Page 53 of Breaking the Annulment

A single tear slid down her cheek, but she forced a laugh. “Always. Now go and attend to our guests before they all pull out their guns and start shooting each other.”

He gave a sharp laugh. “Bonetti is here. People are on edge.”

“Exactly. So, go. I’ll be fine.”

He gave her a long, lingering kiss. “I am yours to command,agápe mou. I’ll check on you soon.”

She nodded, her heart aching as he walked away.

The tensionin the grand ballroom was palpable as Michalis tracked David across the room. His sharp blue eyes followed David’s every move—the easy grin, the confident air, the casual way he sipped bourbon as though he had nothing to hide. But Michalis knew better.

Enough games.

He motioned discreetly to Ajax, the guard’s broad frame blending into the crowd with practiced ease. Michalis leaned in, his voice a low growl. “Escort David Morrow to the basement. Quietly. No one notices.”

Ajax nodded, slipping away without a word. Michalis adjusted his cufflinks, forcing himself to maintain an air of calm. Across the room, he watched Ajax approach David and speak in a low voice. David hesitated, his grin faltering, but with apracticed shrug, he set his drink down and allowed himself to be led toward the side door.

Michalis waited a beat, ensuring no one was watching, before making his way out. The corridor to the basement was dimly lit and cool, the faint tang of cleaning agents lingering in the air. The farther he descended, the more the muffled hum of the party faded, replaced by the low thrum of industrial fans.

When he entered the basement, David stood in the center of the concrete room, his arms crossed and his posture defiant. Ajax and Elias flanked the doorway, their stoic expressions masking the tension radiating from their bodies. A single overhead bulb swung slightly, casting shifting shadows over the rough walls.

David’s smile was tight as Michalis approached. “What’s this? The grand tour of the dungeon? You do love your theatrics.”

Michalis closed the door behind him with deliberate precision, the echo of the latch clicking into place amplifying the tension in the room. He stepped closer, his imposing frame cutting through the air like a blade. “This is about Aurelia,” Michalis said evenly, his voice low and controlled. “And your ties to Victor Khomenko.”

David’s posture stiffened slightly, but he quickly masked it with a scoff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Michalis let out a dark laugh, slow and deliberate. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I know everything, David. I know about Maria Dobrevna.”

David blinked, the name clearly catching him off guard, but he quickly recovered, his smirk returning. “She’s a housekeeper. I have several.”

“She’s not a housekeeper,” Michalis snapped, his voice a sharp crack in the cold room. “A Romanian national tied toKhomenko. She’s worked in your household for years, funneling information and laundering money through your accounts.”

David’s smirk faltered, but he lifted his chin. “You’ve got no proof.”

“I’m not the police. I don’t need proof,” Michalis said, stepping closer. His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried the weight of a death sentence. “The evidence, however, is there. Wire transfers from Khomenko’s accounts. Meetings logged in her schedule that coincide perfectly with your trips to Europe. And that’s just the start.”

David’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond.

“You’ve been working with him for years,” Michalis continued, his voice cold and steady. “You’ve helped him secure properties, launder money, and expand his influence. And now you’re here, trying to meddle in my marriage.”

David sneered. “I don’t give a damn about your fictitious marriage, Michalis.”

“No?” Michalis’s eyes narrowed. “Then let me tell you why Victor does. He doesn’t just want Aurelia because she’s his daughter. He promised her to one of his men—whoever can bring her back to the fold, as it were––as a reward for finding her. That wouldn’t be you, now, would it?”

David’s mask of confidence cracked, his lips pulling into a tight line.

Michalis stepped closer, his broad shoulders casting a long shadow over David. “You can tell Victor he’s too late. Aurelia is my wife. She’s already pregnant with our first child.”

David’s eyes flashed with anger. “Do you really think that matters? You think he cares about your little wedding ceremony or her condition?” His tone turned venomous. “Marriages can be annulled. Pregnancies can be ended.”

The words hit Michalis like a slap, igniting a wildfire of rage in his chest. Before David could blink, Michalis’s fistconnected with his jaw with a sickening crack. David stumbled back, crashing into the wall, clutching his face, his eye already swelling.

Michalis loomed over him, his voice like ice. “You ever talk about my wife and child like that again, and I will put you in the ground. The only reason you’re not dead already is because Aurelia doesn’t recognize you as the piece of shit you are and might object.”

David straightened, his breath coming in harsh gasps, but his smirk returned, now tinged with blood. “You can’t protect her forever. Victor is coming for her. And when he does, you’ll regret crossing him.”

Michalis’s voice was deadly calm. “If he comes within a hundred miles of her, I’ll make sure it’s the last thing he ever does.”

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