Chapter 31
Elizabeth's POV
Alex's expression darkened. Beside him, Lisa and Anna shot me looks that screamed, how could you say that? A silent, shared reprimand.
I knew the topic was a needle, piercing not only Alex but me as well.
But that was precisely why I was willing to bet on his understanding. For someone who could never see their parents again, anything they left behind was sacred.
The moment I understood why he cared so much about that room, I knew I had been wrong, and it was that shared empathy that had inspired me to prepare a gift for him in the first place.
"Mr. Windsor," I said, my voice laced with a plea as I met his gaze directly. "I will protect this child. But I absolutely cannot stand by while that bastard Aiden lays his grubby hands on my parents' legacy. I think you, of all people, can understand how I feel. Right?"
Alex remained silent. His eyes, cold and profound, betrayed no emotion, and the lack of a response hollowed out my confidence with each passing second. Just as I was about to throw caution to the wind and bolt, he finally spoke, "And you think charging over there right now is going to stop him?"
His voice was rational, devoid of any emotional charge.
He was right. Even if I went now, there was no guarantee I could stop Aiden. I might even walk right into a trap he had meticulously set.
He had gone to all this trouble to break into my home for the sole purpose of luring me out. If I showed up, I would be playing directly into his hands.
And yet, if I did nothing, nothing would change.
"Those things were too important to me. Even if it's a trap, even if I get hurt, I can't let him destroy what my parents left me."
Alex's brow furrowed slightly, his gaze locking onto mine as if he were assessing something deep within me. After a few tense seconds, a faint, almost imperceptible laugh escaped his lips.
"Fine. I'll help you. But I don't make reckless moves. You'll have to prove to me that you have what it takes to handle Aiden."
He didn't look like he was joking. I pressed my lips together into a firm line. "I'm not some helpless woman. I'm more than capable of dealing with Aiden."
I had never revealed this side of myself to Alex, never demonstrated my capabilities, because I had assumed he wouldn't believe me. It felt pointless. But now, it was my only currency.
"If you're willing, just give me a laptop."
With a subtle nod, Alex gestured for me to follow him into the study.
Lisa and Anna trailed behind us, their faces etched with worry. They clearly wanted to remind me about dinner, but seemed uncertain how to broach the subject now.
Inside the study, I sat down at Alex's computer and logged into the Smith Group's internal network, ready to lay my cards on the table.
"Aiden and I were together for years, I started as his assistant and eventually handled most of his workload. I was involved in almost every significant project at the Smith Group."
My ability to learn quickly and my sharp logical thinking had always been my strengths. I could watch someone perform a task a few times and replicate it perfectly.
Aiden, lazy at his core, had grown comfortable delegating everything to me once he secured his position.
Back then, I was under the delusion that he was my future husband, that helping him was my duty. I poured everything I had into his work, securing one lucrative project after another.
You could say that right up until the day I discovered his betrayal, I was still slaving away for the Smith Group. Every noteworthy achievement the company had made in recent years had my fingerprints all over it.
But to the outside world, Aiden was the brilliant decision-maker. No one knew I was the one propping him up from the shadows.
"Mr. Windsor, if I wanted to," I said, a confident, predatory glint in my eyes, "I could plunge the Smith Group into a crisis at any moment."
The only reason I hadn't done it before was out of consideration for a few old colleagues I was fond of, and a lingering sense that this was a private matter between Aiden and me, not something that should bring down the entire company. But now, he had dared to threaten my parents' legacy. The gloves were off.
A cold smile touched my lips as I added, "Mr. Windsor, I know you may not hold much real power within the Windsor family, but if you need it, I can give you the Smith Group's confidential files. You could steal their business with ease."
I was focused on the computer screen, not noticing how intense the gaze beside me had become. He was staring at me intently, as if I were a piece of prey.
"Are you skilled in corporate warfare?" Alex asked, a question that seemed to come from left field.
I looked up, meeting his stare without flinching. "Yes. When it comes to the battlefield of business, I'd say I'm very skilled."
Before I joined, the Smith Group had been a mediocre enterprise at best. I had always made a point of hiding my sharpest edges from Aiden, careful not to bruise his fragile ego. I would subtly guide him, planting ideas in his head so he would believe the brilliant strategies were his own. As a result, while the Smith Group flourished, so did his arrogance. He genuinely believed he had built on his own genius.
My gaze returned to the screen, and another cold smirk formed. "Since I left, the Smith Group hasn't launched a single impactful new project. It's only a matter of time before they burn through their old successes and the whole thing collapses."
Aiden had the nerve to come after me, completely oblivious to the fact that his supposedly stable company was already standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Elizabeth," Alex's voice was different now, laced with a new, unfamiliar tone. "I'm suddenly realizing there may be other uses for keeping you by my side."
My head snapped up, and I adopted a serious, professional posture. "I wouldn't be opposed to establishing some sort of partnership. After all, a partnership implies equality. That would make me feel much more secure."
Even though Alex was just a peripheral member of the Windsor family, he possessed an innate, oppressive aura that had intimidated me on more than one occasion. But if he wanted to use my skills to achieve his own ends, I was willing to play along. Interacting with him as a collaborator, an equal, might just quell the instinctual fear he inspired.
"Aren't you curious about what I want you to do?"
I shook my head. "You're a Windsor. It's only natural you'd want more power. As long as you have some initial capital, I'm confident I can help you build a company from the ground up, maybe even start acquiring assets from other branches of the Windsor family."
As I finished, I noticed his eyes were still locked on me, unblinking. There was no doubt in them, no condescension, just a complex emotion I couldn't decipher. His unwavering stare made me feel a bit self-conscious, and I rushed to add, "Of course, I don't really know the internal dynamics of your family. If it's too complicated, I might not be able to help. But…"
I rested a hand on my lower abdomen and offered him a small, strategic smile. "I am carrying Alexander's child, after all. If things get really critical, I suppose I could always use the baby to ask him for help, couldn't I?"
Alex's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "So, it's true. You have absolutely no idea what Alexander even looks like, do you?"