Chapter 242
Chapter 242:
Rose’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll assume you’ve made your choice, and I’ll send everything I have to the FBI.” He nodded, numb. “One hour.”
Outside, in the cool night air, Herod looked up at the stars, barely visible through the city’s light pollution. What had he become? His quest for revenge against Victoria Kane had led him to partner with a monster, to become a monster himself.
He thought of his brother Charles, who had taken his own life after Victoria destroyed their family business. Would Charles approve of what he’d done? Bombing buildings, endangering innocent lives?
No. Charles had been gentle, kind. He’d loved Sophia Kane truly. He’d been devastated by her death—a death their father had arranged out of pure business calculation.
Herod had told himself he was avenging Charles, but the truth hit him like a physical blow: he’d become exactly like their father. Calculating. Cold. Willing to sacrifice anyone and anything for his goals. His phone buzzed with a text from Rose: “50 minutes.”
He stared at the screen, the decision before him impossible. Turn himself in and face justice for what he’d done? Try to stop Rose and likely fail? Go along with her insane plan and become the monster she already was?
The weight of his choices pressed down on him like a physical force. What had started as a justified vendetta against Victoria Kane had twisted into something unrecognizable. Something evil.
He looked up at the Kane Industries tower in the distance, its lights shining against the night sky. Inside that building, Camille and her team were fighting to save what he and Rose had tried to destroy.
His father would have been proud of what he’d done. That thought sickened him more than anything else.
His phone buzzed again. Rose: “45 minutes. Don’t make me come find you.” Time was running out. For him. For Rose. For everyone.
He looked back at the hotel, where Rose waited with her maps, her hatred, and her bombs. Then, he began to walk.
Camille stared at the wall of screens in Kane Industries’ crisis management room. Each one displayed a different news channel, all broadcasting the same images: smoke pouring from the damaged substations, firefighters battling flames, and worried faces of New York citizens wondering if their power would fail next. Three hours had passed since the second explosion. The press would soon arrive, bringing with it questions they needed answers for.
“The press is gathering downstairs,” Hannah said, placing a tablet in front of Camille. “Over forty reporters. All major networks.”
Camille nodded, her eyes never leaving the screens. The headline scrolling across the bottom of Channel 5’s broadcast made her stomach tighten: “PHOENIX GRID FAILURE? KANE INDUSTRIES FACES QUESTIONS AFTER TWIN EXPLOSIONS.”
“Stock futures are dropping,” Alexander added quietly from behind her. “Down twelve percent already.”
Victoria, still pale from her recent surgery but standing tall and defiant, turned to Camille. “You need to address them. Now. Before the market opens.”
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