I lean back in my desk chair and check my pocket watch, the worn image of my mother staring back at me. I can’t help but wonder if my parents would be proud of me. I’m not far off from making the vision my father had come true, but would they be proud of the person I became and the choices I made? Would they applaud me or berate me for what I’m about to do?
My office door opens, and I snap my watch closed. Miguel Garcia walks in, a smug smile on his face. I can see it now, the resemblance. Valentina has his eyes — it’s the only good thing he seems to have given her. How could he have looked into those beautiful hazel eyes of hers and walked away? How could he have abandoned her?
I still remember how impoverished she looked when she first started working for me. She’ll never know, but she’s the reason our entire company now gets free catered lunch in the cafeteria. It’s something I implemented when I realized she was eating cup noodles every single day, despite the salary I paid her. It didn’t take me long to find out that all her money went toward her family’s care and upkeep.
There’s no way he couldn’t have known. If my grandmother is correct, and he was actively trying to prevent her from getting a high-profile job, he would have known she had to drop out of college. He would’ve known what situation her family was in, and how much had fallen onto her dainty shoulders. He knew, and he once again turned his back on her.
“I knew you’d call me eventually,” he says as he holds his hand out for me to shake.
I stare at in disgust and tip my head toward the seat opposite my desk. “Sit.”
He frowns for a moment before pulling his hand away and doing as I asked. I’ve got approximately thirty minutes before Valentina’s meeting with Ben and Stephen ends, and I want this pile of garbage out of here before she’s forced to lay her pretty eyes on him. He is one of the reasons she was scared to bring me home, why she’s hiding part of herself from me.
“I’ve been looking to invest in your fund for months now, but your secretary failed to convey my messages. After what you told me last time, I didn’t think I’d hear from you. I suppose you’ve realized how incompetent she is, and how much money you’re leaving on the table because of her. It’s hard to find good staff these days, so I won’t hold it against you in the slightest. You did, after all, reach out personally.”
How? How could a man like him have fathered someone like Valentina? Perhaps not having him in her life is a blessing, and not the curse she thinks it to be. Nevertheless, there’s no forgiveness for the pain he caused her. There is only retribution.
“I invited you here to inform you that I’m formally withdrawing the insurance policies every single Windsor company has with ReInsure as soon as our term is up. We will not be renewing. All of the Kingston companies are following suit, and so is Silas Sinclair’s firm. If I have it my way, the rest of my network will follow my lead. All in all, I expect the loss to be a few hundred million for you.”
Until now, he’s handled every single type of insurance for us, ranging from litigation insurance to the health insurance we provide to all of our employees. His company is the industry standard for insurance, but it won’t be for much longer. I can’t touch the Garcia family as a whole — they’re simply too powerful. But this? This I can do. Miguel and Reinsure aren’t that hard to destroy. I’ll ruin him, and not even the head of the Garcia family, Hugo Garcia, will be able to save him. With a bit of luck, Hugo won’t even care about his second cousin. The loss of such a profitable company will draw his attention, but I’m willing to face any consequences that come from it.
“Ares will issue a formal statement through a press conference, and every single media firm we own will cover the news. We’ll ensure everyone hears about it. How many clients do you think you’ll lose? How many companies will assume that we must know something they don’t?”
The panic in his eyes brings me joy, but it isn’t enough. I want him to suffer the way he made my wife suffer. I’ll take away everything he left her for, right down to the same fucking building he refused her entry to.
“Why would you do that?” he asks, his voice trembling. “Is there something we’ve done? Are the prices of our policies too high? We can always renegotiate, Luca. Let’s talk about this, and allow me to make you an offer you can’t refuse. I’ve been meaning to re-invest the insurance funds, and it’s Windsor Finance I chose. It would be a massive investment.”
I chuckle and run a hand through my hair. “Do I look like someone who lacks money?” I pause and take in the utter desperation in his eyes. He’s not stupid. He knows this could easily bankrupt his company, and his reputation will never recover.
“Please,” he says, the word clearly hard for him to say. “Tell me what’s going on. I can fix this, if you tell me what it is you’re displeased with.”
I smile at him and cross my arms. “Very well. I’ll reconsider if you go down on your hands and knees in front of Valentina and beg her to forgive you for the pain you’ve caused her. If you can make her forgive you and acknowledge her not only as your daughter, but as your heir, I’ll keep my hands off you.”
He rises to his feet in such a rush that his chair clatters to the floor. I glance past him and sigh, irritated. Valentina took a lot of care choosing those chairs. If he damaged them, I’m sure that would annoy her. Perhaps I shouldn’t have offered him leniency after all.
“I don’t know what that little wench told you, but she takes after her mother. She’s a nagging little thing, and no doubt, she made you pity her with some bullshit sob story. Did she seduce you the way her mother seduced me? Take it from me, Luca. You’ll regret this. I’ve been in your shoes, and I understand what it’s like to be blinded by passion. She isn’t worth destroying a solid business relationship. What do you think people will say when they hear you cut ties with me over a woman? They’ll ridicule you.”
I smile and lean forward, my elbow on my desk and my fist pressed to my chin. “No, they won’t. They’ll applaud me for doing what Windsors always do: putting family first. I strongly advise you to beg my wife for forgiveness. If you don’t do it by the end of the day, I’ll take every single thing that you left her for, and I’ll drive it into the fucking ground. I’ll make you regret the day you left her waiting for you at school, filled with faith that you’d be there. You broke her heart in irreparable ways, and I won’t stop until you feel the way she once did: despaired and abandoned. There will always be a price to pay for bringing tears to my wife’s eyes, Miguel. I’ll make you pay for every single one of them if it’s the last fucking thing I do.”
“Wife?” he repeats, his face blanching.
My office door opens, and Valentina walks in. She pauses midway, her eyes landing on Miguel. Fuck. It fucking kills me to see her make that hurt expression, even if it’s only for a split-second before she schools her features. How did I miss that last time? Is that how she looked at him then too?
“Beg,” I murmur, my voice low. “Or get the fuck out of my office before I have security drag you out.”
He glances at me, his gaze filled with hatred that only amuses me. Then he turns and walks out, brushing past Valentina as though she’s nothing to him. I see the way she flinches, and I’m going to make sure he regrets acting this way. One way or another, I’m going to bring him to his knees in front of my wife.
“What was he doing here?” she asks, her gaze filled with accusations. “You agreed to let him invest?” She looks away, as though she can’t bear to face me. I can see it in her demeanor. She thinks I betrayed her the way he did. It makes sense now, the way she keeps everyone at a distance, as though she believes it’ll hurt less if she pushes people away before they have a chance to leave her.
“Come here.” I hold my hand out for her, and she grits her teeth. “Please, baby.”
Some of the tension flows out of her body as she walks toward me, a spark of hope in her gaze, as though she wishes I’ll prove her wrong. She’s giving me a chance.
Valentina places her hand in mine, and I bring our joined hands to my lips. “Tell me, my wife. Do you want me to take everything from him and give it to you? Do you want his company for yourself, or should I destroy it? If you want it, I’ll acquire it for you after I sink his share price. We can turn it into Windsor Insurance.”
She stares at me wide-eyed. “W-what… what are you… Luca, you can’t. H-he is… my father is ruthless. Please don’t—”
I’ve never seen her so rattled. She’s always overconfident, even in situations she shouldn’t be, yet here she is, insecure and worried, because of that fucker. I cup her face and smile at her. “Did you forget who you married? I once promised you I’d put every single one of my resources at your disposal, so use me. You don’t have to be the bigger person anymore, Valentina. That’s only for people without the power to make a difference. You’re a Windsor now. You’re my wife. Anything you want, baby. Just tell me, and I’ll make it yours.”
She smiles at me then, genuinely, some of her unease fading away. “You really would, wouldn’t you?”
I nod. “I’d do anything for you, Valentina.”
“Why?” she whispers, her gaze once more reflecting pain.
Does she really not know why? I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Valentina, you make me wish it were possible to pluck a star from the sky, just so I could make you smile. You make me do things I’ve never done before. Surely you know that? Maybe you truly have driven me insane, at last. You must have, because how else would you explain the fact that I’d start a war for you?”
In many ways, the words I just spoke to Miguel truly will start a war. The media coverage will be a bloodbath, and his company is about to become the biggest casualty. I can’t bring myself to regret it though. Valentina deserves this much. She might not ask for it, but she deserves revenge. No matter the cost.
