Chapter 35
Emma Barrett’s fingers tightened around the edge of the leather folder she held in her lap, the weight of its contents as palpable as the tension in the air. Beside her, Thomas sat poised, his sharp blue eyes fixed on the entrance to the private dining room where Luka and Elliana Diaz were expected to arrive any moment.
The restaurant’s opulence mirrored the Diaz couple’s extravagance—crystal chandeliers hung low over the white-clothed tables, and the faint murmur of polite conversation wafted through the air. But this room, cordoned off from the rest of the establishment, felt like the epicenter of a brewing storm.
“Are you ready for this?” Thomas asked quietly, leaning toward Emma.
She didn’t hesitate. “We have everything we need. It’s time to end this.”
Thomas nodded, his expression hardening. “If they try to push back—”
“They won’t have a choice,” Emma said, her voice steady.
Before Thomas could reply, the door opened, and Luka and Elliana entered, their presence as commanding as ever. Luka wore a sharp suit, his stride confident, while Elliana’s designer dress clung to her like armor, her expression a calculated mask of disdain.
“Well,” Luka drawled, settling into the chair across from Emma with an air of mock casualness. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this little… reunion?”
Emma didn’t blink, her posture rigid but calm. Her fingers rested lightly on the folder before her, though the tension in her jaw betrayed the effort it took to keep her composure. “We’re here to discuss your exit strategy, Luka. Yours and Elliana’s.”
Elliana leaned back in her seat, her perfectly painted lips curving into a faint, dismissive smile. “Exit strategy? That’s a bold choice of words.”
Thomas’s eyes sharpened, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “Bold, yes. But hardly a choice.” He leaned forward, his body a controlled force of authority, and gestured toward the folder under Emma’s hands. “Inside here is everything we’ve collected on you—market manipulation, insider trading, staged accidents, bribery. The list goes on.”
The room seemed to contract as Thomas spoke, his words calculated and heavy. Luka’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second before he let out a scoff, leaning back with feigned indifference. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” Emma challenged, her voice steady. She flipped open the folder, pulled out a single sheet of paper, and slid it across the table.
Luka’s gaze fell to the document, and his smirk froze. He picked it up, his eyes narrowing as they scanned the text. It was a damning financial record from one of his shell companies, tying him directly to a high-profile bribery scandal that had toppled a rival’s career. The silence stretched taut as Luka’s confidence wavered.
Beside him, Elliana maintained her composed facade, but her fingers twitched, betraying her urge to snatch the evidence from his hands.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Luka finally said, his voice quieter now but no less menacing. “You think you can threaten me with a few pieces of paper?”
“This is more than paper,” Thomas countered coldly. “It’s the end of your empire. We have enough to go public, to dismantle everything you’ve built, piece by piece.”
Luka’s gaze snapped to Emma, his smile returning but now with a hard edge. “And what makes you think I’ll simply roll over? You may have your little folder, but I have far more leverage than you realize.”
Emma met his stare, unwavering. “Leverage only works if you still have something to bargain with, Luka. And after this, you won’t.”
Thomas leaned forward, his voice slicing through the tension like a blade.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, Luka. We have emails, witness statements, financial transactions—everything we need to not only destroy you but dismantle your entire operation. If you think your money or connections will shield you, think again. This evidence isn’t just damning—it’s bulletproof.”
Luka’s jaw tightened, though he maintained an air of practiced indifference. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the edge of the table, a subtle show of calculated defiance.
“Even if you did have this supposed mountain of evidence,” he said with a cool smirk, “you wouldn’t dare release it. The fallout wouldn’t just hit me. It would ripple through every company I’ve ever been connected to—Barrett Industries included. Are you prepared to burn your precious empire to the ground?”
“You don’t understand, do you?” Emma’s lips pressed into a thin line, her gaze never leaving Luka’s. “I’m not afraid of fallout. You’ve taken everything from me—my reputation, my safety, my peace of mind. You even tried to destroy my family. I’ve spent months living in fear of you, but now? I’m done playing by your rules.”
Elliana, silent until now, leaned back in her chair, her expression cold and calculating. Her tone was as icy as her glare.
“And what exactly are you proposing, Emma? That we pack up and leave, while you get to play the hero?”
Emma didn’t flinch, her voice steady and unyielding.
“I’m proposing that you leave New York. Permanently. Dismantle your operations here, withdraw your claws from Barrett Industries, and never come near me or my family again. If you do that, we’ll keep this evidence quiet. You’ll have a chance to rebuild somewhere else—if that’s even possible.”
Luka’s smirk wavered, the cracks in his composure finally starting to show.
“And if we refuse?” he asked, his voice low, edged with menace.
Thomas answered before Emma could, his voice like steel. “Then we go public with everything. Every transaction, every dirty deal, every staged accident. You’ll lose your influence, your power, your empire. And when the dust settles, you’ll be nothing more than a disgraced criminal with nowhere to hide.”
Luka’s eyes darkened, his tapping fingers stopping abruptly. The room was suffocating with tension, the weight of unspoken threats hanging heavy in the air.
Elliana’s lips curled into a faint sneer. “You’re overplaying your hand.”
“No,” Emma shot back, her voice fierce. “We’re calling your bluff. This is your one chance to walk away with whatever dignity you have left. Take it, or we will destroy you.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Luka’s stare burned into Emma’s, a silent battle of wills. Then, slowly, he leaned back in his chair, his smirk returning, though it lacked its usual confidence.
Elliana’s laugh was brittle, her polished exterior cracking. “You think you can dictate terms to us? Do you know who we are?”
Thomas leaned forward, his voice cold. “Yes, we do. You’re parasites who’ve thrived on manipulation and destruction. But your time is up.”
The room fell silent, the weight of her words settling over them like a heavy fog.
Elliana glanced at Luka, her eyes narrowing. “We could fight this,” she said, her voice low.
“No, you can’t,” Thomas said bluntly. “We’ve already sent copies of the evidence to trusted parties as insurance. If anything happens to Emma, myself, or anyone else involved, the files go public immediately. You’ve lost, Elliana.”
For the first time, Luka’s carefully constructed facade wavered. His hand tightened around the edge of the table, his knuckles whitening as his gaze darkened. The flicker of vulnerability was brief, but enough for Emma to notice. She seized on it, her determination hardening further.
“You’ve planned this well,” Luka said grudgingly, his voice cold and sharp. “But don’t think for a second that this ends here. You push us out, and you’d better be ready for the storm that follows.”
Emma stood abruptly, the sharp scrape of her chair echoing in the tense room. Her voice, steady and cutting, sliced through the heavy air.
“This is your last warning, Luka. Leave New York, dismantle everything, and stay out of my life. Or face the consequences.”
Thomas rose beside her, his towering presence reinforcing her ultimatum. His eyes bore into Luka, his tone low and unyielding.
“This isn’t a negotiation. It’s a fact. And your time is running out.”
The room crackled with tension as Luka exchanged a glance with Elliana. Her perfectly composed exterior faltered ever so slightly, her hand gripping her clutch as if it were the only anchor in the room. Luka’s smirk returned, but it was more a mask than a genuine expression.
Finally, Luka stood, his movements deliberate and exuding a slow-burning menace. He adjusted his cufflinks, his stare fixed on Emma like a predator sizing up its prey.
“Fine,” he said, his voice dripping with venom. “We’ll leave. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve won.”
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze turning icy. “The Diaz family doesn’t forgive. And we never forget.”
Emma held her ground, refusing to show even a flicker of fear. “Neither do I, Luka,” she said evenly. “So tread carefully.”
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