Page 105 of Emperor of Corruption
I’ll finish the exposé, but in regards to the baby… second thoughts are already swarming my mind. Having Killian refer to it as a child rather than a cluster of cells has already managed to shift my perspective, and weaken my determination to end the pregnancy before it can truly take root.
My thoughts are muddled, my plans are confused—I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or which way to turn. The urge to let Killian figure everything out for me is present, but not strong enough.
Yet.
I need space from him.
When I glance out the window and see the gathering mob of paparazzi, ready to welcome America’s favorite billionaire back from his travels abroad, I see a chance to escape.
And that’s exactly what I do. As soon as we step off the plane, I slip through the throngs of people. Killian can’t get to me without shoving reporters aside, which he can’t do without tarnishing his shiny reputation.
Still, I feel his eyes on me as I manage to get away, and his unspoken promise to come for me as soon as he can.
I manage to find a taxi to take me home before Killian or one of his henchmen—specifically, Locke—can get to me.
On the way home, I start gathering facts and little tidbits I managed to pick up during the course of the trip, regardless of how many restrictions Killian put on me after the first gala. I still saw important things that night.
Carter Black seems fond—or as fond as a sociopath can be—of Killian. Silas Cornell has a love-hate relationship with Killian… almost as though Killian has control over him, and sporadically chooses to exercise it, pissing him off.
My intuition tells me to dig at the three of them, so as soon as I get home, that’s exactly what I beginto do.
It hits me eight hours and so many financial reports the numbers start blurring later.
The final piece of the puzzle clicks into place, sending a sense of elation bleeding through my entire system.
I stumble up from my couch, rubbing my eyes, wondering if I imagined this. If I’m so exhausted that I’ve made something out of nothing.
But no. Financials don’t lie—I’m just the first person who’s gone over these reports with a fine-tooth comb.
Years ago, Killian and Silas staged a hostile takeover of John’s company, Harbor & Hale Luxury Transit. When threatening John—something he can testify to in court—didn’t work, they put pressure on his company until his board and shareholders left him for the wolves, and he was forced to sell the company in parts for a paltry sum.
Fifty percent of those parts went to Killian and fifty went to Silas. I’m sure they were planning on starting their own businesses from the detritus of John’s, but then, Carter stepped in.
He staged a hostile takeover of Silas and Killian’s hostile takeover. Somehow, he forced them to hand over shares and the pieces of the company… and from the ashes, Castel Luxury Group was formed.
Killian has significant shares of Castell Luxury Group and is a silent partner who sits on the board. Silas has a few shares, but no seat on the board, and no influence.
I haven’t found evidence that John has any notable portion of the company in his pocket.
Killian must’ve made nice with Carter and left Silas virtually in the dust, giving him only enough to appease him. That’s what their on-again, off-again friendship is about. But it goes deeper than that—stock reports from both Killian’s and Silas’ portfolios show ahistory of Killian manipulating Silas’ stocks to make him bleed money, and Silasattemptingto do the same but failing.
They’re occasional allies, when it suits both of them. But, at the end of the day, rivals. Possiblyenemies.
All three men are corrupt to the bone, but I have no interest in nailing all three of them. I only want to nail Killian.
Killian was grinding people beneath his heel while kissing babies and starting an empire under the guise of a philanthropist who wants to right the billionaire-made wrongs in this world and get rich in the process.
And I can prove it.
Usually, such an exposé wouldn’t be effective on a C-suite billionaire, but very few billionaires have a golden image like Killian. He’s lauded in the media as a self-made man of the people who rose in the world to help those beneath him rise up, as well.
I can prove that’s a load of bullshit, turning the public against him. I can send a letter detailing his misdeeds to the IRS, turning the government against him. Pressure from both angles will eventually stack on top of itself, and Killian’s company will suffer.Hewill suffer… and it’s possible he’d even be destroyed by this scandal.
I re-write my exposé in the next two hours. Then, I pick up my burner phone and dial Tommy.
“Lyraaa,” he picks up on the second ring, sing-songing my name. “How was traveling with the billionaire? Did you get to ride an elephant?”
My brows furrow. “First of all, how did you know I was traveling? Second of all, who the fuck goes to Europe to ride an elephant?”
