Chapter 10
Ares looked down at the file, his mind already working through the logistics. But there was still something about this partnership that didn’t sit right with him. He had trusted people before, only to be burned Now, he was forced to trust Selene, a woman who had appeared out of nowhere with no history, no background, and no real reason for him to believe in her.
“What’s the catch?” Ares asked, his tone biting. “You’ve been here every day, pushing me to do things I’m not sure I’m ready for. What do you really want, Selene?”
She didn’t flinch Her eyes met his with unwavering steadiness. “I want you to succeed, Ares. That’s all. But success takes more than just physical recovery. It takes strategy. It takes power. And you can’t do it alone,”
Ares leaned back in the bed, trying to make sense of the whirlwind that was his life. He was a man who had once controlled everything. Now, he felt like a pawn in someone else’s game. And he wasn’t sure he was ready to surrender his remaining power.
“I don’t trust you,” he said bluntly, his voice cold. “Not yet.”
Selene’s lips curved into a faint smile. “You don’t have to trust me yet. But you will. We both want the same thing. It’s just a matter of time.”
She turned to leave, but Ares caught her arm, pulling her back slightly.
“Don’t walk away, Selene,” he said, his voice suddenly low, almost pleading. “I need to know I’m not making a mistake by trusting you.”
Her eyes softened, but there was a hint of something else in them a quiet resolve. “No one else is going to help you, Ares. If you want to recover, if you want to get back to your life, you’ll have to trust me. The question is, how much are you willing to lose before you decide?”
With that, she left, the door clicking shut behind her. Ares lay in silence, staring at the ceiling, the weight of her words pressing down on him. The decision was his. But was he ready to trust her? Could he?
Ares paced the room, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. Every part of him screamed for answers, for clarity, but the more he searched for truth, the deeper he was pulled into the web of uncertainty.
Selene had left him with more questions than answers, and that only made him more desperate to uncover the truth. Why was Charlotte’s signature on the proposal? What was her role in all of this? And, most importantly, what was Victor hiding?
He opened the folder Selene had left him, his fingers trembling slightly as he flipped through the pages. The business plan was detailed, meticulous. But it wasn’t just the plan that caught his attention it was the name at the bottom.
Charlotte Calloway.
He couldn’t believe it. His fiancée was involved in this plan. But why? What did she know? Was she working with Selene? Or was this all part of some larger scheme to keep him from reclaiming his power?
The door opened with a soft click, and Ares looked up, his gaze hardening as Selene entered. She took one look at him, her eyes flicking to the papers on the table before returning to his face.
“Something wrong?” she asked, her voice calm but sharp, as if she already knew what he was thinking.
Ares didn’t speak immediately. He stood, his jaw tight, as the rage built inside him. Charlotte. Victor. They had betrayed him, and now, it seemed, they were working together.
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11:57 Sun, Oct
Chapter 10
“What is this?” Ares demanded, his voice low but simmering with fury as he gestured to the proposal. “What is she doing in this? What the hell is going on. Selene?”
Selene’s expression didn’t change. She simply walked over to the table, her movements measured, as though she were accustomed to dealing with his outbursts. “You knew she was involved in this,” she said calmly. “You’ve been suspicious for days. This is the only way forward, Ares. Your empire is crumbling. You need help.”
“I don’t need het,” he snapped. “I need the truth.”
The tension in the room grew palpable, like a storm on the horizon. Just then, his phone rang. It was Victor.
Ares reached for it, his pulse quickening. This was it. The answers he’d been waiting for.
But as he answered the phone, the line went dead.
Ares stood motionless, the phone still pressed to his ear, the dead line on the other end mocking him. The silence that followed was suffocating, as if the entire world had stopped.
Victor’s call had promised answers. But instead, it had been nothing.
His thoughts raced, his mind spinning in circles. What now?
He had a choice to make. One that would determine his future, his very survival. He could confront Charlotte. Demand the truth. Expose her betrayal once and for all. Or he could trust Selene, the woman who had remained by his side through it all, the woman who claimed to have his best interests at heart.
But could he trust her? Could he trust anyone?
His gaze flickered to the folder on the table, to the proposal with Charlotte’s signature. She was involved, no matter how much he wished
it weren’t true.
Ares took a deep breath, his hand shaking as he reached for his phone. He had to make the call. He had to find out the truth.
But just as his finger hovered over the screen, a message popped up.
“You won’t believe what I found.”
Victor’s message. His heart skipped a beat as he read the words.
Before Ares could respond, the screen went black.
His entire world seemed to collapse around him. The decision was no longer his. It had been taken from him.
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11:57 Sun, Oct 12
THE PHOENIX’S REVENGE
Chapter 11
