Chapter 10 - The Broken Engagement
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Victor forcefully shoved Clara’s hand away. The socialite stumbled backward, her perfect composure finally shattering under the weight of his furious gaze.
"Victor!" Clara gasped, massaging her wrist. "She was insulting me! She was making wild accusations about my father!"
"She was stating facts," Victor corrected coldly. He stepped in front of Lena, entirely shielding her with his broad shoulders. "Leon talked before he died, Clara. He gave me everything. The offshore accounts, the Russian alliance, and your father’s grand plan to assassinate me and seize the ports."
Clara’s face went completely ashen. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The jig was up.
"The engagement is over," Victor stated, his voice echoing with absolute finality in the large drawing room. "You will leave this compound immediately. You will return to your father and deliver a message."
"Victor, please," Clara begged, the arrogant ice queen melting into a terrified child. "I didn't know! My father forced me into this! I love you!"
"You love power," Victor sneered with disgust. "Tell your father that the Romano syndicate is officially cutting all ties with the Whitmore empire. The ports are closed to your ships. The politicians are pulling their support. And if he ever sends another operative into my territory, I will burn his entire legacy to the ground."
"You can't do this!" Clara shrieked, realizing her entire world was collapsing. "The Volkovs will back my father! The Russians will tear you apart! You’re starting a war you can't win over a stupid maid!"
Victor didn't yell. He didn't raise his voice. He simply looked at her with eyes that promised a slow, agonizing death.
"Dmitri," Victor called out to the hallway.
The massive head of security stepped into the room.
"Escort Miss Whitmore off the property," Victor ordered. "If she resists, drag her."
Dmitri grabbed Clara firmly by the arm. She thrashed and screamed, hurling curses at Victor and Lena as she was forcefully removed from the drawing room.
When the heavy doors finally closed, silencing her screams, Victor let out a long, ragged breath. He turned to face Lena. The terrifying monster vanished, replaced by a man looking incredibly weary.
"Did she hurt you?" he asked, his voice dropping into a soft, intimate register.
"No," Lena breathed, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. "You got here in time."
Victor stepped closer, reaching out to gently cup her face. His calloused hands were warm against her pale skin.
"I am sorry she spoke to you like that," he murmured, his dark eyes searching hers. "You are not a stray, Lena. You are the only real thing in this entire, counterfeit world."
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He leaned in, his face inches from hers. The tension between them, simmering for days, suddenly became unbearable. Lena didn't pull away. She tilted her chin up, completely surrendering to the inevitable.
But before their lips could meet, the deafening shriek of the compound’s perimeter alarms shattered the moment.
