Fabian watched Angelena's white blazer disappear around the corner of the hallway. He turned his head and shot a freezing glare at Arleen, who was still sobbing dramatically against the doorframe. A sudden, intense wave of irritation washed over him.
He didn't offer Arleen a single word of comfort. Instead, he walked back to the bed and carefully pulled the duvet up to Leland's chin. His movements were incredibly gentle, a stark contrast to his usual ruthless demeanor.
Eleonora slammed her cane against the floor again. "Fabian! Call security! Have that lunatic arrested for assault!"
Fabian rubbed his throbbing temples. "Enough, Grandmother," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "She just saved Leland's life. The Richmond family does not repay debts by calling the police. Atherton, escort them back to their rooms."
Arleen heard the subtle defense in his tone. Jealousy clawed at her throat, but she forced a sickeningly sweet, forgiving smile. "It's okay, Fabian. I don't blame her. She's just... pathetic."
Fabian ignored her entirely. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, pulled out his phone, and dialed Alex.
"I want to know exactly what happened to Angelena Beasley five years ago," Fabian ordered, his voice cold. "Why was she kicked out? Who was involved? I want every single detail, no matter how deeply it's buried."
Meanwhile, Angelena sat in the back of a yellow cab, watching the neon lights of Manhattan blur past the window. She leaned her head against the cold glass, utterly exhausted.
Her burner phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out. It was a voice note from Ghost, her hacker partner.
[Hey Boss. The bounty for 'Angel' on the dark web just hit ten million dollars. The client is still Richmond Corp. You want me to open a channel? ]
Angelena pulled a wireless earbud from her purse and jammed it into her ear. "No," she replied, her voice dripping with ice. "I don't care if he offers a billion. I will never take a job from Fabian Richmond. Block the IP."
Ghost chuckled through the static. [Damn. Did the King of New York piss in your cereal? ]
"He's a blind, arrogant tyrant," Angelena spat, ending the call.
A second later, her regular phone rang. The caller ID showed an unknown, encrypted number.
She answered it.
"How much?"
Fabian's voice came through the speaker. It was deep, magnetic, and completely void of warmth. "Name your price to leave New York and never come near my sons again."
Angelena paused for a fraction of a second before letting out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Do you honestly believe your money gives you the right to buy people's lives?"
"I believe," Fabian said coldly, "that you approaching Leland is part of a calculated agenda. I will not allow a dangerous variable to remain in my children's orbit."
"You have severe paranoia," Angelena fired back, her grip on the phone tightening. "I don't care about your money, and I certainly don't care about you."
Fabian's breathing grew heavier over the line. "Don't think that because you got lucky with Leland today, you have leverage over me. The Richmond family has access to the best medical teams on the planet."
"Your 'best medical teams' couldn't even handle a febrile seizure," Angelena sneered. "They are a bunch of useless hacks."
The silence on the line was deafening. The psychological warfare between them crackled through the phone, neither willing to yield a single inch.
Suddenly, a small, clear voice broke through the background noise on Fabian's end.
"Mommy? Foy misses you."
Fabian immediately covered the microphone with his hand. "Foy, go back to your room," he hissed.
But Angelena had already heard it.
Her heart violently contracted. A physical ache spread through her chest. The primal, undeniable pull of a child calling for her shattered her icy armor instantly. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.
She ignored Fabian completely. She softened her voice to a gentle whisper. "Be a good boy. Go to sleep."
Then, she pulled the phone away and hit end.
Hearing the dial tone, Fabian's face turned ashen. He stared at the phone in his hand. The realization that this woman held more influence over his son's emotions than he did made his blood boil.
He looked down at Foy, who was staring up at him with defiant, angry eyes. Fabian's suspicion morphed into a dark, consuming paranoia.
The next morning.
Angelena walked into her biotech company's headquarters. Before she even reached her desk, Justice ran up to her, clutching a tablet, her face pale.
"Ms. Beasley, we have a massive problem. Our primary supplier for the new drug trial just cut off all raw materials. Effective immediately. The supplier is a subsidiary of Richmond Corp."
Angelena's eyes turned into chips of ice. Fabian was using his corporate power to starve her out of the city.
She slammed her briefcase onto her desk and leaned forward, her eyes burning with absolute defiance. "If he wants a war, I'll give him a war."
She flipped open her laptop. Her fingers flew across the keys, bypassing standard corporate protocols and diving straight into the dark web. She began contacting international smugglers and black-market chemical suppliers. She was going to use her underground network as "Angel" to break Fabian's siege.
