Evelyn's smirk deepened as she watched Liam step into the room, Tielen silently following his lead. The atmosphere crackled with tension, like the calm before a storm. Despite the quiet elegance of the room—polished mahogany furniture, fine art adorning the walls—Liam felt an oppressive weight settling over him. There was no mistaking it: Evelyn was no ordinary enemy. She was as dangerous as she was calculating.
"You've come a long way, Liam," she said, her voice smooth as velvet but carrying an edge that made Liam's muscles tense involuntarily. "I expected you to show up sooner or later. But to come at me like this?" She stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the floor. "I must say, I'm impressed."
Liam stood tall, his gaze unwavering. "I'm not here to play games, Evelyn. This ends today. I want the truth. Why did you have my grandmother killed? What was your role in all of this?"
Evelyn's eyes flickered with something—was it amusement? Guilt? It was hard to tell. "You think I killed your precious grandmother?" she chuckled softly, stepping forward, the space between them shrinking. "My, you really have no idea what you're up against, do you?"
Liam's jaw clenched. "I know enough. I know she wasn't just some charity case you helped. She was your blood. Your family."
Evelyn tilted her head, studying him like a predator examining its prey. "Oh, Liam, your grandmother was a fool," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "She never understood the bigger picture. She thought she was doing something noble by cutting ties with us. But that just made her a liability."
A quiet, seething anger built in Liam's chest. He had spent years feeling lost, searching for answers, but now, as the truth slowly began to unfurl before him, the anger felt different—stronger. He clenched his fists, but he needed to keep his cool. Evelyn was a master manipulator, and one wrong move could send everything spiraling.
"Cutting ties with you," Liam repeated, his voice hard. "So, what, you killed her because she refused to work with you?"
Evelyn's eyes darkened. "She was a threat, a loose end. People like your grandmother have a way of complicating things when they start digging into family matters. I couldn't afford that." She took another step closer, her eyes never leaving his. "She thought she could play the game on her own. But she didn't know the rules, Liam. She didn't know what it means to truly have power."
Liam felt a surge of cold rage sweep over him. His grandmother's death hadn't been an accident, nor had it been a simple act of cruelty. It had been calculated, planned. She had known too much, and for that, she had paid the ultimate price.
"And what about my parents?" Liam's voice was low, dangerous. "Did they get in your way too? Did you have them killed because they knew too much about the family's secrets?"
Evelyn's expression flickered for just a second—barely perceptible, but enough for Liam to see the vulnerability beneath her carefully constructed facade. For a fleeting moment, she seemed almost... human. But then, just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by the same smug arrogance.
"Your parents were fools," Evelyn said, her voice taking on a bitter edge. "They were too weak to understand the business. Too weak to protect their own interests. I gave them every opportunity to walk away from it all. But they didn't. So, they paid the price. Just like your grandmother."
Liam's heart pounded in his chest as the weight of her words sank in. His parents hadn't just been victims of an accident or a random crime—they had been targeted. They had been betrayed by someone they had trusted, and now Evelyn was admitting it without a hint of remorse.
"But why me?" Liam asked, his voice trembling with restrained fury. "If my grandmother was so insignificant to you, why did you keep me alive? Why let me inherit her fortune?"
Evelyn's lips curled into a sinister smile. "You think I let you inherit it?" she scoffed. "That's where you're wrong, Liam. You didn't inherit anything. I let you believe you had control, but all I did was bide my time until the right moment to reclaim what was always mine."
Liam's stomach turned. Everything he had believed about his inheritance, his place in the world—it had all been a lie. His grandmother's legacy, the very thing that had pushed him to fight for answers, was nothing more than a puppet string, manipulated from the shadows by Evelyn all along.
He stepped forward, closing the distance between them. His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "I don't care what you think you have, Evelyn. It's over. I'm taking it all back. Every last piece."
Evelyn's eyes glittered with malice. "You can try, Liam. But you're a fool if you think you're the only one with power in this game. I'm not the only one who wants what your grandmother left behind. The family is still out there, waiting for their turn."
A chill ran down Liam's spine. Her words struck at the heart of everything he had feared—the family, the legacy, the empire—it wasn't just a personal vendetta between him and Evelyn. It was a war that had been brewing for decades, and now, he was caught in the middle of it.
"Your grandmother wasn't the only one with enemies," Evelyn continued, her voice taking on a mocking tone. "And the longer you keep playing this game, the more enemies you'll make. You'll never win, Liam. No one can."
Liam felt his pulse quicken, but he didn't let her words shake him. "I'll take my chances."
"Then we'll see how long you last," Evelyn replied coldly. "But I'll warn you now, Liam. Your enemies are not who you think they are."
Before Liam could respond, the room seemed to shift—the temperature dropping, the air growing heavier. Evelyn's gaze never wavered, but Liam's instincts screamed at him to move. Something wasn't right.
Then, as if on cue, the door behind him slammed open, and a group of armed men flooded the room. Liam barely had time to react as he and Tielen were immediately surrounded.
"You didn't think I'd let you walk out of here unscathed, did you?" Evelyn said, her voice dripping with satisfaction.
Liam's mind raced as he assessed the situation. There were too many of them, and they were heavily armed. But he couldn't afford to panic. He needed a way out, and fast.
Tielen stepped in front of him, his hand moving toward the concealed weapon at his side.
"Get ready," Tielen murmured, his voice calm despite the danger.
Liam's fingers tightened around the knife hidden in his jacket. This wasn't over. It was only just beginning.
---