Chapter 213

No.1

The blood froze in August's veins.

He pressed his entire body weight against the heavy oak door, his expensive tuxedo jacket crushing against the wood. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Through the narrow gap in the doorframe, Allena's voice drifted in, clear and dripping with toxic confusion.

"August?" Allena called out, her tone shifting to a sweet, demanding whine. "I couldn't wait at the beach.I came up to get you for dinner."

The words hit August like a physical blow to the stomach. If Allena saw him locked in this room with Elisa,his entire carefully constructed reality would detonate. His deep, pathetic obsession with his ex-wife would be exposed to the woman he had sworn to protect.

Worse, Preston Vance was standing rightnext to her.

"Well, well," Preston's loud, drunken voice boomed through the wood. "If it isn't the beloved mistress.

Are you here to join the party? Because your boyfriend is currently locked inside with his ex-wife,playing games with my money."

"Shut up, you disgusting pig!" Allena shrieked. Her voice spiked with sudden, violent panic. She began pounding her small fists against the door. "August!Open this door right now!"

No.2

Inside the entryway, Elisa stood pinned against the wall.She looked at August's pale, terrified face.

A slow, incredibly dark laugh rumbled in Elisa's throat.

"Your time management skills are slipping, Mr.Chambers," Elisa whispered. Her voice was a freezing blade sliding between his ribs.

August's head snapped toward her. His dark eyes were wide, frantic, and completely stripped of their usual arrogant power. The heavy thumping against the door was getting louder. Preston and Allena were screaming at each other in the hallway,creating a massive scene that would soon draw hotel security.

August looked at Elisa. For the first time in seven years, the great billionaire looked at her with pure,desperate pleading.

"Fix this," August hissed, his voice trembling with suppressed panic. "Get rid of them."

Elisa tilted her head. She looked at him as if he were a pathetic insect crawling on the marble floor.She held all the cards, and she knew it. If she let the door open, Aethel's reputation would suffer from the scandal, but August's life would be permanently destroyed.

"I will handle the garbage outside," Elisa said, her voice dropping to a dead, absolute monotone. "But you will immediately deactivate the communications jammer on this floor. And you wil give me the master keycard. Now."

August's jaw locked. The muscles in his face twitched violently. He was being extorted in his own hotel, by the woman he thought he owned.

No.3

But the doorknob rattled violently against his back.He had no choice.

August gave a single, jerky nod of submission.

He shoved his entire weight forward, forcing the door flush against the frame for a split second.Elisa immediately reached past his shoulder and slapped the electronic deadbolt button on the wall panel. The heavy locks shot back into place with a loud clank, securing the door from the inside.

August exhaled a harsh, ragged breath, stepping back from the barricade.

"Done," Elisa said.

She pointed her finger toward the massive, dark walk-in closet down the hall.

"Get in the closet," Elisa commanded. Her eyes were completely devoid of mercy. "Hide."

August stared at her. The sheer, unadulterated humiliation of the order made his stomach physically turn. He, the CEO of the Chambers empire, was being ordered to hide in a closet like a cheap,cheating coward.②

He clenched his fists so tight his knuckles cracked.He spun around and walked stiffly into the dark closet, pulling the louvered doors shut behind him.Inside, plunged into darkness, his hand instinctively went to his pocket. He felt the cold metal of his phone.A lifeline.

No.4

Elisa took a deep breath. She smoothed down the fabric of her burgundy dress. She walked to the door, unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled the heavy wood open.

Preston and Allena almost fell into the room.

They both froze.

Elisa stood alone in the entryway. The penthouse behind her was completely empty and silent. She crossed her arms over her chest, projecting an aura of absolute, freezing authority.

Preston pushed past Allena, his bloodshot eyes scanning the empty living room.

"Where is he?" Preston demanded, his face red with alcohol and rage. "Where is the coward hiding?"

Elisa looked at Preston with extreme boredom.

"August left thirty minutes ago," Elisa stated smoothly. "He took the private service elevator down to the security office."

Allena pushed her way to the front. She glared at Elisa, her eyes burning with toxic suspicion.

No.5

"You are lying," Allena spat, pointing a manicured finger at Elisa's face. "The concierge told me he never left the top floor. You're hiding him!"

Elisa let out a short, mocking laugh. She took a step forward, forcing Allena to physically step back into the hallway.

"Are you really that insecure, Allena?" Elisa asked,her voice dripping with lethal condescension. "Do you have so little faith in your ability to keep your

sugar daddy entertained that you have to snif around my hotel room like a desperate stray dog?"

Allena's face turned a violent shade of purple. She opened her mouth to scream, but Preston cut he off.

"I don't care about your pathetic domestic drama,Preston snarled, pulling his phone from his pocket."August answered your phone this afternoon.He insulted me. I have the call recorded. I am going to leak it to the press and ruin him."

Inside the dark closet, August stopped breathing

Cold sweat dripped down his spine.

Elisa did not flinch. She took another step forward,closing the distance between herself and Preston.

No.6

"If you release a digitally altered, fake recording of the CEO of Aethel Intelligence," Elisa said, her voice dropping to a terrifying, legal register, "my legal team will file a defamation lawsuit so massive it will liquidate your entire venture fund. You will be bankrupt before the sun comes up."

Preston's arrogant sneer faltered. He looked into Elisa's dead, serious eyes and realized she was not bluffing.

Suddenly, Allena's phone chimed loudly in the quiet

hallway.

Allena looked down at the screen. It was a text message from Simon, August's Chief of Staff.

Mr. Chambers is waiting for you in the VIP conference room on the ground floor. Please come down immediately.

Inside the closet, August slowly lowered his phone.He had frantically typed the message in the dark,his thumb shaking as he fought to draw Allena away.

Allena read the text. A smug, victorious smile returned to her face. She held the screen up for Elisa to see.

"See?" Allena mocked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "He's waiting for me downstairs. Enjoy your lonely birthday, sister."

No.7

Allena turned on her stiletto heels and marched toward the elevators.

Preston looked at the empty hallway, then back at Elisa. He realized he had lost all his leverage.He let out a disgusted grunt, turned around, and stumbled away toward the stairs.

Elisa stood in the doorway. She watched them leave until the hallway was completely empty.

She stepped back inside and closed the heavy door.