Chapter 519
Chapter 519:
I shot out of the chair and started pacing. Bloody hell. Why hadn’t I added all this up sooner? Ashton needed control. He had to know everything, be in charge of everything. And I hated being controlled.
Why had I ever thought this relationship could work just because he liked me?
“Can I speak now?” Ashton asked.
“Go on p>
“I wasn’t stalking you or trying to catch you out. I tracked you down because I had news, something I had to tell you in person before it hit the press p>
“You could’ve called p>
“I did. I called and texted. You didn’t answer p>
I fished out my phone. Sure enough, a few missed calls.
“I was in the middle of an important dinner p>
“With Fabrizio p>
“Yes!” I spun around and glared at him. “And instead of trying to seduce him, I was trying to get him locked up p>
That stopped him.
In clipped tones, I told him about Inspector Silva, his visits, and my undercover dinner. “Fabrizio was just about to give me a name when you barged in. Now the whole thing’s a mess p>
I folded my arms and shot him a look that said, “This is your fault.” But instead of looking guilty, Ashton looked… angry?
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
“Done what p>
“Accepted Silva’s request. You put yourself at risk p>
“Fabrizio’s not dangerous p>
“He’s a criminal p>
𝓛⍺𝕥𝒆𝕊𝓽 с𝒉αρ𝐭𝓮𝓇𝓈 gⲁⅼ𝓷𝗈ν𝓮𝗅𝗌﹒с𝑜ｍ
“A white-collar one. He doesn’t go around waving guns and murdering people p>
“Back someone into a corner and see how quickly they get violent p>
“He’s not armed. And I can box p>
“That’s not the point. You shouldn’t have done it p>
“So now I need your permission to do things p>
“That’s not what I meant p>
“It’s exactly what you meant p>
He went quiet for a moment, then admitted, “It is. I just wish you’d talked to me first p>
I looked away.
He was right. That was the worst part.
If I’d shown him Valmont’s books from the start, he might have spotted the red flags. He was sharp and had a better eye for finance than I ever would. Maybe then I wouldn’t have dumped five million euros into a sinking ship, and I wouldn’t be scrambling now to recover it.
It wasn’t even the money that stung. It was the humiliation of screwing up, of looking stupid. And that was why I hadn’t told Ashton. I hadn’t wanted to lose face.
“I don’t need you monitoring my every move,” I said.
“Silva used you. He could’ve made an arrest with what he had, but he wanted more, so he pushed you to get it. He used you to boost his own career p>