Page 53 of Emperor of Corruption
Since Silas Cornell thought it acceptable to invade my space, I do the same to him. His apartment’s a bit trickier to break into than Lyra’s, but I already have a mole in his security team who disables all cameras, so I manage to sneak into his fifth-avenue penthouse unnoticed and unencumbered.
I sit on the ridiculous, uncomfortable sofa in his living room, hands clasped on my lap, awaiting him to come home. The sooner I can get him off Lyra’s case, the sooner I can get on with my life.
I don’t pause to examinewhyI’m becoming so protective of her. She’s done nothing but bitch at me and resist me—though I don’t mind either quality as much as she might hope—so her death shouldn’t bother me.
But it does, so I’ll ensure it doesn’t occur under my watch.
I get a text message on my phone while I wait, from Locke. I’ve put him on Lyra-duty indefinitely; his sole job now is to keep an eye on her, observe her movements, and report back to me. She’s proven that she can’t be trusted on her own, and I don’t intend to give her the benefit of the doubt twice.
Until I’m done with her, she’ll have round-the-clock security—and spying—though she won’t know about it.
My eyes scan the text message, and something unpleasant stirs in my chest.
Lyra stopped by a pharmacy. Picked up Plan B, refilled an old birth control prescription.
Lyra’s pride often gets one over on her sense. Were she sensible, she’d allow me to continue having insanely risky sex with her and pray to whatever god she believes in that she got pregnant. Having my heir inside her would vastly improve her life, and ensure I provide a lavish lifestyle for her until the heir comes of age. It might even prompt me into marrying her.
Previously, the concept of marriage was a disgusting itch on my skin. I know I need to marry and reproduce eventually, but I’ve yet to meet a woman who I want to keep around for more than a single fuck.
The idea of marrying Lyra is decidedly less objectionable than the idea of marrying anyone else—possibly because she’s made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that she wants nothing from me. Not my money, not my connections, not the prestige of my name.
I pocket my personal phone when I hear the front door opening, and raise my gaze, watching as Silas steps inside. He’s dressed in an absurdly expensive Brioni suit—which is just a statement he’s trying to make to the world. One among many.
He wants the public to think that he has no financial struggles, that he’s still richer than God.
I happen to know better. My chokehold on our industry means I hold his purse strings. If I want to destroy him, I will, and destroying him would be as simple as tanking all of his investments and shutting down his company.
I’ve been instructed by multiple seniors in The Eyes to refrain from doing so, but if Silas fucks around with Lyra just one more time, I’ll ignore their advice and ruin his life.
Silas flicks on the lights to his ostentatious living room, then nearly jumps out of his skin at the sight of me.
“Fuck,” he hisses. He stumbles back, eyes narrowing on me, assessing my level of threat. Attempting to discern whether I’m here to kill him or not.
He should be so lucky. If and when our time comes, I won’t be killing him before I’ve destroyed all he holds dear. I only end my prey when they’re on their knees, begging for mercy.
Silas makes the mistake of assuming he’s the same caliber of predator as me.
“What thefuck—” his nostrils flare furiously, “—are youdoing here?”he roars.
“I’m here as a courtesy,” I reply mildly. “You’ve taken an unusual interest in my current plaything—one that led you to believe she’s dangerous to us. I’m here to assure you that any danger she presents has been subdued.”
Silas doesn’t relax at all.Smart man. “I didn’t see anything on the news about her—”
“That’s because I haven’t killed her. Instead, I now have a chokehold on her.” I allow a smirk to play out across my lips. “Not unlike the chokehold I have on your business.”
His jaw clenches. “Explain.”
I lift a shoulder. “I made a sex tape with her. If she keeps digging, I’ll destroy her life. If she pisses me off too much, I’ll destroy her life. Basically, if she does anything that evenmildlydispleases me, I’ll destroy her life.” My smirk widens. “The two of you now have a great deal incommon.”
Silas’s fists flex and unflex by his sides. He can’t do anything—not anymore. I told him I would handle the issue, and I have. I never specified that my handling it would include Lyra’s untimely death; that’s an assumption he made on his own.
A fair assumption given my history, but an incorrect one.
“That’s not enough,” Silas says. “She could still talk—”
“Youcould technically still talk. Despite my burning urge to, I haven’t relieved you of your tongue, even if moments like this one make me wish I had a million times over.” I lean forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “But you don’t, because you know I can destroy you. The same logic has been applied to Lyra, and I expect to have the same success rate.”
Silas’s brows furrow. “You actuallycareabout this woman.”
