Chapter Five: The Edge of the Blade

The air in the loft felt heavy, like the weight of unspoken truths and years of simmering resentment had soaked into its walls. Victor stood motionless, his eyes locked on the flash drive in Jared's hand. It was small—innocuous, even—but it might as well have been a loaded gun.

Jared didn't move either. He just stood there, holding the drive like a lit match. "Funny, isn't it? After all these years, all your billions, everything still boils down to this."

Victor's jaw tightened. "If you wanted revenge, you should've taken it years ago. Why now?"

Jared's eyes flared with something Victor couldn't quite place. Anger, yes, but something deeper, sharper. "Because I wanted to see how high you could climb before the fall. That's the thing about power, Victor—it makes you sloppy. You thought you could bury Avalon, and I'd just disappear. But here I am."

Victor didn't flinch. He'd spent too many years perfecting the art of keeping his composure under fire. "And what's your plan? Hand that over to the press? Watch them tear through it? You won't survive the fallout any more than I will."

Jared laughed, a short, bitter sound that echoed off the walls. "I'm not trying to survive. I'm trying to ruin you."

Victor took a step forward, his voice dropping to a razor's edge. "And you think this is how you win? By dragging both of us through the mud? You're not thinking big enough, Jared. You never did."

The insult landed like a slap, but Jared didn't waver. Instead, he took a slow breath, his lips curling into a grim smile. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I never thought big enough. But that's why I kept this," he said, lifting the flash drive slightly. "To remind myself of who you really are. The liar. The thief. The man who built his empire on someone else's bones."

Victor clenched his fists, the familiar guilt clawing at the edges of his resolve. But guilt was a weakness he couldn't afford. Not now.

"Let's cut the theatrics," Victor said, his voice low and measured. "What do you want? Money? A piece of the company? Say it."

Jared's smile faded. He slipped the flash drive into his pocket and took a step closer. "This isn't about money. It never was. It's about accountability. You walk through life like nothing can touch you, like the rules don't apply. But they do, Victor. And I'm here to remind you of that."

Victor met Jared's gaze, searching for a crack, a tell, something to exploit. But Jared's resolve was unshakable, hardened by years of bitterness and betrayal.

"You don't scare me," Victor said, though his voice carried the faintest edge of doubt.

"You should be," Jared replied.

The words hung in the air like a knife between them. Victor's mind raced through scenarios, contingencies. Jared had always been unpredictable, but this was different. He wasn't playing for leverage. He was playing for destruction.

"I'm giving you one chance," Jared continued, his tone colder now. "Step back from the Apex deal. Publicly. Walk away before it's too late."

Victor's eyebrows shot up. "You think I'd do that? Throw away a billion-dollar deal because you're waving some empty threat?"

"It's not empty," Jared said. "And it's not a threat. It's a promise."

Victor smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're in over your head."

"Maybe," Jared said, shrugging. "But at least I'm fighting for something real. Can you say the same?"

The question lingered, cutting deeper than Victor cared to admit. He thought of Margaret, her warning, the way she'd looked at him as though he were a man standing on the edge of a cliff.

Victor turned away, walking toward the window. The city stretched out before him, a glittering sea of light and power. It was his kingdom, his legacy—and Jared wanted to tear it all down.

He spoke without turning around. "You want me to step back from Apex? Fine. I'll consider it. But if you come after me again—if you so much as breathe near my empire—I will destroy you."

Jared didn't answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, almost resigned. "You already did, Victor. That's the part you never understood."

Victor turned to face him, but Jared was already walking toward the door. He paused in the doorway, looking back one last time.

"Enjoy the view while you can," Jared said. "Because sooner or later, you'll lose it all."

And then he was gone, leaving Victor alone in the hollow silence of the loft.

For the first time in years, Victor felt a flicker of something unfamiliar. Fear.

He clenched his fists, forcing the feeling down. Jared might have started this war, but Victor Hargrove wasn't the type to lose.

No matter the cost.