The study reeked of old whiskey, stale cigar smoke, and power gone rotten. Heavy velvet curtains smothered the room in darkness, as though the world outside no longer mattered.
Christopher Davenport leaned back in the leather chair, his glass of scotch catching the dim glow of the desk lamp. Across from him sat his father-Lord Edward Davenport. Once untouchable, now cornered, bleeding influence by the day.
"You do understand what Adrian Hale did to us, don't you?" the Edward rasped. His voice was sandpaper, ruined by liquor and years of backroom deals. "One leak-just one-and thirty years of power went up in flames. He dragged our name through the sewers."
Christopher's jaw clenched. The memory of the headlines still burned.
Lord Davenport's Crony Contracts Exposed. Millions Stolen from Public Funds.
The metro project had been their gold mine, their carefully hidden empire of kickbacks and payoffs. Adrian Hale had gutted it with one leak, planting enough evidence to drown them but leaving his own hands spotless.
"The commission hasn't dropped the charges," his father continued bitterly. "The press hounds me like I'm carrion. Adrian Hale saw to that. If not for him, the scandal would've died quietly. Now people chant for my resignation."
Christopher set his glass down with a deliberate clink. His voice, when he spoke, was calm-too calm.
"Adrian Hale thinks he's untouchable. He thinks no one can break him. I'll show him what it feels like to lose everything."
His father studied him with narrowed eyes. "And how exactly do you intend to do that?"
Christopher's lips curved into a thin, practiced smile. "We need the Smiths."
"The girl?"
"Yes. Jennifer." He said her name like it was a transaction, not a person. "Marriage to her ties their spotless reputation to ours. The Smith fortune restores our legitimacy. Their name launders ours. And they have a very beautiful daughter, every man wants her in his bed"
Edward frowned. "And Jason? Peter's nephew is the heir, not Jennifer. The board respects him. He won't let us near the empire."
Christopher's smile sharpened, predatory.
"Jason Smith is a problem. He's everything we're not-clean, incorruptible, the board's golden boy. But that image can be shattered. A man like him only needs a whisper of scandal. We plant a woman. A bribe. Falsify accounts to look like he siphoned money. By the time we're finished, Jason will be poison to the Smiths."
He swirled the amber liquid, eyes gleaming. "And if he doesn't break? Accidents happen. Car brakes fail. People slip. And when Jason falls, who will the Smiths turn to? Their loyal son-in-law. Me."
A silence stretched before his father let out a low, approving chuckle.
"That's my boy. Ruthless when it counts."
Christopher raised his glass, voice smooth as silk, venom dripping beneath it.
"When I marry Jennifer, when Jason is disgraced, when the Smith fortune is ours-Adrian Hale will know true loss. Every time I touch Jennifer, every time she bears my name, Hale will burn."
Edward's thin smile mirrored his son's.
"Destroy Jason. Secure Jennifer. And we bury Hale once and for all."
Christopher lifted his glass higher in a mock toast.
"To Jennifer Smith," he said softly, his eyes glittering with cold ambition. "The key to everything Adrian Hale can never take from us."
He drank deep, the whiskey burning like victory, betrayal, and blood.