Page 52 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

Every muscle in his body is coiled tight, his fists clenching at his sides as he glares around the room. “Every single last one of you is a damn coward,” he hisses, his voice shaking with anger.

“That’s enough!”

Lawrence’s voice rises, sharp, authoritative, cutting through Frank’s tirade like a whip.

For the first time, the other board members actually flinch.

Even I’m a little surprised.

Frank whirls on him, eyes blazing, his chest rising and falling like he’s barely holding himself together.

And then Lawrence, cool and unshaken, adds, “You’d do well to remember that you had a hand in getting the company into this situation.” His voice dips lower, sharper. “Among your other offenses.”

A beat of silence.

Frank breathes hard, staring Lawrence down, his green eyes glistening with pure, unfiltered rage.

Alex leans back in his chair, fingers tapping lazily against the table, watching the chaos he’s just ignited spread like wildfire. His expression is completely unbothered, his voice as smooth as silk.

“That reminds me,” he muses, his tone carrying the same casual indifference as someone commenting on the weather. “I’ve done my due diligence, and I’m aware that there’s been some… theft going on in this company.”

The words land like a hammer, cracking through the already fragile tension in the room.

Frank’s head turns toward him slowly, too slowly, like he’s just realized he’s been walking straight into a trap and is only now noticing the jaws closing around him. His entire body stiffens, and the caution in his movement is almost palpable.

Alex continues, as if he doesn’t notice—or more likely, as if he does and is enjoying every second of it.

“Matter of fact, Frank here was suspended after it was discovered that he’d been skimming company funds.” He pauses, tilting his head slightly. “If my memory serves.”

There’s a smugness creeping into his tone now, an almost lazy kind of amusement. He’s stretching it out, letting every single word settle, twisting the knife ever so carefully, just enough to send Frank’s fraying nerves into free fall.

“I don’t think I’d be a very smart businessman if I made the kind of investments I intend to make into this company while knowing that the CFO is a thief.”

His gaze locks onto Frank now, no longer lazy, no longer amused—just steady, sharp, and unrelenting.

Frank stares back at him, and for the first time all morning, it looks his bravado is evaporating. His face is a mess of emotions—anger, embarrassment, the slow-burning horror of realizing he’s losing control of the room.

And then, it really hits him.

The silence stretches, and when he dares to glance around, he sees it—every single board member is looking at him.

And not just looking. Assessing. Calculating.

They doing the math.

If there’s even the slightest chance that Frank’s presence could jeopardize the deal with Alex, they’ll throw him overboard without hesitation.

He sees it in their faces.

His jaw slacks slightly, his lips parting like he wants to argue, but the words don’t come immediately. His confidence—so solid just minutes ago—is slipping fast.

“You… you people are not thinking…” he splutters, looking around as if waiting for someone to come to his defense.

No one does.

In fact—

“He does make a fair point,” Andrew says, his voice the first to break the silence.

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