Page 66 of Savage Obsession

“That is because someone on this table, or should I say some people on this table keeps sabotaging us,” I say, looking directly at Orestes.

“You’re grasping at straws, Vasilios.” Orestes answers, “Do not try to make excuses for your incompetence.”

I smile. A slow, lethal stretch of my lips.

“Am I?”

The doors to the council chamber open, and two of my men walk in, dragging someone between them. He’s bruised, beaten, but still alive.

Orestes go pale.

I don’t look away from him as my men toss his rat onto the floor at my feet.

“Recognize him?” I ask casually, reaching for my cigar.

The man on the floor coughs, spitting blood, but when he lifts his head, his eyes find Orestes with something close to fear and regret.

“Tell the council what you told me.”

Silence.

Then, the man swallows hard and speaks.

“Orestes knew.” His voice is hoarse, but every word rings clear. “He was the one who told me to pass on the shipment details. He said… he said it was time Aithan was taken down a notch.”

The room erupts—murmurs, sharp intakes of breath, shifting bodies.

Orestes pushes to his feet, his mask slipping. “This is a goddamn lie!”

I flick my gaze up to him, unmoved. “Is it?”

I glance at the man on the floor. “You sure about what you just said?”

The man nods. “I swear it. He planned everything with someone outside the organization. Said it was just to shake things up. Said… it would make the council think twice about Aithan’s place.”

I nod to Leon, who moves to the screen in the room and inserts a memory stick. In an instant, the screen flickers, and screenshots of messages between Orestes and his goon begin to play.

The air in the room turns razor sharp.

Orestes, knowing he has been caught red-handed, turns to my father and starts begging for his life. But my father turns to me and gives me a curt nod.

Judgement has been passed.

I pull my gun, fast as lightning, and take one shot. One clean bullet between the eyes and Orestes collapses.

Blood pools beneath his chair, staining the marble. I lower my gun, letting the weight of what just happened sink in. I don’t move, don’t blink, and don’t give anyone a chance to mistake this for an act of impulse.

This is control.

I turn my gaze on Basilis. “Do you want to tell me now if you had any part in this?”

The older man shakes his head violently. “I swear to you, Aithan, I had no involvement.”

I hold his gaze for a long moment before I nod, slipping my gun back into my jacket. “Then let’s hope, for your sake, that’s true.”

Basilis swallows hard.

The message is clear.

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