Time of the Avenger
ferred the silent and calculated authority of shrewdness. As the company's key risk officer, he excelled in identifying and neutralizing vulnerabilities that
s were working agains
unmissable. Her presence somewhat demanded attention, but it wasn't Sophie that caught Alex off guard–it was Ethan's behavior. His brother, already mis
Ethan's interaction. She laughed at his jokes, smiled with his compliments
her," noted Alex as Ethan
n, twirling his Scotch. "Smart, glamorous,
you sure mystery does not come with a pri
n's smile was absolutely unwavering.
fine-tuned by years of detecting the latent th
cov
e that witnessed the Paris skyline through its windowpanes. First, he knew her as a skilled artist who had plated herself onto the high society ju
ff in a calculated raid by Hayes Industries. Ethan had profited accordingly from the raid, Richard was left dry and destitute. Such an implosion was too un
ed: Sophie was no coincidence. She was an effect–or a living reference of
ex who had first pointed out Clarke Holdings as a failing entity and ripe for a takeover in the
hought caused Alex a dis
ng in
ng café, she sat by the window and seemed engrossed in a classy leather-bound notebook. In th
p breath. "So
r one second before she composed herself. "Alex Hayes. I tho
chair opposite on the table. "You have be
o a faint smile. "Can I
rply. "I know who you are-and what
ess vaguely shimmering in her eyes before she c
Seduce Ethan, destroy him, eliminate H
adfastly. "I want him to pay. For my father's ruin. For my family's humil
dered aloud as he leaned back. "Would wrec
nwavering. "But at least I won't b
ering
couldn't deny how instrumental he was in the failure of Clarke Holdings. Yet he also knew that Ethan wasn't the m
keptical, "Help me? Why in
tted. "And I don't believe Ethan to be as guilty as you say; if any resolution can b
steady) I do not intend to meet you
part of the plan? I suppose this pla
rse. Ethan. He is the face of Hayes Industries, the hea
his eyes "Or s
s Ethan, the one who was called the shark by the press, the one who disassembled Clark
uietly)
ice sharp) Now
hich time Alex shifts un
carefully)
s you, Alex. You were the one who put Clarke Holdings on the list of target companies to be ta
long silence) That
the reports, the memos. Ethan may have executed the plan, but you-you-built it. Every step,
d running a hand through
r was proud; proud and stubborn. Losing the company broke him. He lost everything, hi
) I didn't kn
would you? It was just business to you. Numbe
. It never was personal. I didn't try to destroy your family-I just did my job.
stification for this? "Someone else would
y) I'm not s
ere to destroy Ethan. To make him fe
esitant)
don't know what to do. You have twisted everything ups
past. I cannot bring back your father's company or undo the hurt
) And how do you p
is: going after Ethan won't give you what you're loo
lp, Alex? Tell me. Because revenge was the o
s not about revenge. Maybe it's ab
you to say. You weren't the on
ophie. And if there is a way to help you rebuild,
expression unreadable) Wh
g in the shadows. And maybe...maybe it's time I
rn between anger and distrust and yet
tly) I will t
r cup again, her mind races. Trusting Alex might be her best chance at
moment, then hardened again. "
one thing: revenge doesn't heal anything.
itated. The fire in her eyes d
ut it," she sai
gerou
not shrug off what transpired merely minutes earlier. Sophie was dangerous,
a who Sophie really was or what she was capable of. And if this sp
bout Sophie's intentions but about everything that had happened that brought her to this point. That way