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Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother
Chapter 237
“But I gotta admit, he continued in a quieter voice, “it’s different when you’re not doing it for money. When you’re doing it for someone who actually fucking matters.”
I looked at him.
Underneath the tech genius was a man willing to burn down an empire just to help me save the woman I love.
Norlan wasn’t just a hacker. He was my weapon.
And tonight, while the cameras would flash and the guests would toast and the world would believe I was celebrating… I’d be plotting the destruction of a man too arrogant to see the fire rising around him. A man who started a war years ago and was foolish enough to think he’d won by attempting to claim a woman that was never his in the first place.
“You’re a fucking psychopath,” I muttered, smirking as I tucked the drive into my coat pocket.
Norlan shrugged. “Takes one to love one.”
I reached for the glass of whiskey he’d abandoned and took a sip, letting the burn center me. Then I glanced at him again.
“Thank you,” I said.
Norlan looked at me like I’d just spoken in another language. “For what?”
I lifted the glass. “For making Elvris look real.”
Norlan chuckled like he couldn’t believe I was just bringing it up now. “Man, that might be the slickest ghost I’ve ever built. I’m not surprised he bought it,” he muttered.
I smirked. “He didn’t just buy it. He begged for it. After Alfred fed him that crap about my assets being frozen, he went straight into panic mode. Suddenly, I wasn’t a rival anymore–I was a dying man clinging to my last venture. He saw Elvris as my last gasp and wanted it more because of that.”
Norlan chuckled darkly. “He practically sold his soul to get in on the next big thing‘ before you could recover. Classic Kex.”
“He thinks he won.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The real Elvris operates like a damn myth–clean trails, direct–to–client encryption, no public–facing platforms. Even their NDAs are signed using retina scans. Nobody ever sees the real product unless they’re on the inside. So all I had to do was mimic their silence… and feed Kex just enough noise.”
I chuckled. “Of course.”
“Leaked blueprints. Faked voice calls from the ‘founder.‘ Staged email threads between fake developers. A few made–up patents just obscure enough to sound real. I even planted a bogus investor profile in a private venture capital server. Kex found it by ‘accident.“” He made air quotes with his fingers, grinning. “Man thought he struck oil.”
We both laughed at the joke called Kex.
“And the team you Alfred brief? Perfect actors. They even threw in the ‘proprietary Al scaffolding‘ lingo. Got Kex drooling.” I added.
I set the glass down slowly, absorbing the magnitude of what we were doing.
1/2
Chapter 237
“I swear, if you ever go dark on me, I’m fucked.”
“No,” Norian said with a smile. “If I go dark, they’re fucked. You? You’re the only one I’d burn the woodffor
The lights hit like judgment
Every inch of the venue screamed excess. Massive chandeliers dripping with crystal, casting fractured haldssoveraccrowd of monsters in tailored suits and million–dollar smiles. Gold–trimmed hilings spiraled along a grand staircaseethittied to a stage dressed for royalty, not a goddamn engagement.
Alpha after Alpha, lounging in arrogance like they owned the floor beneath their feet. And maybe they did. Titanssoffimdustry. Blood–soaked politicians. Old money, new money, the type of men who’d kill for legacy and call it honor.
I saw my parents standing and chatting with Alpha Mellors and Luna Shannon at the other corner of the hall, withwiddeggins on their faces.
Jorja was laughing, head tilted back just a little too far like she was auditioning for the role of “blissfully unaware matriarcti My father had that proud, polished look he wore like a fucking suit of armor.
June stood near the champagne fountain with a cluster of high–class ladies–wives of alphas, heiresses, political daughters.. Gossiping, I guess.
But… Where the hell was Kasmine?
My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs.
I scanned the hall again, slower this time, but she was nowhere to be found.
Fuck.
L
Cold panic slowly began to creep in.
Did she decide not to be in attendance today? I could use her presence for mental support.
I pulled out my phone and navigated through the tracking app.
Please… just be at home. Just be late.
The map loaded, and I found out she was at Medix Hospital.
What the fuck was she doing there?
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