♣ CHAPTER 39 ♣
Inside a grand living room lined with gold-framed paintings and white curtains dancing from the early breeze, Mr. Carlos paced back and forth, phone clutched in his hand. His wife, Ciara, sat on the couch, legs crossed, sipping coffee with a worried expression.
"Still not picking up?" she asked softly.
"No," he snapped, glaring at the screen. "It's been hours, Ciara. Raymond never takes this long to respond. Never."
Ciara set the cup down. "Maybe he's lying low. Maybe he's just—"
"Don't defend him!" Carlos growled. "Not after what I told him to do. Not after how deep we are in."
Ciara stood up slowly. "You're shouting again."
He turned to her. "I have every right to shout. Do you know how much money we've tied up in that fake investment? Do you know what happens if the Jones Corp board finds out?"
Ciara's eyes darkened. "And whose idea was it to use company money for a secret plan? Yours. Don't drag me into this."
Carlos walked closer. "Raymond—no—Clark, that's his real name—he was supposed to take care of it all. Handle the William problem. Handle that girl. But now... now he's vanished."
Ciara folded her arms. "Maybe he ran."
Carlos laughed bitterly. "Clark doesn't run. If anything, someone got to him."
Ciara stepped closer. "Then you have to pull out. Now. Before this explodes in your face."
He stared at her. "You think it's that easy?"
"I think your pride is about to cost us everything," she snapped. "You trusted a criminal with our company's secrets, and now he's missing. That girl—Kate, right? She's tied to William. Maybe they know. Maybe this was a setup from the start."
Carlos slammed his fist into the wall. "If they know, Ciara... then I'm finished."
Ciara looked away, her voice low. "We're finished."
---
In the cabin, sunlight spilled into the bedroom through the half-open curtain. Kate sat up slowly, pulling the sheet closer to her chest. She looked around the quiet room, the warmth of last night still clinging to her skin. William wasn't in the bed.
Her heart sank.
She stood up, threw on a robe, and walked into the living room. He stood there by the window, shirtless, staring outside, arms crossed, jaw tight.
"Hey," she said gently.
He didn't turn around. "Morning."
Silence hung between them.
Kate swallowed. "You left the bed."
"I needed air."
She walked closer. "Is everything okay?"
He didn't move. "It shouldn't have happened."
Her breath caught. "What?"
He finally turned, his eyes guarded. "Last night. I wasn't thinking straight. You were vulnerable. I was—"
"Don't do that," she said, stepping closer. "Don't pretend you didn't feel it."
"I felt too much," he snapped. "That's the problem."
She blinked fast. "So you regret it?"
William looked down. "I don't know what I feel."
Kate's voice trembled. "You kissed me. You touched me like I meant something."
"You do," he said. "But this world... this war I'm in... I shouldn't have dragged you into it."
"You didn't drag me," she said. "I walked in. I chose to stay."
"And now I'm pushing you away," he said. "Because if I don't, I'll end up destroying you too."
She shook her head, voice cracking. "Why do you always do this? Every time I try to get close, you run. You hide."
"I'm protecting you," he shouted.
"No, you're protecting yourself!" she cried. "You're scared to feel. Scared to need someone."
He looked away. "You're wrong."
"Then look me in the eye," she said, stepping in front of him. "Tell me you didn't feel safe with me last night. Tell me you didn't want more."
His silence broke her.
Kate turned around, wiping her tears. "Maybe I did make a mistake."
William looked up sharply. "Kate—"
"No," she said, backing away. "I gave you all of me last night. And now you're standing there like it meant nothing."
"It meant everything," he whispered.
"Then why are you pushing me away?"
He closed his eyes. "Because I don't know how to be with someone I could lose."
She stared at him. "Then maybe you don't deserve someone like me."
She turned and walked back into the room, her heart heavy, the door closing softly behind her.
Mr. Carlos stormed into the study and slammed the door shut behind him. His face was red, his breath loud, and his phone gripped so tightly it looked like it would snap.
Ciara walked in slowly behind him, arms folded. "You're acting like a mad man."
"I am mad, Ciara," he barked. "That boy… that little fool. I trusted him. He was supposed to handle it. Where the hell is he?!"
"Lower your voice," she said, shutting the door. "The staff can hear you."
"Let them hear!" Carlos turned to her, eyes wild. "Maybe they'll help me find that bastard! He hasn't picked my calls since last night. Nothing. Just vanished!"
Ciara sighed. "You said his name is Raymond."
Carlos shook his head violently. "That's the name he gave me. His real name is Clark. Clark Dawson."
Ciara's eyes widened. "Clark Dawson? The same man involved in the Williams scandal years ago?"
"Yes!" Carlos shouted. "The same man who faked his own death. The same man who came back with a new name and promised to finish what he started. And now, he's disappeared."
Ciara sat slowly, processing. "How could you trust someone like that?"
Carlos stared at her, voice low. "Because he was desperate. And desperate men are useful. He knew every crack in William's world. He had anger. He had revenge in his bones. That kind of man can ruin empires."
Ciara stood back up, her voice shaking. "But that kind of man can also ruin you."
"I didn't have a choice," Carlos muttered. "We were losing ground. Jones Corp needed a big shift. We needed power. He promised a plan that would break William and hand me the pieces."
Ciara paced. "You should've told me everything from the start. You've kept me in the dark—"
"To protect you!"
"No," she snapped. "To control me."
Carlos threw the phone on the couch. "You don't understand what I've built."
"No," she shouted back. "You don't understand what you're destroying! You think the board won't notice millions missing from the investment accounts? You think no one is watching?"
Carlos clenched his jaw. "I have it under control."
"Really?" she challenged. "Because you just admitted your only partner is gone, probably caught. And if that man talks—"
"He won't talk."
Ciara narrowed her eyes. "You don't know that."
Carlos turned away, rubbing his temples. "He's too smart to get caught. If anything, he's hiding."
"Or dead."
The room fell silent.
Carlos looked up slowly. "If he's dead, I'm finished."
Ciara stepped closer, her voice softer but firm. "You might be finished either way. If the board finds out, they'll call an emergency meeting. They'll ask questions. You'll be replaced. Arrested. Stripped of everything."
Carlos looked at her, his face pale. "So what do I do?"
"You come clean. Not to the world—but to someone you trust. We clean up what we can. We shift the narrative. We cut Clark out of the picture entirely."
He laughed bitterly. "You think it's that easy?"
"No," she said. "But it's better than sitting here panicking like a man waiting for his grave to be dug."
Carlos sank onto the couch, breathing hard. "He said he had a connection. A girl. Someone close to William's circle. He was using her. That was his way in."
"Who?"
"Some girl. Tina. Best friend to William's woman."
Ciara's lips parted. "He got close to her just to hurt them?"
"He's a snake," Carlos spat. "He said love wasn't real. That people fall for lies, and that's how you break them."
Ciara shook her head. "You should have never brought him into our world."
"I was trying to win," Carlos muttered.
"And you might lose everything instead."
He stood up again, pacing. "I need to find him."
"And say what? That the plan failed? That the walls are closing in?"
Carlos paused. "Maybe I can still fix it. Maybe he's still working on something."
Ciara grabbed his arm. "Or maybe you're already exposed."
The silence deepened. Carlos looked at her, his eyes wide with fear for the first time.
"If he talks," he said again, "if he says my name—"
Ciara didn't flinch. "Then you better pray he stays missing."
The phone on the table buzzed.
Carlos rushed to it, grabbed it, and stared.
Unknown number.
He answered. "Hello?"
There was silence.
"Who is this?" he snapped.
A low voice spoke, distorted. "You're in trouble, Mr. Carlos. He's not coming back."
Carlos froze. "Who is this? What do you want?"
"You made a deal with the devil," the voice whispered. "Now the devil's off the leash."
The call ended.
Carlos dropped the phone, his hands shaking.
Ciara stared at him. "Who was it?"
He looked at her, eyes hollow. "I think... I think it's already begun."