Adrian’s chest heaved. “Don’t play dumb with me. You know where she is. You helped her, didn’t you? Tell me right now or—”
“Or what?” Mr. Howard’s tone was cold, cutting through the air like a knife. “You’ll threaten me? Haven’t you done enough damage to my family?”
Adrian’s nostrils flared. “You think you can talk to me like that? You forget that the merger—”
“There is no merger,” Mr. Howard interrupted sharply. “Not anymore.”
Adrian froze. “What?”
Mr. Howard rose from his chair, every inch the powerful man he used to admire — now looking at him like he was nothing. “You heard me. No merger. No partnership. No alliance. From this day on, we have nothing to do with you or your company.”
“You can’t—”
“Oh, but I can.” Mr. Howard leaned forward, his voice low and dangerous. “I know what you did to Vivienne. I know about Seraphine. About every lie you did to ruin my daughter. About Elias.”
Adrian’s jaw clenched, his pulse quickening. “Watch your mouth.”
But Mr. Howard didn’t back down. “You fooled her. You made her believe she was pregnant when she wasn’t. You made her live a lie. And now, because of your greed and deceit, she’s gone — and she took her freedom with her. Good for her.”