CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE (ELARA'S POV)

The room felt smaller, like the walls were caving in on her. The air felt heavier, like it was going to suffocate her.

Elara sat frozen, her eyes glued to  the screen as she reread the documents, her mind struggling to piece together what she was seeing.

Killian Hayes.

He wasn't just her so called partner in taking down Ivy. He wasn't just her fake financee, he wasn't just a man who had pulled her into his world. He was a man who had lied and had his own agenda from the start.

She moved the cursor and opened another file. There it was, written in bold.

The Beckett industries.

There was a list of recent transactions on the scream but this time, the money trail didn't lead to ivy, rather it lead to Killian.

Her hand shook as she clicked on another document, and another. It was all there.

Years ago, Killian’s company had been sabotaged by ivy. Elara was well aware of this because he has told her. The information that ivy has leaked to their father gave him an advantage which he took and it made Killian's company bleed.he lost millions.

The figures she could see on the screen where staggering.

The kind of loss that wasn’t just financial, it was the type that planted a seed of vengeance. She understood that, she thought Killian was after ivy.

But was that true? No.

He wanted to take over the company. This wasn't about revenge against ivy, this was about power.

The very company she was trying to reclaim, he was trying to steal.

Elara pushed the laptop off her lap and shot to her feet, her mind racing.

She had trusted him. Not entirely but she had let him in..

She had let him pull her into his world, had let him stand beside her, had let herself feel something even when she knew she shouldn’t.

And the entire time…

He had been playing her.

“Bastard,” she muttered under her breath, running a hand through her hair.

The realization hit her harder than she expected. She thought they were partners or at least she had gotten him to play her game but it turns out that it was the other way round.

Killian had been ten steps ahead the entire time, letting her believe she had control, letting her believe this was her war against Ivy, when in reality, she was just a pawn in his.

Elara exhaled sharply feeling her throat tighten. She needed to confront him.

Now.

Without thinking twice, she grabbed her phone, her hands shaking as she pulled up his contact.

Her thumb hovered over the call button.

No.

She wouldn’t give him the chance to manipulate the truth.

She needed to see him. Look him in the eyes.

Because if Killian Hayes thought he could play her like this, he was about to realize just how much of a mistake he had made.

*****

Elara gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. The city lights blurred past her as she sped toward Killian’s office, her mind was filled with rage, pain and betrayal.

Killian Hayes.

She had been so stupid.

So blind.

The man she had—stupidly—started to trust. The man who stood by her side, who whispered words of partnership and vengeance against Ivy.

Was the same man who had been playing her from the very beginning. She had let him manipulate her, pull her into his game, while she thought she was the one holding controlling it all.

Her heart pounded so hard that she could hear it in her ears.

The moment she stepped into his office, she would confront him. She would tear him apart for lying to her, for using her. She didn’t care if they were in the middle of a war against Ivy, he was just as bad, if not worse than her sister. She wanted to storm into his office, shove those damn files in his face, and watch him scramble for an excuse. She wanted to see his carefully crafted lies crumble.

But then, something clicked in her mind. She realized something. Slowly, she took her foot of the gas. She was reacting with her emotions, she was behaving irrationally.

Killian? He was always ten steps ahead. He never let his emotions get in the way like she was about to do.

If she confronted him now, what would he do?

Her emotions were ruling her right now, pushing her toward a reckless decision. Confronting him would only tip him off.

What would that accomplish?

He would lie. Manipulate. Twist the truth. And then? He would tighten his grip over her, make her believe she needed him, and by the time she realized what had happened, it would be too late.

And in the end, he would still have all the power.

She exhaled slowly then pulled the car to the side of the street where she found an empty parking lotm she put the car in Park and sat back, her breathing uneven as she tried to calm herself down.

Elara sucked in a slow, shaky breath. She had almost played right into his hands.

Not again.

She needed to be smart about this. If she went in now, enraged and demanding answers, Killian would only shut her out. She would lose the little control she still had over this situation.

No.

She couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

Not with him.

Not with this.

She leaned back and rested her head against the headrest, closing her eyes. Killian Hayes wanted to take everything from her.

And the worst part?

He had almost succeeded.

If she hadn’t found those files, she would have kept playing right into his hands.

Her chest tightened at the thought.

She would never forgive him for this. This changed everything. Killian wasn’t her ally. He never had been.

He wanted her father’s company, the empire that had once been stolen from her.

Her jaw clenched. The man she had thought was her partner was just another enemy.

She couldn’t let him know she had figured it out.

But that didn’t mean she would storm in like an open book. If Killian had been playing her, then it was time to flip the game on him.

He thought he had her wrapped around his finger?

Good.

Let him believe that.

Let him think she was still on his side, still blindly trusting him. Let him think she was falling for his charm, trusting him more and more.

And when he least expected it, she would ruin him.

A slow, dangerous smile curled at the edge of her lips.

She would bury him right next to Ivy.

Elara’s eyes snapped open, her resolve snapping back in place.

With a slow inhale,she straightened, adjusting the mirror before shifting gears and turned the car around.

The game had just changed.

And this time?

She was going to win.