The silence in the room felt suffocating. Cambria's breath hitched as she bent down to pick up her phone, her fingers trembling slightly. She quickly unlocked the device, her mind racing. She had already braced herself for the worst, but the message from Elara sent a fresh wave of dread coursing through her veins.
"Cambria, we've got a bigger problem. Elena's going public with everything. And there's a new piece to this puzzle something you won't believe."
The message was cryptic, but the urgency was undeniable. Cambria's mind began to churn, piecing together what Elara might mean by a "new piece" to the puzzle. What had Elena done now? And why did Elara sound so alarmed?
She looked up at Julian, who had been watching her every move with an unsettling calm. The smug look on his face had faded, replaced by something darker, more calculating.
"You're still thinking of running, aren't you?" Julian's voice was low, almost taunting. "It won't help, Cambria. The world's already turned against you."
Cambria stood still for a moment, the weight of his words pressing down on her. She refused to let him see her falter. She refused to let him win.
"I'm not running," she replied, her voice cold but resolute. "I'm just getting started."
Julian's lips curled into a smile. "If you say so." But his eyes flickered with uncertainty. The game was changing, and Cambria could see that even he was beginning to realize how quickly things were slipping out of his control.
Without another word, Julian turned and walked toward the door, leaving Cambria alone with her thoughts. She glanced back down at her phone, reading Elara's message once again. She had to know what was coming next.
She quickly typed a response:
"What's the new piece? Elara, I need to know. Now."
Moments later, Elara's reply pinged through:
"Cambria, we've discovered something. It's about Maddox. Elena's been working with someone close to him a former business partner who's been helping her. We've got proof."
The words hit like a blow to the chest. Maddox? Cambria's mind raced as she tried to process what she had just read. Could it be true? Was Maddox involved with Elena? The betrayal if it was true would cut deeper than anything else that had happened.
"Who?" Cambria quickly typed back.
"I'm still getting the details, but it's someone who's been in Maddox's inner circle for years. They've been using him to fuel Elena's campaign against you. I'll send more info as soon as I have it."
Cambria's hands shook as she read the message. She couldn't believe it. Maddox? The man who had stood by her, the man who had promised not to betray her? How could he be involved in this?
For a moment, everything around her seemed to blur. The walls of her penthouse, the city outside, even Julian's smug face all of it faded into the background. The only thing that mattered was this new information.
And then, it clicked.
Elena had always known exactly what to do. She had known how to target her weaknesses, how to exploit her fears, how to turn the people closest to her against her. But this this was different. Elena had always wanted to destroy Cambria's empire, but now she was after something more: Cambria herself.
The person who had been working with Elena wasn't just someone from Maddox's past. It was someone who had been manipulating both of them. Someone who had used their trust to set them up for failure.
A noise behind her brought her back to the present. She turned quickly, her pulse racing as she saw Maddox standing in the doorway, his face unreadable.
"Maddox," she said, her voice soft but firm. "I need to know the truth. Were you involved with Elena?"
The question hung in the air like a loaded gun. Maddox's eyes flickered with surprise, but it was quickly replaced by something she couldn't quite decipher. Was it guilt? Or something else?
"Maddox," she repeated, her voice now hardening, "are you working with her?"
For a long moment, there was silence. Maddox didn't move. He didn't speak. He only stared at her, as if deciding whether or not to say the words that would change everything.
Finally, he spoke, his voice rough. "No, Cambria. I haven't been working with Elena. But I'm involved. I've always been involved."
The words hit her like a punch to the gut.
"What does that mean?" Cambria's voice was low, her heart racing as the truth slowly started to sink in. "What have you been hiding?"
Maddox walked into the room, his posture tense, his eyes never leaving hers. "You need to understand something," he said, his voice strained. "Elena has been manipulating me for years. I never wanted to be a part of her plans, but she… she had leverage over me. She knew my weaknesses. She used them to control me."
Cambria felt her breath catch in her throat. "Leverage? What kind of leverage, Maddox?"
He paused, his gaze flickering to the floor for a moment before locking eyes with her again. "I was forced into a deal with her. A long time ago. She threatened to destroy my father's company, and I had no choice but to go along with it. She knew my father's company was struggling, and she knew that if I didn't cooperate, everything we had worked for would come crashing down."
Cambria's chest tightened. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of everything. "So you were working with her? You were a part of her scheme?"
"No," Maddox said quickly, shaking his head. "I wasn't part of her scheme. I didn't want any of this. But she manipulated me. She made me believe that I had no other choice. That if I didn't help her, everything I cared about would be destroyed. And I couldn't let that happen."
Cambria swallowed, her emotions raw. "You should have told me, Maddox. You should have told me everything from the beginning."
"I know," he said quietly, his voice filled with regret. "I should have. But I was afraid. Afraid of losing everything. Afraid of losing you."
The words hit her harder than she expected. It wasn't just the betrayal of his involvement with Elena. It was the realization that he had been afraid afraid of losing her. But he had still kept secrets from her, secrets that might have changed everything between them.
"Maddox, I don't know if I can trust you anymore," Cambria said, her voice breaking, the weight of everything crashing down on her. "I don't know if I can trust anyone."
He took a step forward, his eyes pleading. "Cambria, please. I know I've made mistakes. I've hurt you. But I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to be a part of Elena's game."
She shook her head, her heart torn. "It's too late, Maddox. You've already made your choice. You've already played your part in this war."
Maddox's face fell, the pain of her words sinking deep. For a moment, the two of them stood in silence, the weight of everything unspoken hanging between them.
And then, Cambria's phone buzzed once more.
This time, the message was from Elara:
"Cambria, it's worse than we thought. We've uncovered a video. Elena has evidence of your connection to Maddox. She's going to release it, and when she does, everything will come crashing down."
Cambria's breath caught in her throat.
The truth was coming out.
And when it did, nothing would be the same again.
As Cambria read the message, her phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor. She didn't need to hear the rest. She already knew what was coming.
Elena had them both. And this time, there was nowhere left to hide.