Page 59 of Always Been You
“That’s enough.”
His voice is calm yet commanding. A slow chill spreads through my body as I turn, finding him already making his way toward the podium, his expression unreadable.
My stomach flips.
Oh no. They just unleashed him.
Chapter Twenty -Five
Eddie
I step up beside Lawliss as she descends the podium, her fingers tapping my shoulder in silent warning. Her eyes say it all—Don’t do anything reckless.
I smile, lean in, and press a slow kiss on her forehead. The crowd erupts into noise, shouting over one another, but I ignore them. They’re insignificant. The only thing I care about is the woman in front of me.
She blushes, her shyness a rare thing, and it makes me smirk. I love being able to disarm her.
She walks back to her family, her father pulling her into a tight embrace like he’s reassuring himself she’s safe. She is. As long as I’m here, she will always be safe.
I turn to the vultures in front of me. Their voices die down as soon as I face them. The warmth I had just seconds ago disappears, my expression turning cold and calculating.
Silence.
Good.
“I hadn’t planned to introduce myself today,” I say, voice smooth but edged with something dangerous. “But after witnessing this pathetic attempt to tear down my woman, I decided to move up my timeline.”
The press erupts into chaos, but I don’t react. I simply wait. Let them fumble. Let them scramble.
A single glare is enough to silence them again.
“For those of you who don’t know me,” I continue, letting the weight of my words settle, “my name is Edmund Montgomery, chairman of Montgomery Industries.”
Gasps ripple through the crowd. Some reporters nearly trip over themselves in their rush to fire off questions.
“How is Montgomery Industries involved with the Dua Group?”
“You’ve been silent for years since you took over. Is Ms. Dua important enough for you to finally show yourself?”
“Is Montgomery Industries relocating their headquarters here because of her?”
I ignore every single question.
My voice is calm, deliberate. “You’re asking the wrong questions. The purpose of being here today is to deal with what you claim is a scandal and not entertain baseless information. Now, Derrick Maddox was lucky to have the Duas backing him. That support is gone, and so is any relevance he once had.”
No one knows. Not the press. Not Lawliss. Not even her family.
I never told anyone why I invested in Maddox & Co. It wasn’t about business. It was about her. Because she chose him. Because for years, I had to sit back and watch her build a life with another man, knowing I could do nothing about it. So I made sure he thrived. For her. And now? That ends.
I tilt my head slightly, my expression unreadable. “The Montgomery Industries is terminating every last partnership, every contract, and every opportunity we’ve ever extended to Maddox & Co. Since we control seventy-two percent of their investments, I’d say it’s only a matter of time before it collapses entirely.”
I let the words hang in the air, allowing them to sink in.
“Derrick should have known better,” I continue, my tone unwavering. “Should have known I don’t give second chances.”
A shift moves through the room, the kind that happens when a predator enters the space and every weaker being instinctively realizes it’s too late to run.
Then, with chilling finality, I deliver the final blow.
