Igor's jaw tightened.
"Think about it, Igor," Luca continued, watching the other man carefully. "Not just running away and starting over somewhere small. Not just surviving."
He leaned closer.
"Power."
The word dropped like a stone.
"For her," Luca added softly.
It was a lie.
Or at least, mostly a lie.
Honey knew better than to try to ruin the Van Dorens, yes. That much was true. Her obsession had been focused on Brandon, Brett's the heir, the weak link, the man she believed she could manipulate and destroy.
But Luca knew something important about grief.
It reshaped the truth.
And for a man like Igor, drowning in loss and rage, this version of events would make perfect sense.
Igor said nothing.
He stood motionless beside the railing of the docked boat, staring out at the black water stretching endlessly before them. The dim harbor lights cast fractured reflections across the surface, turning the waves into shards of liquid gold and shadow.
