He didn't have a camera. He had a smirk. It was a man on Chip's payroll. " Mr. Bennett," the man said, his voice cutting through the noise. " You talk about results, but isn't it true that three years ago you were the senior project lead at Vanguard Dynamics?"
The room went deadly silent. Lucas froze. His blood ran cold. " And," the reporter continued, checking his notes, "Isn't it true that you were fired for gross negligence after a prototype battery malfunctioned? A malfunction that resulted in a fire, a fire that caused the death of your wife, Sarah Bennett?"
The world stopped. Victoria turned to look at Lucas. Her eyes were wide. She didn't know. He hadn't told her.
Lucas gripped the podium. The flashing lights felt like the fire from that night. The smoke. Sarah's scream. " That's not," Lucas whispered, his voice cracking. "
That's not what happened." " According to the official police report, it was," the reporter pressed. " You bypassed safety protocols to increase output. You killed your wife for speed, Mr. Bennett. Are we to expect the same recklessness at Sterling Motors?"
The crowd erupted. Questions were shouted like accusations. " Did you kill her? Is the VX safe? Victoria, did you know?"
Victoria stared at him. She looked betrayed. Not because of the tragedy, but because she had been blindsided. In her world, information was currency, and he had sent her into battle penniless. " End the conference," Victoria snapped at Arthur.
She grabbed Lucas's arm, her grip bruising. " Inside, now." Back in the office, away from the cameras, the explosion happened. Victoria threw a vase against the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces. "
You didn't think to mention it," she screamed. " You didn't think to mention that you were the lead engineer at my biggest rival, or that you were accused of manslaughter?" " It wasn't my fault," Lucas roared back, his calm facade finally breaking. " Vanguard cut corners. The CEO, Marcus Thorne, he ordered the safety override.
I fought him on it. I tried to stop the test, but my signature was on the approval. They forged it. Why do you think I left? Why do you think I was hiding in a garage?
They pinned it on me to save the stock price." Lucas was shaking. " Sarah was the love of my life. I didn't kill her. I have been trying to suffer the guilt of not saving her every single day for three years."
He slumped into a chair, burying his face in his hands. " Chip dug this up. He wants to destroy me to get to you." Victoria stood there, her chest heaving. She looked at the broken man in her chair.
She saw the raw, agonizing pain. It wasn't the look of a liar. It was the look of a victim. She walked over to her desk and poured a glass of water. She walked to him and placed it on the table. "
I believe you," she said quietly. Lucas looked up, red-eyed. " You do?" " I know Marcus Thorne," she said. " He's a snake.
It sounds exactly like something he would do." She leaned against the desk, crossing her arms. " But the world doesn't believe you. And right now the world thinks I just hired a killer to build my cars." " I'll resign," Lucas said. "
I'll take Sophie and go. I won't drag you down." " No," Victoria said. Her eyes turned cold, calculating. The shark was back. "
If you run, you look guilty. And if you look guilty, Sterling Motors looks incompetent." She walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. " We don't run, Lucas. We fight.
You say Thorne forged your signature. You say Vanguard covered it up. Yes. Then we are going to prove it," Victoria vowed. " We aren't just going to fix my engine.
We are going to burn Vanguard Dynamics to the ground. And Chip is going to regret the day he ever mentioned Sarah's name." She extended her hand. " Are you with me?" Lucas looked at her hand.
He saw a partner. For the first time, this wasn't about a contract. It was about revenge and redemption. He took her hand. " I'm in." "
Good," Victoria said. " Now wipe your face. We have a gala to crash." " Another one?" " Marcus Thorne is hosting a charity auction tonight."
She smiled, and it was the most terrifying smile he had ever seen. " I think it's time we introduced the happy couple to your old boss." The Vanguard Dynamics charity gala was held at the precipice of the city, a cantilevered glass mansion hanging over the cliffs, symbolizing everything Marcus Thorne stood for: risk, excess, and looking down on everyone else. Victoria and Lucas arrived not in a limousine, but in the Sterling 5X itself. The matte black hypercar roared up the valet ramp, stealing the oxygen from the driveway filled with Ferraris and Bentleys.
When the scissor doors opened, silence fell over the red carpet. Victoria emerged in a dress of liquid silver, looking like a weapon forged for war. Lucas stepped out in his tuxedo, his face hard, his eyes scanning the perimeter. He wasn't just a plus one anymore. He was a man on a mission. "
Remember," Victoria whispered as she hooked her arm through his, her grip tight. " Thorne is arrogant. He thinks he destroyed you. Use that. Let him underestimate you." "
He won't just underestimate me," Lucas said, his voice low. " He's going to ignore me. That's how I get in." They entered the ballroom. It was a shark tank.
Industry titans, politicians, and tech moguls mingled under chandeliers that cost more than Lucas's old neighborhood. And there, holding court by the ice sculpture, was Marcus Thorne. He was a tall man with silver hair and a smile that didn't reach his reptilian eyes. Standing next to him, looking sweaty and nervous, was Chip. " Well, well," Thorne boomed as they approached.
The crowd parted. " If it isn't the grieving widower and his sugar mama." A ripple of nervous laughter went through the room. Victoria didn't flinch. She smiled, ice cold. "
Hello, Marcus. I see you're still wearing that cologne. Desperation, isn't it?" Thorne's smile twitched. He turned his gaze to Lucas. "
Bennett, I'm surprised you showed your face. I heard you were changing oil filters. Did you finally accept your level of competence?" Lucas felt the rage boiling in his gut, the memory of Sarah, the fire, the lies, but he forced it down. He needed to be invisible. "