Page 24 of Monsters Wear Crowns
I narrowed my eyes. “Why I’m really here.” I gestured toward the rest of the room–the luxury, the power humming in the air like a well-kept secret. “You didn’t summon me just for fun, Rafe. At least I don’t think so based on the wildly private setting.”
A slow smirk bloomed on his lips.
I sucked in a breath. “The breach,” I said firmly. “I wantanswers.”
For a moment, he simply looked at me, as if measuring the weight of my demand. Then, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a phone. He swiped across the screen before turning it toward me.
My stomach dropped.
It was a screenshot–lines of code and error messages I recognized instantly. A direct fragment of the breach.
I clenched my jaw. “Why the hell were you in my system?”
“Relax, love.” He set the phone down on the table between us, his fingers idly tapping against the glass. “I wasn’t able to crack in. Which is perfect, because I’m animpeccablehacker.”
A flicker of rage and fear twisted inside me. “You–”
“I needed to know if you were as good as they say,” he cut in smoothly, his tone infuriatingly calm. “And youare.”
I schooled my expression, refusing to let Rafe see just how much his words unnerved me. But inside, my mind raced. “If you wanted to impress me, there were easier ways,” I said coolly.
Rafe chuckled, but his eyes remained sharp, unreadable. “You wouldn’t have been impressed with much else.”
I didn’t deny it.
Instead, I exhaled slowly and picked up my glass, taking a steady sip before setting it down. “Let’s stop playing. If you wanted to expose a weakness in my security, you didn’t. This is annoying, and I don't have time for this nonsense.”
Rafe’s smirk faded slightly, his demeanor shifting into something darker. “I want you to work with me.”
I swallowed hard, but before I could respond, a figure approached. Maximillian had returned–but he wasn’t alone. Another man, taller, broader, and just as menacing, lingered beside him.
“Vaughan,” Maximilian murmured, his eyes flicking to me with curiosity before returning to Rafe. “We have to finish our earlier discussion.”
I felt it immediately–the way the atmosphere shifted andRafe’s easy charm hardened into a coldness that bordered on lethal.
He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “Wait here, Adela.”
It wasn’t a request.
As the men walked toward a more secluded part of the lounge, I glanced down at my drink.What the fuck was going on?The people here, both men and women, are likely responsible for some level of blood. They were some of the most potent names in the city. Some, I recognized as they were my actual clients. Claire Ridgewald, a beautiful and fierce redhead that laundered money through her chain of luxury hotels. She was known in the alley as the “red fox,” responsible for killing several people who got in her way. Her money paid for quite a bit of horrible, illegal shit. But at the end of the day, she had a lot of money.
So I helped her. Along with many others. The average person would call me a piece of shit for doing what I did, but I knew that if they saw the money I saw, they wouldat leasthesitate.
No matter how good they claimed to be.
After about ten minutes of me contemplating my life’s decisions and morals, Rafe returned from his meeting, his expression annoyingly unreadable. He didn’t sit right away. Instead, he poured himself another drink, the quiet clink of ice against glass filling the silence between us. I watched the way he swirled the amber liquid, his fingers steady.
“Your system is impressive,” he finally said, continuing our discussion as if he never left. “It held up better than most.”
I arched a dark brow, leaning my elbows on the bar. “Most? Meaning you’ve done this before.”
His lips curved, but it wasn’t quite a smile. “A good businessman always tests the waters before stepping in.”
I scoffed, crossing one leg over the other. “That’s averypolished way of saying you hacked into my company.”
“Hacked?” He tilted his head, eyes gleaming with something close to amusement. “I prefer to call it…vetting. You’d be surprised how many so-called impenetrable systems crumble under the right pressure.”
My fingers tightened slightly against my knee. “And mine didn’t?”
