CHAPTER 414

Elijah’s POV

I sat at the far end of the long table inside the conference room with its glass walls and polished surfaces, drumming my fingers impatiently on the armrest of the leather chair.

My lawyer, Marcus Hendrix, sat to my right, calm as ever, flipping through his notes, as if this was just another routine meeting. But for me, nothing about this was routine.

I didn’t want to be here. Not for some pathetic attempt at a settlement. I wanted Antoine Laurent behind bars, paying for what he’d done. Every punch, every sneer, every ounce of arrogance he had thrown my way—all of it. The entitled bastard thought he could beat me up and walk away without consequence.

Marcus had insisted we say yes to their request for a meeting, though. "Let’s see what they have to say and offer," he had said earlier, cool and pragmatic as always. He knew I didn’t want to settle, but he’d convinced me that hearing them out wouldn’t hurt.

I glanced at the clock, every tick making my blood simmer hotter. I