Chapter 68 Fate Has Been Decided

Chapter 68 Fate Has Been Decided
Benjamin's POV

The room fell into complete silence after Katherine's question. Michael, Magnus, and Madam Ricci all stared at her like they were looking at a stranger for the first time.

Because in a way, they were.

Magnus's eyes turned red as he stared at the woman he had loved for the past five years. His hands were shaking at his sides, and I could see the exact moment his heart shattered, right there on his face. Five years of marriage, of dinners together, of whatever intimacy they shared, all of it built on a lie he never once suspected.

"Diana," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Tell me this isn't true. Tell me there's some kind of explanation."

Katherine didn't even flinch.

I leaned back in my chair, watching the scene unfold with mild interest. It reminded me a little of watching a house of cards collapse, slow at first, then all at once.

"Nothing here was ever out of my control," I said calmly, looking at Michael. "You should have known that from the start. I simply waited for the right moment to deal with your family properly."

Michael's face went pale, his mouth opening and closing without any words coming out, like a fish gasping for air out of water.

Madam Ricci's shock quickly twisted into fury. She spun around and glared at Katherine with pure hatred in her eyes.

"You ungrateful bitch," she spat. "We welcomed you into this family and treated you like our own daughter. And this whole time, you were just some spy sent to destroy us?"

Katherine didn't bother responding to her. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, completely unbothered, as if the insults didn't even register.

Magnus took a step toward her, his eyes glassy with tears now.

"Did you ever love me?" he asked quietly. "Even a little? Was any of it real? The wedding, the nights we spent together, any of it?"

Katherine finally looked at him, and the expression on her face was pure disdain.

"Every time you touched me," she said flatly, "I felt sick to my stomach. I was only ever doing my job, Magnus…Nothing more. You should feel lucky I even played the part convincingly enough that you never once suspected anything for five whole years."

Magnus staggered back like he had been physically struck. His legs seemed to give out slightly, and he had to grab the edge of a nearby table just to keep himself upright.

"Five years," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. "Five years of my life, and none of it meant anything to you."

Katherine said nothing more. She simply looked away from him, as if his pain didn't even register.

I had seen enough of this. It wasn't entertaining anymore, just tedious.

"Katherine, Alejandro," I said, turning to the two of them. "You're both done here. Your vacations have already been arranged, and your payments for completing this mission have been settled in full."

Katherine gave a small nod, straightened her shoulders, and walked toward the door without sparing a single glance back at the Ricci family. Alejandro followed close behind her, equally unbothered by the wreckage they were leaving in their wake.

The door closed quietly behind them, sealing off any last chance the Ricci family had of escaping what was coming.

Michael turned back to look at me, his eyes burning with pure hatred now.

"You destroyed my family," he said, his voice shaking with rage. "You used my son's marriage as some kind of chess piece in your games."

"I don't worry myself with things that don't concern me anymore," I said calmly, standing up from my chair. "But since you're curious, don't worry. I'll make sure your deaths are quick and painless. Consider it a small mercy, given everything you've done to my daughter over the years."

Madam Ricci's face instantly drained of all color. She dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands clasped together, shaking violently, her expensive dress pooling on the floor around her.

"Please," she begged, tears streaming down her face, ruining the makeup she had so carefully applied earlier tonight. "Please spare me…I didn't know anything about the deal between you and Michael. I swear it…I'm innocent in all of this."

Innocent?

I looked down at her with an unimpressed gaze.

"Did you ever once care about Bella?" I asked quietly. "When she lived under your roof as a child, did you ever show her a single ounce of kindness?"

Madam Ricci's mouth opened, but no answer came out.

"I know exactly how you treated her," I continued. "The names you called her, the chores you forced on her while your own son lived like a prince in that house. The nights you locked her out in the cold because she came home five minutes late. I know everything, Madam Ricci…So don't kneel here and call yourself innocent."

Her face crumpled, and she broke down sobbing on the floor.

Michael dropped to his knees as well, his hands trembling as he reached out toward me.

"Please," he begged, all his earlier bravado completely gone now. "I'll give you anything… Just let my family live."

Magnus, still reeling from Katherine's confession, seemed to snap out of his daze the moment he heard his father begging. He turned toward Michael with a look of pure disgust.

"You knew about all of this?" he asked. "This whole time, you were involved in whatever twisted deal he's talking about, and you never once told me?"

"Son, please, this isn't the time," Michael said desperately.

"Don't call me son," Magnus snapped. "Not after everything that's happening right now."

I watched the three of them fall apart in front of me, each one turning on the other, begging only for their own life instead of standing together. It was almost pathetic how quickly the family loyalty they liked to boast about crumbled the moment real danger showed up. Blood didn't mean anything to people like this…It never really had.

"Please," Madam Ricci cried out again, reaching toward my leg. "I can help you ... I…I …know things about Michael's business dealings that could be useful to you… Bank accounts, contacts, all of it."

"I'll testify against him," Magnus said quickly, seeing an opening. "Whatever he's done, I'll give you proof. Just let me live…I'll disappear and never show my face in this city again."

"Magnus, how could you…," Michael muttered, shaking his head in disbelief, though even his voice had lost most of its earlier fire.

None of them even looked at each other anymore. Each one only cared about themselves now, willing to throw the others under the bus if it meant buying a few more minutes of life. The wife who once yelled at her husband to stop hitting their son was now trying to sell him out. The son who had just lost the woman he loved was suddenly more concerned with his father's crimes than his own broken heart.

I had seen this exact scene play out more times than I could count. Desperation always stripped people down to their most selfish selves eventually.

I straightened my jacket and finally stood up fully, done listening to their pleading.I had heard enough desperate promises in my life to know they meant nothing once the danger passed. People like Michael always said whatever kept them breathing a little longer.

"I've heard enough," I said simply.

I turned and walked toward the door, ignoring their continued cries behind me. Madam Ricci was still sobbing, and Michael kept shouting promises of loyalty that meant nothing at this point. Magnus had gone quiet, sinking down onto a chair with his head in his hands, looking like a man who had lost everything.

When I reached the door, I paused.

Something made me turn back around, just for a moment. Michael was staring up at me from the floor, his eyes wide with fear.

"Just so you know," I said, my voice calm and even, "Bella is still alive."

Michael's eyes widened in shock, his mouth falling open like he wanted to say something, but no words came out. His whole body went rigid, like he couldn't quite process what I had just told him after everything else that just happened.

I didn't wait for any response. I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

Marcus was waiting exactly where I left him, standing quietly in the hallway with his hands folded in front of him, patient as always.

"Boss," he said, straightening up as I approached.

I looked at him and gave a single, calm nod toward the closed door behind me. Their fate was already decided long before tonight.

"Do a clean job.”