Page 166 of Ruthless Kings of Havoc

I can’t remember when I lost my cool like this. This sensation where my life seems to be crumbling in every direction in a matter of minutes.

The last I experienced this was on that fateful day.

When they pronounced Iris’ death.

“This is the problem, Aries,” Matteo begins and leans back in the chair. “Evangeline has become the obsession. The idolized heir who was once deemed unimportant and useless in our society because she was but an orphan taken into Prescott’s humble abode to be raised out of pity. Now, years later, she’s suddenly the apple of everyone’s eye. From being treated like trash by Domino and his peers to being proposed to by one of the most lethal candidates of power in Empire history.” He talks so highly of himself, he grins in pride.

“Then you have Benedict, who’s completely smitten with the woman and isn’t trying to hide it. Then your little model brother, who ends up trending across the globe for one of the steamiest Forbes covers in the history of the magazine’s creation. Youhave to be proud of him. The little five-dollar magazine is not only sold out but being resold for 6-7 figures. I’m sure he’s already seeing an uptick of gigs, so imagine if we start inserting ourselves in these opportunities to be seen by those who lurk in the shadows, looking for promising business and investment partners?”

I clue in on something.

“The upcoming photoshoot. You overheard them.” He may have been hiding in the closet the entire time.

“I set it up. What better way to cheer up my future wife than by creating the opportunity to go out with the men she’s beginning to fall for and make millions having fun?” He paints it perfectly. “She’s happy. My fellow Kings are left content. Our names get further talked about and our reps continue to reach those who wish to benefit from a potential alliance which comes back to me.”

“You’re using her.”

“Or she could be using me? Ever thought of that?” Matteo suggests and leans further back so the chair is balancing his weight with the two back legs. I’m surprised it hasn’t broken from his massive weight.

He lays his legs on the desk, crossing them like a typical bad boy would do. I can see the similarities of how he acts like Zander, confusing me because he’s always acted so sophisticated and tamed.

No, he’s cunningly unhinged.

Then, it finally makes sense.

“You’re like your father.” I knew that. He knows this, but we’re not talking hypothetically now. “This is your personality switch.”

He smiles, then lifts his cigar to his lips.

“Took you long enough. Honestly, you’ve been rather slow today, Aries. Why could that be?”

He’s right. Not only am I being slow, but irrational. Acting like a child, yet I’m usually composed and able to calm myself.

Meaning… something is wrong.

“What did you do?”

“Accusing me of anything is bold, but I understand your dilemma,” he confesses while taking a go at his cigar. Letting the fumes out, he closes his eyes. “When taking out that assassin earlier, you crashed into him, crushing him beneath you before you finished the deed. You didn’t see the puff of smoke your body impact created. I wonder what could have been in his pocket?”

The reminder only makes me realize I can barely grasp what happened when I took him out. That’s unlike me. I remember every detail and further validate my actions by reviewing any potential digital records of the incident before wiping them off the system.

Making what happened untraceable.

The only problem is… I’ve yet to review those recordings because I’m here, confronting Matteo.

Prickling needles of dread begin to take over me.

“Sluggish reaction time, but I can see from your dilated eyes that you’re understanding the true predicament you’re in,” Matteo speculates. “Why don’t I enlighten you? Time is money, and the only person I’d ever spend my valuable time without charging is Sweet Precious.”

I can’t argue with him. I’m too busy acknowledging the wild tingling happening in my toes and fingernails.

“I’m one who enjoys testing those who are around me. Placing them in situations that will benefit me if they dare go wrong but also benefit the victim if the event goes right,” he offers. “For example… I’m the one who put Evangeline on the ice that night. I’m sure you figured that out by now, but you didn’t mention or confront me about it. Benedict did. Impressive, tobe honest. Out of everyone in that precious dynamic, I was confident that you’d be the one to confront me about it. That’s why I lost the bet with Theo and owe him.”

He shakes his head and sighs.

“I hate betting and losing. It’s a rarity but has to happen once in a while, so I learn from my mistakes,” he reveals and narrows his eyes my way. “You were my mistake, Aries. I trusted that your loyalty to my Sweet Precious Gem all these years was genuine. Maybe even out of your growing passion toward this woman you’ve watched grow up and become a fierce player in our wondrous field of bloodshed and betrayal. That assumption made me lose my bet, so I had to get vengeance somehow. At least, in a way that will once again benefit me.”

The tingling is beginning to rise through. My heart begins to race with uncertainty.

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