The red light on the detonator blinked slowly… ominously.
Talia's heart thudded against her ribs like a war drum. Her body went cold at the sight of her babies' nursery on the screen, Mia moving about completely unaware. Ethan stood still beside her, not from fear, but calculation. Every move now had to be precise.
"Step back!" Marcus barked, waving the small remote with trembling fingers. "You two think you've won because you have each other? Because you've rebuilt everything I lost?"
His voice cracked.
"I made Ethan Wolfe. I mentored you," he spat at Ethan. "I gave you the blueprints for your empire. And you repay me with banishment? With exile?"
"You destroyed your own legacy," Ethan said calmly. "By crossing lines no one should cross. We were loyal until the very end, Marcus. You weren't."
Marcus's jaw twitched, his finger hovering closer to the detonator button. "One push, Ethan. I won't just ruin you, I'll burn down everything you've built. Even her."
