Chapter 13 - VICTOR'S OFFER
Victor looked nothing like the monster I had imagined.
He was elegant.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
Calm eyes.
He looked like a professor.
Not a man who had built an international criminal network.
"I've wanted to meet you for years," he said.
I stood between him and my mother.
"You already knew me."
"Of course."
He smiled.
"Nathan never understood your value."
"Neither did you."
His smile disappeared.
"You inherited your mother's arrogance."
"And your enemy."
Victor looked at my mother.
"She was always difficult."
My mother stepped forward.
"You killed innocent people."
"I made difficult decisions."
"You destroyed families."
"I built stability."
"You destroyed mine."
Victor sighed.
"Your family was never stable."
Then he looked at me.
"Your father taught you to collect evidence."
I said nothing.
"Your mother taught you to distrust everyone."
Still nothing.
"And Nathan taught you what happens when you underestimate evil."
He smiled.
"I can teach you something different."
"What?"
"Power."
He offered me a folder.
"Take control of Ashford Global."
I stared at him.
"You'll own everything."
"Why?"
"Because I need someone the markets trust."
"And what do you want?"
"Access."
"To what?"
"The Vale network."
I laughed.
"You want my father's system."
"I want what belongs to your family."
I closed the folder.
"No."
Victor's expression hardened.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
May you like
The theater doors slammed shut.
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