Chapter 119 Regret

Chapter 119 Regret
Danika's Pov.

At the mention of Lysander's name, a chuckle escaped my lips before I could stop it because honestly, the stupidity of what they were saying sounded almost unbelievable to me. It wasn’t even intentional at first, but once that first laugh left my mouth, another one followed immediately after until I was fully laughing right there in front of them while both men stared at me nervously from where they sat tied to the chairs. The sound of my laughter echoed around the room, but there wasn’t anything warm or amused about it because by the time I finally stopped nearly thirty seconds later, the atmosphere inside the house had become colder than before.

“Lysander?” I repeated while slowly stepping closer toward them again, my eyes narrowing dangerously as I looked directly into their terrified faces. “You mean to tell me that Lysander Laurent-Ashworth personally funded a company that would eventually destroy his own reputation, drag him into a federal investigation, poison innocent people, and potentially send him to prison?” I questioned sharply while crossing my arms over my chest. “The same Lysander who controls more money than all of you combined will probably see in ten lifetimes? That Lysander?”

The two men nodded frantically the moment I finished speaking, clearly thinking they were finally convincing me of something, but honestly, their answers only irritated me even more because at this point it felt like they genuinely believed I was stupid enough to fall for such ridiculous lies.

“Ah, fuck,” I muttered under my breath before bending slightly so I was directly at eye level with them, my expression hardening completely as the patience I had been forcing myself to maintain slowly disappeared. “Are you actually kidding me right now?” I asked quietly, though somehow my calmer tone sounded far more threatening than yelling ever could. “Listen carefully because I’m only going to say this once. I am not in the mood for games, excuses, or stupid lies today, so either you start speaking properly right now, or I will personally drag the truth out of both of you one way or another.”

The first man swallowed hard while shifting nervously in his chair, but before he could answer, the second man immediately spoke again.

“We’re telling the truth!” he insisted desperately while his breathing became uneven again. “President Ashworth was the backer from the beginning! Victoria said he approved everything!”

I stared at him silently for a few seconds before sighing heavily because clearly threatening them normally wasn’t getting me anywhere.

So instead, I slowly reached up and removed the jacket I had been wearing before tossing it carelessly onto a nearby chair, revealing the fitted shirt underneath as I rolled the sleeves up my arms calmly. The moment I did that, both men visibly stiffened in fear while the security guards behind them exchanged brief glances with each other like they already knew exactly what kind of mood I was entering now.

Then I crouched down directly in front of them. “Alright then, since you don't want to talk about Lysander, I'll ask you another question then and this time around, it's better you answer me directly. Were you the ones who added the mercury inside those drugs? How much of those drugs were manufactured? Are they any remaining ones that you've hidden somewhere?”

They shook their heads frantically in unison, their eyes widening as they practically choked on their own saliva to get the words out.

"No! No, we didn't do anything like that!" the first man stammered, his voice cracking under the pressure. "We're just finance guys! We handle spreadsheets and wire transfers! We don't know anything about chemistry or what goes into the manufacturing tanks! We swear!"

"It wasn't us!" the second one chimed in, his chest heaving as he strained against the heavy ropes binding his arms to the wooden chair. "We only moved the money because Victoria told us to! We didn't touch the product! You have to believe us, please!"

I slowly stood up from my crouched position, towering over them as I looked down with a gaze that was entirely deadpan. At the mention of their innocence, a cold, mocking smile touched my lips.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm. "Let me tell you exactly why it can't be anyone else but you two. Apex Bio-Tech didn't have a massive, sprawling team of scientists. There was only one overworked developer and then the two of you who oversaw the whole manufacturing and production. Then there were the power level employees whose only jobs were to distribute the already sealed drugs. The lead developer has been arrested and he's confessed to everything he knows about which leaves only the two of you. Need me to explain more?”

The men opened their mouths to object, but the words died in their throats. They looked at each other, their faces draining of what little color they had left.

"We didn't..." the first man tried to say, but his voice trailed off.

I didn't need a degree in psychology to know they were lying through their teeth. Their body language screamed guilt. The first man was completely incapable of maintaining eye contact with me, his gaze darting repeatedly toward the exit, while the second man was sweating profusely, his fingers twitching violently against the armrests. They were swallowing excessively, their shoulders hunched inward as if they could somehow shrink away from my scrutiny. It was the classic posture of cornered rats trying to find a way out of a maze that had already been sealed.

"Listen to me very carefully," I leaned forward, resting my hands on the armrests of their chairs, trapping them in my space. "You think you're protecting Victoria? Or maybe you think you're protecting yourselves? Let me paint a very clear picture of your future. If you keep denying this, I will personally hand over every single digital trail Valeria found to the federal prosecutors. You won't just go to jail for corporate fraud. You will be charged as accessories to manslaughter. That's twenty to thirty years.”

I watched the second man flinch, and I decided to press harder, digging the blade in deeper. "And don't think your families will just get to enjoy the money Victoria paid you," I continued, my voice dropping to a harsh, icy whisper. "The state will freeze every single asset tied to your names. Your wives, your children, your parents, their homes will be seized, their bank accounts wiped clean under federal asset forfeiture laws. They will be left broke, ruined, and carrying the shame of your crimes for the rest of their lives. And that's just the legal side of things."

I stood up straight, smoothing down my rolled-up sleeves with chilling deliberation. "If I decide to step out of this room and let Lysander handle this his way... if Lysander gets his hands on you before the police do, I promise you that prison will feel like a resort compared to what he will do to you. He doesn't play by the rules. You will regret the day you were born."