Chapter 208

Chapter 208:

“Rose?” Herod prompted.

Her hand swept across the counter, sending the photos flying. “It’s not fair! Why does she get everything? The career, the money, Victoria’s approval and fortune, and now him too?”

She stalked across the kitchen, her movements sharp and erratic. Herod watched her warily, keeping the marble island between them.

“We’re still going to destroy her,” he reminded her. “The Grid launch is in a week. We have the information about the western junction vulnerability…”

“Information she’ll protect now more than ever,” Rose cut in. “She has a reason to survive, a future to protect. It makes her more dangerous.”

She yanked open a cabinet, grabbed a crystal tumbler, and slammed it down. The decanter of bourbon rattled as she poured, amber liquid splashing over the rim.

“She’s going to have the life that should have been mine,” Rose continued, her voice rising. “Marriage to someone powerful, our parents’ wealth, Victoria’s company. Respect, admiration, all of it stolen from me.”

“Nothing’s changed,” Herod said soothingly. “Our plan remains the same. The vulnerability in the western junction…”

“Forget the junction!” Rose snapped, spinning to face him. The bourbon sloshed over her hand, unnoticed. “We need to hit her directly. No more sabotage, no more games. I want her gone.”

The naked violence in her tone made Herod pause. He’d always known Rose was ruthless, had admired that quality in her. But the woman before him now, with wild eyes and trembling hands, seemed unhinged in a way that sent warning signals through his brain.

“Directly meaning what, exactly?” he asked carefully.

Rose drained her glass in one swallow. “Meaning exactly what it sounds like. We’ve been too subtle. The Grid launch, the press, Victoria, Alexander, all of them in one place—a perfect opportunity.”

A chill ran through Herod. They had discussed more aggressive approaches before, but always in hypothetical terms. The look in Rose’s eyes now suggested something far less theoretical.

“That’s not what we agreed to,” he said, keeping his voice even. “Corporate takeover, yes. Financial ruin, yes. Physical harm is a different matter entirely.”

“Is it?” Rose’s laugh held no humor. “You’ve been willing to destroy lives through business. Why draw the line here?”

“Because there’s no coming back from that line,” Herod replied. “Right now, we’re engaging in corporate warfare. What you’re suggesting is actual crime.”

Rose stalked toward him, her movements predatory. “Don’t pretend your hands are clean, Herod. Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.”

She was right, and they both knew it. He had imagined Victoria Kane’s downfall a thousand times, had pictured the moment when she recognized him as the…

Architect of her destruction. But there was a vast gulf between imagination and action, between revenge fantasies and actual violence.

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