Chapter 3 - The Fragile AllianceOver the next few days, the estate became a gilded cage. Genevieve wasn't treated like a prisoner, but like a guest under constant surveillance. She used the time to observe. Mateo wasn't the monster she had written about. He was a man managing a collapsing empire, trying to filter the loyalists from the traitors.
Arthur made his move on the third night.
He didn't come with guns; he came with lawyers and internal auditors, claiming Mateo was mentally unstable after the gala. He brought a board of "investors" who were secretly his co-conspirators.
Genevieve stood in the shadows of the balcony as Mateo faced them in the grand hall. She watched as Arthur leaned in, his voice dripping with false concern. "Mateo, it’s for your own good. The business is suffering. The board wants you to step aside."
Mateo laughed—a harsh, jagged sound. "The board? Or the people you hired to blow up my ballroom?"
The room went deathly silent.
Genevieve saw Arthur’s hand move toward his jacket. She didn't think. She slipped out of the shadows, her voice cutting through the tension. "I have the security footage, Arthur."
Every eye turned to her. She had been bluffing, but she held up her phone. "The ballroom wasn't the only place with cameras. I hacked the secondary feed before I was caught. I saw you give the signal."
Arthur’s face went pale. "She’s lying."
May you like
"Is she?" Mateo asked, taking a step toward his lieutenant. "Because I have the shooters' phones. I have their bank records. And they all lead back to your shell company in the Cayman Islands."
The betrayal was exposed. Arthur signaled to his men, and the estate descended into a blur of gunfire and shouting.
