Chapter 541

Chapter 541:

Lea arched a brow but followed me in. “A nightcap?” she asked lightly. “I’d prefer a glass of…” Her words broke off as I flicked on the light. “What’s this?” We weren’t alone.

Two chairs sat in the center of the living area. In one, an old man with thinning grey hair stared at the floor, resignation etched across his face. In the other, a man in his early thirties with golden hair looked shifty and ashamed.

“Don’t you recognize your own husband?” I asked. “Say hello to Pierre p>

Lea stumbled back, but I blocked the door.

“Ashton, what is this? Why is Pierre here p>

“My men spent weeks getting the truth out of him,” I said. “So there’s no point in lying anymore p>

“I don’t understand p>

“I’m sorry, Lea,” Pierre rasped, his voice hoarse. “I had to tell them. They’d have cut me off.” Her chest heaved.

I pressed on before she could spin another lie, her greatest talent. “I found the drug you used to control him. My men turned the same method back on him—comply, or suffer a cold withdrawal. It took three days before he cracked p>

“Ashton, I can explain Pierre’s a wastrel, yes.

A playboy, useless with money. But he’s not violent. His parents swear it, his friends swear it, even his mistresses do. Only you claim otherwise. He says he never laid a hand on you. One of you has to be lying p>

Her face drained of color. “Ashton, please p>

“I couldn’t understand why you’d lie about something like that, why you’d claim a man who follows you like a dog had abused you. If you wanted to divorce him, you could have filed the papers. You didn’t need a story. I would have helped you, even without one. That was why I hesitated after hearing Pierre’s confession. I didn’t want to believe the woman I’d known half my life, fought beside, trusted with my life, would manipulate me like that p>

“Ashton p>

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗀ⱥ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀꞉ⅽ𝗈𝗆

“Until I found him.” I gestured to the old man in the other chair, barely awake. “Recognize him p>

She looked away.

“He’s the one who paid Dr. Aliénor Dubois to sabotage Mira at the Aureate Awards. Yet he has no link to her. He doesn’t even know Mira. So why spend six figures bribing someone to destroy her work? Until I found out he used to work for you p>

“No, Ashton, it’s nov p>

“Let me finish.” I raised a hand. “That first attempt failed. Did you really think I’d leave her over a scandal? I know how much her designs mean to her, and I knew she’d never cheat. Maybe that’s what gave you the second idea. You were the one who helped Fabrizio Marchetti escape France. You knew Mira couldn’t resist taking over his crumbling brand. You dangled it in front of her like bait p>

Lea regained her composure quickly, slipping back into the calm, cool-headed version of herself. “That may be true, but no one forced her to take the bait. No one forced her to stay in Paris. No one forced her to break up with you p>

The jab landed. I breathed through the sharp twist in my chest and carried on. “You tried to ruin her. You destroyed your own husband with lies. Put those two together, it’s clear you were aiming for me p>

She didn’t even flinch. She nodded, steady and shameless. “I wanted you. You taught me to do whatever it takes. Remember p>

“I remember. But I also remember telling you never to use those tricks on one of our own p>