Page 65 of The Enemy

The alert I had set up on my phone for this moment began to blow up as I stepped into the elevator.

I had unleashed Pandora’s box upon the table. For the past three years, I had been collecting everyone’s dirty little secrets—well, except for Marie, whom I loved. My dad, Pricilla, and Neo were spared, but as Rivieres, they would feel the hit the hardest.

College bribes, sexual assaults, tax evasions, mistresses, bastard children, drug addictions, no secret was too small. All of them had been leaked. The board wanted to judge me, but didn’t anyone teach them that those who lived in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?

The final blow was revenge… I don’t know if it was against my grandfather, my father, or Neo, but I had officially lost the plot.

All eyes were on me once more. If the article spread like wildfire, then I know why they looked at me.

I didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, for I knew what I would find.

Disgust.

Envy.

Rage.

My actions affected every single person in this company. They would all feel it when I crushed the structures of this empire to the ground. Many would think they were the actions of a spoiled little girl, but in reality, they were the actions of a hurt girl.

I had been bleeding in silence all these years; too bad they pushed me to a place where I was forced to make a mess of things.

The only reason why my phone wasn’t blowing up with calls from my family was because I blocked all of them. So, when it rang, I knew it was someone in my circle. It wasn’t Clove because she was part of the reason I was able to pull this off. I knew I needed to talk to her when I crashed at her place, and she wouldn’t take anything but the truth.

Evangeline was busy, so that left Martin, and sure enough, it was his name on the caller ID. I put my phone on speaker as I pulled out of the parking lot. My heart constricted as I watched the company in my rearview mirror, knowing it was the last time I would be doing this.

“Hi, Martin.” I was surprised my voice came out calm.

“Hi, Martin?” he shrieked. “Why did I just find out through a blind item that you’re fucking your stepbrother!”

I played stupid, mostly because I didn’t know what to say.

“Who said they're talking about me?”

He then proceeded to read me the blind item.

Maybe Clove and I should have made it a little harder.

Martin took my silence as confirmation.

“So it’s true?” His voice was softer.

“Yeah,” I whispered.

I had been strong, but now I felt like I might cry. This whole week, I kept my head in the game, trying to finish off all my work so the person who took my job wouldn’t struggle. I left detailed worksheets explaining the jobs I wouldn’t get to finish or oversee. It was the only thing that kept me from spiraling, and now that shield was gone.

“Was he at least good? ’Cause honey, if you’re throwing away your life, it had better be some good fucking dick.”

Despite the pain I felt, I laughed.

Neo

You could hear a pin drop when those pictures and files fell on the table.

Fuck.

This was not the moment to get hard, but I couldn’t help it, not when Lou showed up today looking like a goddess. She could bring a man to his knees.

I wanted all of this to be over so I could explain because that look she gave me in her office slayed me. Since I came back from Florida, my sleep has been shit. The only thing that was keeping me afloat was revenge.

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