Chapter 76. Betrayal

Five days to the wedding.

Lucien sat behind his desk, his eyes fixed on the figures staring back at him from the printed report. The numbers weren’t just off, they were deliberate. Clean and hidden just well enough to slip past anyone who didn’t know what to look for. But he did.

He always did.

He leaned back slowly, sighing as he dropped the file on the desk. He had wanted so badly to believe Mario had changed, that maybe...just maybe...he could trust him with something real again.

Forty-five million was gone in less than a month under him. His fingers tapped against the desk in a steady rhythm until the door opened.

Charles stepped in, a fresh stack of documents in hand.

"Additional files from the accounting team," he said, setting them down. "They triple-checked everything." He informed, sadly, surprised by Mario's guys to try and steal from Lucien.

Lucien didn’t respond immediately. He picked up the report again,