Chapter 29 The Investor's Truth
Robert spreads the documents across the conference table like evidence of a murder.
Which, in a way, they are. The murder of everything Zephyra thought was true.
"Laurent didn't just want Felix." Robert's voice is clinical. "He wanted control. Over Felix. Over the fashion world. Over talent he could exploit."
"I don't understand." Zephyra's hands shake. "Felix said Laurent threatened to blacklist me if he didn't leave."
"That's partially true." Robert pulls out a specific document. An email. "But the full story is worse."
Kairo leans forward. Reading over Zephyra's shoulder.
The email is from Laurent to Felix. Dated five years ago. Two weeks before Felix disappeared.
"The girl has extraordinary talent. Raw. Undeveloped. But brilliant. You've learned from her. Absorbed her techniques. Now it's time to let her go. Let her struggle. Let her grow desperate. In a few years, when she's established but vulnerable, you return. Offer partnership. She'll be grateful. Compliant. And her designs will be ours."
Zephyra reads it three times. Each word is a knife.
"No." She whispers. "No, that can't be real."
"There's more." Robert pulls out another email. Felix's response.
"You're right. She's more valuable separated. I'll make the break clean. Devastating. She'll spend years thinking she wasn't enough. By the time I return, she'll be so grateful for closure she won't question my motives."
The words blur. The room spins.
"He planned it." Her voice doesn't sound like hers. "All of it. The leaving. The silence. The pain. He planned to break me."
"Yes." Robert's expression is sympathetic. "Laurent wanted your talent accessible. Felix wanted your designs. Together, they orchestrated your abandonment as an investment strategy."
Kairo's fist slams on the table. "That son of a—"
"There's more." Robert interrupts. Pulls out another document. "Laurent kept recordings. Including one from three months ago. After Laurent's cancer diagnosis. When Felix knew he was dying."
He presses play on a small recorder.
Laurent's voice fills the room. Weak. Dying. But clear.
"You'll contact her soon. The girl. Zephyra."
Felix's voice responds. Younger. Healthier. Callous.
"When the time is right. When she's successful enough to be useful but insecure enough to be manipulated."
"She married. Did you know?"
"I know. It complicates things. But I can work with it. Use the guilt. The unfinished business. She'll want closure. I'll give her that. Along with a contract she can't refuse."
Laurent laughs. The sound is cruel.
"You learned well from me."
"I learned from the best. How to identify talent. How to exploit it. How to make people think you're saving them while you're using them."
The recording ends.
Silence fills the conference room like poison gas.
Zephyra can't breathe. Can't think. Can't process what she just heard.
Felix's voice. Cold. Calculating. Discussing her like a business transaction.
I need..." She stands at once. "Excuse me."
She barely makes it to the bathroom before she vomits.
The whole lot of things she knew shatters like glass.
Felix did not go away to protect her. He left to break her. To make her prone. To create a future where he could use her.
Five years of pain. Of self-doubt. Of wondering if she wasn't sufficient.
All orchestrated.
All planned.
All lies.
She vomits again. Her body is rejecting the fact in the same manner her mind wants to.
Kairo appears in the doorway. Does not speak. Just holds her hair back. gives water when she was done.
"I'm so stupid." She whispers.
"You're not stupid now." His voice is fierce. "You are trusting. There's a difference."
"I trusted a monster."
"You trusted a person who pretended to be human." He helps her to stand. "It's not your fault."
They go back to the convention room. Robert waits patiently.
"Are you able to testify to all of this?" Caleb asks. "In court docket?"
"Yes." Robert nods. "I have the emails. The recordings. Laurent's journals detailing the whole scheme. It is all documented."
"Why?" Zephyra's voice is hoarse. "Why do you want to help me? You labored for Laurent for 20 years."
Robert's expression softens. "Because I watched him destroy humans for two decades. However, he's dead now. And I have a opportunity to make things right now."
The court docket three weeks later is packed.
Media everywhere. Cameras, Reporters, and fashion industry insiders are waiting to see who wins.
Zephyra sits beside Kairo. Caleb on her other side. Her hands won't stop shaking.
Felix sits across the aisle. Did not look her. His attorneys whisper frantically.
They realize what's coming.
Robert takes the stand. Testimony is devastating.
He presents the emails. The recordings. Laurent's journals. Each piece of proof displaying premeditated exploitation.
Felix's legal professionals try to object. To discredit. To deflect.
But the proof is overwhelming.
The judge listens. Her expression grows tougher with every revelation.
When Robert finishes, the courtroom is silent. Taken aback.
Felix's lawyer stands. "Your Honor, we would like to request a recess to discuss settlement—"
"Denied." The judge's voice cuts through the room. "I've heard enough."
She looks at Felix. Her disgust is seen.
"Mr. Gray, I find your moves reprehensible. You didn't just steal designs. You orchestrated emotional devastation as a business approach. You exploited Ms. Draven’s belief, her love, and her grief for monetary advantage."
Felix's face is going white.
"I'm ruling in favor of the plaintiff. You'll pay damages in the quantity of five million dollars. You'll issue a public apology. And you will stop the use of any designs created by Ms. Lione-Draven straight away." She pauses. "Moreover, I am referring this example to the district legal attorney’s office for potential criminal fraud charges."
The court erupts.
Felix's head drops into his arms.
Zephyra should feel victorious. Vindicated. successful.
But she feels nothing.
The legal battle is over. She won.
However, the damage to her heart is already done.
Outside the courthouse, Reporters swarm.
"How do you feel about the decision?"
"Will you press criminal charges?"
"Do you have something to say to Felix?"
Kairo shields her. Gets her to the car.
Inside, silence.
"You won." He says quietly.
"I know." Her voice is empty. "So why does it feel like I lost a whole lot?"
Because winning the legal battle doesn't erase five years of grief. Doesn't undo the manipulation. Doesn't restore the girl she was before Felix broke her.
Her smartphone buzzes. Text from an unknown person.
She should not open it. She is aware that she shouldn't.
Opens it.
"I'm sorry for everything. You deserved better. You deserved the truth. I was a coward and a thief and a liar. But my feelings for you had been real. At least some of them. I'm hoping someday you may forgive me. —F"
She stares at the message.
Even now. Even after the whole thing. He's still lying.
Because if any of his emotions had been real, how could he have done what he did?
However, there is something else bothering
her. Something Robert said throughout the testimony that she cannot shake.
Laurent's journal mentioned another person. Someone else involved in the scheme. Someone Felix reported to after Laurent died.
Someone pulling strings backstage.
Who else knew about Felix's plan to spoil her?