Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Alexander's POV

When the board meeting ended, the conference room stayed quiet for a long moment.

My phone buzzed.

It was a message from Elizabeth. [Where did you go?]

I looked at those few words, and something in my chest warmed. [I'm at the office. There are a few things I need to deal with. I'll tell you tonight when I get home.]

After I sent it, I set my phone on the table, got to my feet, and walked to the window.

The Windsor Group building wasn't the tallest on the skyline, but it had the best location, facing the city from the most commanding vantage point.

Back then, Gray spent three full months choosing the site before he finally settled on this one.

He used to say that people from the Windsor Family were meant to stand at the highest point.

What he never understood was that the higher you stand, the harder you fall.

At two-thirty in the afternoon, Charles pushed open the door.

"Mr. Windsor, the termination letters are ready. And there's one more thing." He paused. "There's movement on Aiden's side."

"Talk."

"He contacted Franklin this morning. We couldn't confirm the contents of the call, but right after it ended, a large sum of money was transferred into Aiden's account." Charles handed me the tablet. "The account it came from is overseas. It's connected to the same ones we found before."

I glanced at the numbers on the screen. It was enough money for Aiden to disappear.

"He's getting ready to run."

"That's what it looks like."

I handed the tablet back to him.

"Keep eyes on him. Don't let him leave the country."

"Already in motion. Airports, train stations, ports. Everyone's been notified."

I looked at Charles.

"Charles."

"Mr. Windsor."

"How long have you been with me?"

"Ten years."

"Ten years." I repeated the number under my breath. "In those ten years, have you ever thought I made the wrong call?"

Charles was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

I looked at him.

"The biggest mistake you made was showing Franklin too much mercy." Charles's voice stayed calm, so calm it sounded like nothing more than fact. "You've been investigating him for fifteen years, but you never made the first move. You kept waiting for him to make a mistake, waiting for him to expose a weakness, waiting for him to corner himself. But some people never fall unless you hit them where it kills."

I said nothing.

He was right.

I had been waiting all this time.

Waiting for Gray to speak. Waiting for evidence to surface. Waiting for the right moment.

Fifteen years of waiting had gotten me a notebook, and an opening.

If it hadn't been for Elizabeth, for that notebook, for Aiden's betrayal, I might still be waiting.

"You're right," I said.

Charles froze for half a second, probably not expecting me to admit it.

"So now," I said, "I'm done waiting."

At three o'clock sharp, the termination letters went out.

Six business partners received legal notice from the Windsor Group at the same time. The language was precise, the grounds solid, the evidence airtight.

Every breach of contract was listed in detail. Every piece of supporting evidence was attached. There was no room left to argue.

Within half an hour, all six company heads had called.

I told Charles to give all of them the same response: proceed through legal channels. No private communication.

Some of them panicked and said we'd worked together for years, that surely this could be discussed like reasonable people.

Some said they were coming to the Windsor Group in person to explain themselves.

Others tried threats, saying the Windsor Group would make enemies across the entire industry if we went through with this.

I didn't take a single call.

Not because I was afraid. Because there was no point.

They knew exactly what they were doing.

They just never believed the Windsor Group would actually strike back.

Franklin had paid them well to tear down the Windsor Family from inside its own territory.

They thought I wouldn't find out. They thought I wouldn't care. They thought I would turn a blind eye for the sake of the Windsor Family name.

They were wrong.

By evening, Gray called.

I looked at his number on the screen and didn't answer. It rang four times, then stopped.

A little while later, it rang again.

This time, I didn't hesitate. I silenced it and turned the phone facedown on the desk.

I didn't want to answer.

Not because I was afraid of what he'd say. Because I already knew.

"Alexander, if you do this, where does that leave the Windsor Family's reputation?"

"Alexander, give your grandfather a little more time."

"Alexander, he's your uncle."

I had heard those words countless times over the past fifteen years.

Every time, they cut like a blade, reopening the same wound, slicing it until it could never heal right.

Eventually, the phone stopped ringing.

I sat alone in my office as the sky outside darkened and the city lights came on, one by one.

Then I thought about the message Elizabeth had sent me that morning. I thought about her telling me to come home early that night.

She was waiting for me.

No matter how late it got, she would wait.

I got to my feet, picked up my car keys, and left the office.

When my car pulled into the driveway, the lights in the living room were still on.

I opened the door and saw Elizabeth curled up on the couch with a blanket over her, her phone still in her hand. Her head kept dipping forward, like she'd fallen asleep waiting for me.

I walked over and crouched in front of her, studying her face. Her lashes were long, trembling faintly, as if she were caught in a dream.

"Elizabeth," I said.

She didn't wake.

"Elizabeth." I said it again, more softly.

Her eyes opened slowly, and the moment she saw me, the light in them came back little by little.

"You're home." Her voice was thick with sleep, soft as cotton.

"Yeah."

"Did you eat?"

"No."

"Lisa left food for you. I'll go heat it up."

She pushed the blanket aside and started to get up, but I reached out and caught her hand.

"No need. I'm not hungry."

She looked at me, the last of her sleep fading from her face, replaced by an expression I knew well. Worry.

"Did everything go okay today?"

"It did."

"What about Aiden?"

"He's trying to run. He won't get far."

She fell silent for a moment, then reached up and lightly touched my face.

"Alexander."

"Yeah."

"You look exhausted."

"I'm fine."

"You're lying."

She was right.

I was lying.

I was tired.

Not in my body. In my bones. In the part of me that had been carrying this for too long.

"Alexander." Elizabeth's voice was quiet.

"Yeah."

"You don't have to carry everything by yourself."

I looked at her and said nothing.

Something in my chest gave, just a little.

"Elizabeth."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

She blinked. "For what?"

"For waiting for me."

Her eyes reddened for a second, and then she smiled.

"I'll wait for you every day. No matter how late it is."

I reached for her and pulled her into my arms.

She leaned against my chest, her arms circling my waist.

We stayed like that, holding each other without a word.

Outside, the night had gone deep and dark. Inside, the living room was warm with light.

This house used to belong to me alone.

Now it had her. Her warmth. Her breathing. Her waiting.

"Alexander."

"Yeah."

"Will tomorrow be better?"

"It will," I said.

No matter what happened tomorrow, having her here was enough.

That was the only thing I knew for certain.