outcome?" She snapped the box shut with trembling hands, betraying her calm facade. "You want to destroy Zeno? Here's your chance. But don't expect me to stand by and watch."

Her words hit me like a physical blow, and I stood frozen, trying to make sense of her meaning. "What are you talking about?"

She avoided my gaze and clenched her fists at her sides. For the first time, I saw cracks in her armor, the vulnerability she was so desperate to hide.

"I can't stay here, Aidon. Not after this. If Zeno finds out I'm involved, he'll..." Her voice broke, and she shook her head, unable to finish her sentence. "He'll kill me before you can stop him."

The thought of losing her sent panic surging through me, an unfamiliar feeling that I struggled to push down beneath a mask of control. "Then stay. We'll deal with Zeno together."

But her bitter laughter, filled with disbelief and regret, cut through the tension like a knife. "You still don't understand, do you? This isn't just about Zeno. It's about survival. And the way I survive is if I disappear."

Her words felt like a gut punch, and I needed something to ground me—anger, frustration, anything but the hollow ache of watching her slip away. But before I could argue, footsteps outside the door froze us both in place. Her eyes darted toward the noise, her expression shifting from defiance to dread in an instant.

In a swift motion, she snatched up the box and spun toward me. "Trust me, Aidon," she pleaded. "This is how it has to be."

"Like hell," I growled, reaching out to grab her wrist, but she slipped through my grasp like smoke.

The door burst open as Zeno's guards flooded the room, their weapons drawn. But my focus was on her as the betrayal gutted me like a knife twisting in my chest.

A call from one of my men snapped my focus away from Esme and to the chaos ensuing around me. I shifted, ducking a blow from one of Zeno's soldiers, and retaliated with all the fury churning up from Esme's treachery.

With my team at my back, the fight was short-lived but brutal and merciless. My fury and determination for retribution grew for every bruise I received or drop of blood I spilled.

Esme would pay for this. It was obvious she planned this double cross from the very beginning.

It wasn't until hours later, right as I believed Esme disappeared without a trace, that Ares arrived at my club office.

"I found something, Sir." Ares handed me an envelope.

I tore open the seal and pulled out the contents. Inside the container was a confirmation for admission to a high-stakes poker tournament in Monte Carlo.

"Have you followed up?" I asked.

"A woman with Ms. Theodorus's description arrived in Paris this evening. It is safe to say the information we have is accurate."

I nodded. "Arrange to have our prey captured."

Ares inclined his head.

I turned and stared out of the window, gazing at the city's glittering lights. I clenched my fists and made a silent vow: "No one betrays me and gets away with it, Esme. Not even you. Get ready to pay your penance."

Time to turn the page and watch Aidon and Esme’s cat-and-mouse game begin.

Forbidden Empire