Marcus paced the marble floors of his private conference suite at Ashcroft Tower, the silence between his calls growing longer. He had summoned them all—his most trusted allies. Or at least, the ones who hadn't already drifted toward Anita's gravity.
Four showed up. Six declined. Three sent representatives.
He noticed every absence.
"I need to know where we stand," he began, voice even but cold. "The situation is temporary. The injunction is just a move to stall the merger. We'll beat it."
No one spoke at first. Then Morrow, the COO of Ashcroft Holdings, cleared his throat.
"Beating it depends on what evidence she filed, Marcus. If the board smells corruption—"
"They won't," Marcus snapped. "They don't have proof of anything that sticks."
Morrow raised a brow. "Then why are you sweating?"
The room tensed.
Marcus leaned forward, voice low. "Because she's coming for blood. And if we break ranks now, she'll get it."
One of the investors, a man named Brigham who had once begged Marcus for a seat at the table, finally spoke.
"What if she already has it? The SEC audit is live. GNV's legal team is cooperating. You think they'd do that without something solid?"
"She's bluffing," Marcus insisted, though the words felt thinner now. "And if you back her play, you're choosing a woman who abandoned this company over the man who built it into a global power."
Brigham stood. "No, Marcus. We're choosing survival."
After the meeting dissolved, Marcus stood alone in the empty suite.
He poured himself a drink. His hands were shaking.
Allies were abandoning him. The press had gone quiet—but he knew silence was the sound before scandal broke.
And worse—he couldn't prove what Anita had. He had buried Elektra deep. There was no way she—
His thoughts froze.
Clara.
Marcus picked up his phone and dialed.
"Get me surveillance on Clara . I want her followed. Her devices monitored. Whatever she's given Anita—I want it destroyed."
But even as he gave the order, a sick certainty crawled in his gut.
He wasn't chasing her anymore.
He was trying to outrun her.
And Marcus Delaney… had just realized he might already be too late.