The Billionaire's Command

nder'

elling about witnessing someone's w

w desperation, is almost a re

that they are unreproachable; that their righteo

s the only currency that matters, and t

aightened in defiance of the storm she knows is comin

word stinging like glass. "You have no ri

I have every right. Your mom made a deal, a

search for some loophole to escape what's inevitable, but the truth is, Isabelle Laurent is not a woman that p

ugh clenched teeth. "This is my mother's leg

ld have been c

rom me. It's almost too easy to break her down, to watch the

want to shove her in a corner so tight she has no c

and look at her coldly, "I

ace and becomes s

ir, letting the weight of expect

voice as I can muster

ath locks in her throat. Shock with her face, dis

ing her head as if she

teady and unperturbed by the turm

clear any debts, stop the takeover and even invest in its

s laugh escapes her. "

observe her response. "Do I

e's too perplexed and too lost in an effort to

ng the consequences of the contract seep

a small favor for it," I say. "This isn't about love

ng against how dry she must be fee

mit. "I just do

er in confusion. "You

lear to both of us that there are no illusions and no facade. You ha

r uneven breath, panic creeping on

w tone, steadying my voice.

ead and stands s

uit jacket and structure myself while I round the desk to meet in the small space betwe

out right now," I say and kee

will collapse from the debts, the assets liquidated, and your family's name will only be a

becomes rapid.

brow. "Wo

petitor, an empire turned to rubble without breaking a sweat. She's witnesse

just fighting for her mother's business, she's fighting for her mother's dignity, for th

she whispers her word

t carries warmth. "I ne

ty, remorse, maybe even a smidge of guilt. She won't fi

n this world or you let

slumped beneath the weight of t

amera snapshot, the exact moment

my face neutral. I give her a single nod.

ot look at me anymore. I watch her wal

a strange feeling yanks at my chest,

s re

ay before it

what I

is what