Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Rose stared at the television screen, her eyes bright with a feverish glow as breaking news footage showed smoke billowing from Substation 12. The explosion had done exactly what she wanted, Chaos. Fear. The perfect beginning to Camille’s downfall.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, running her fingertips over the screen as if caressing lover. “Look at them scramble.”
Herod stood behind her, his face ashen as he watched emergency vehicles rushing to the scene. This wasn’t what he had signed up for. Sabotage was one thing. Corporate espionage, stock manipulation, those were the weapons of business warfare he understood. But this… this was terrorism.
“We’ve made our point,” he said, his voice tight. “The market will respond. Kane Industries stock will plummet. We can…”
“Point?” Rose spun around, her eyes wild. “We haven’t even started.” She crossed to the hotel room’s small table where she‘ d spread out maps of the Phoenix Grid’s infrastructure. The maps were covered in red circles, targets. “Substation 8 is next, and then we hit the main control center.” Her finger jabbed at the largest circle. “And then…” She smiled, the expression devoid of warmth. “And then Kane Industries headquarters.”
Herod’s stomach lurched. “Kane Industries? The building could have hundreds of people inside.”
“And?” Rose tilted her head, genuine confusion crossing her features. “Since when did you develop a conscience? Victoría Kane destroyed your family. Your brother killed himself because of her.”
“This is different,” Herod said, backing away from the table. “Business is business. This is…” He gestured at the television where reporters were discussing the explosion. “This could kill people, Rose.”
Rose’s laugh was brittle, splitting the air like breaking glass. “Oh, Herod. My sweet, naive Herod.” She stepped closer to him, reaching up to brush her fingers along his jawline. “Did you think this was ever just about business? Camille has everything I should have had. Everything.” Her nails dug into his skin. “I want her to lose it all. I want her to watch it burn.”
Herod pulled away, his hand going to the small cuts her nails had left. “You promised we would destroy her reputation, force Victoria to cut ties with her. You said nothing about mass casualties.”
“Plans evolve,” Rose said with a shrug. “Besides, I arranged the bombing without you, and look….” She pointed to the television, now showing footage of a new explosion. “It worked perfectly.”
Herod stared at her, truly seeing her for the first time. The woman he’d thought was a cunning partner with a justified grudge had disappeared. In her place stood someone unhinged, consumed by hatred.
“You’re insane,” he whispered.
Rose smiled, the expression cold and empty. “No, I’m determined. There’s a difference.” She turned back to her maps. “Now, for the main control center, I need you to….”
“I’m not doing this,” Herod interrupted, backing toward the door. “We’re done, Rose. This partnership is over.”
Rose went still, her back to him. When she spoke, her voice was soft, almost gentle. “You don’t want to do that, Herod.”
“Watch me.” He grabbed his jacket from the chair.
Rose turned slowly, and the look in her eyes made him freeze. “If you walk out that door, I’ll tell the FBI everything. How you helped plan the bombing. How you provided the explosives. How you hacked into their security systems.” She smiled.” Your fingerprints are all over this, darling.”
“You’re bluffing,” he said, but uncertainty crept into his voice.
“Am I?” She reached for her phone. “I’ve documented everything. Every meeting, every plan. I have recordings.” She held up the phone, showing him a screen full of audio files with timestamps. “I’ve always been careful, Herod. It’s how I’ve survived.”
Herod’s mind raced. Could he call her bluff? But what if she wasn’t bluffing? The evidence she claimed to have would send him to prison for decades.
“Why?” he asked, his voice hollow. “I thought we were in this together. I thought we…”
“Had something?” Rose finished for him, her voice mocking. “Oh, we did. It was fun while it lasted. But this was never about us, Herod. This has always been about Camille.” Her expression hardened. “She took everything from me. Everything. And now I’m going to take everything from her.”
“She didn’t take anything from you,” Herod said quietly “You tried to have her killed.”
“A mistake,” Rose snapped. “It was supposed t
Successfully unlocked!
“But it did,” Herod said. “And now you’re doing it again, only worse.”
S
It wasn’t supposed to go that far.”
Rose waved her hand dismissively. “Collateral damage. The point is, Camille needs to suffer. Victoria needs to suffer.” “And me?” Herod asked. “Was I just collateral damage too?”
1/4
Chapter 136
Something flickered across Rose’s face, regret, perhaps, or the ghost of genuine feeling. But it vanished quickly, replaced by cold determination.
“You were useful,” she said. “You still are. But if you try to leave now, I’ll bury you.”
Herod sank into a chair, the weight of his choices crushing him. How had he not seen this coming? He’d been so focused on his vendetta against Victoria Kane that he’d blinded himself to Rose’s true nature.
“What do you want from me?” he asked, his voice flat with defeat.
Rose’s smile returned, triumphant. “I need you to help me with the final phase. The main control center, and then Kane Industries itself.”
“You’re talking about mass murder,” Herod said.
“I’m talking about justice,” Rose countered. “Victoria Kane destroyed your family. She’s the reason your brother is dead.” Herod shook his head. “My brother made his choice. I was angry for years, but this…” He gestured at the television, now showing the aftermath of both explosions. “This isn’t justice.”
“It’s the only justice we’re going to get,” Rose insisted. She knelt before him, taking his hands in hers. For a moment, she looked like the woman he’d thought he was falling for, passionate, determined, focused. “Think about what Victoria did to you. Think about what Camille did to me. They’ve taken everything from us, Herod. Everything.”
Herod pulled his hands away. “No, Rose. They haven’t. We still have choices. We can still walk away from this.”
“Walk away to what?” Rose demanded, her voice rising. “Prison? Disgrace? We’ve crossed lines, Herod. There’s no going back.”
“There’s always a way back,” he said quietly. “We could turn ourselves in. Explain that things got out of hand.”
Rose’s laugh was bitter. “And you think they’ll believe that? That they’ll show mercy?” She stood, pacing the small room like a caged animal. “No. We finish this. We finish them.”
Herod watched her, truly seeing the madness that drove her. She wasn’t just bent on revenge, she was obsessed with destroying Camille, with becoming Camille by taking everything she had. It was a sickness that had consumed her completely.
And he had helped feed it.
“I need some air,” he said, standing. “I need to think.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll assume you’ve made your choice, and I’ll send everything I have to the FBI.”
He nodded, numb. “One hour.”
Outside in the cool night air, Herod looked up at the stars, barely visible through the city’s light pollution. What had he become? His quest for revenge against Victoria Kane had led him to partner with a monster, to become a monster himself. He thought of his brother Charles, who had taken his own life after Victoria destroyed their family business. Would Charles approve of what he’d done? Bombing buildings, endangering innocent lives?
No. Charles had been gentle, kind. He’d loved Sophia Kane truly. He’d been devastated by her death, a death their father had arranged out of pure business calculation.
Herod had told himself he was avenging Charles, but the truth hit him like a physical blow: he’d become exactly like their father. Calculating. Cold. Willing to sacrifice anyone and anything for his goals.
His phone buzzed with a text from Rose: “50 minutes.”
He stared at the screen, the decision before him impossible. Turn himself in and face justice for what he’d done? Try to stop Rose and likely fail? Go along with her insane plan and become the monster she already was?
The weight of his choices pressed down on him like a physical force. What had started as a justified vendetta against Victoria Kane had twisted into something unrecognizable. Something evil.
He looked up at Kane Industries tower in the distance, its lights shining against the night sky. Inside that building, Camille and her team were fighting to save what he and Rose had tried to destroy.
His father would have been proud of what he’d done. That thought sickened him more than anything else.
His phone buzzed again. Rose: “45 minutes. Don’t make me come find you.”
Time was running out. For him. For Rose. For everyone.
He looked back at the hotel, where Rose waited with her maps and her hatred and her bombs.
Then he began to walk.
