Chapter 156
Marcus’s POV
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Marcus couldn’t breathe.
The conference room felt too small, the walls closing in around him. He pressed his forehead against the cold glass window and tried to remember how lungs were supposed to work.
His mother. Penelope had killed his mother.
Not an accident. Not some random tragedy that had shattered his family and left his father a broken shell of a man. Murder. Calculated, deliberate murder followed by the most twisted manipulation Marcus could imagine.
She’d hunted his father. Studied him. Positioned herself perfectly to swoop in during his grief and become the new Mrs. Thorne.
And Marcus had lived under the same roof as her for years. Had called her by name at family dinners. Had fought with her over business decisions and company strategy while she smiled at him knowing exactly what she’d done.
“Marcus.” Elara’s voice came from somewhere behind him. “You need to sit down.”
“No, what I need is to kill her.”
The words came out flat and cold. Marcus barely recognized his own voice.
“No you don’t,” Dante said firmly. “You need to let the justice system handle this.”
Marcus turned around and the look on his face must have been something because both Dante and Elara took an involuntary step back.
“The justice system? The same justice system that let this case go cold fifteen years ago? The same system that never bothered following up with witnesses or checking traffic cameras?”
“That was different. They didn’t have what we have now.”
“What do we have, Dante? Some old photos and a witness who remembers a blonde woman in a Mercedes? You said yourself it’s not enough for a conviction.”
“It’s enough to reopen the investigation. It’s enough to get the police to take another look at Penelope’s movements that night, her financial records, everything. Once they start digging they’ll find more.”
“And how long will that take? Weeks? Months? Meanwhile she’s walking around free, sleeping in my father’s house, spending money that should have gone to my.mother’s family.”
Elara moved closer and put her hand on his arm. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be angry. But you can’t just storm over there and confront her. She’s dangerous, Marcus. She’s already tried to destroy you once. If she knows you have evidence about your mother…”
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Chapter 156
“Then what? She’ll try to kill me too?”
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“Maybe. Or she’ll disappear. Flee the country. Destroy evidence. We can’t give her warning.”
Marcus pulled away and started pacing. His entire body felt like it was vibrating with rage, every muscle coiled tight and ready to explode.
Seventeen. He’d been seventeen years old when his mother died. Still in high school, still believing his biggest problems were SAT scores and college applications. And then one phone call had changed everything.
He remembered his father’s face when he’d gotten the news. The way something inside him had just broken. like a light going out that never came back on. His father had never been the same after that night. Had retreated into himself, become distant and cold.
And two years later he’d married Penelope.
“My father,” Marcus said suddenly. “Does he know? Did he have any idea what she did?”
Dante shook his head. “I don’t think so. From everything I can tell, Penelope played him perfectly. She was patient, supportive, exactly what a grieving widower needed. By the time they married he was completely under her influence.”
“He loved her.” The words tasted like acid in Marcus’s mouth. “He actually loved the woman who murdered his first wife.”
“He didn’t know. You can’t blame him for not knowing.”
“I can blame her. I can blame her for every single thing she’s done to this family. The manipulation, the lies, the sabotage. And now this. She took my mother from me and then she took my father too.”
Mimi spoke up from where she’d been sitting quietly in the corner. “What about the shareholder meeting? If you expose her there, if you present all this evidence in front of the board and the investors, she can’t run. She can’t hide. Everyone will know what she did.”
“The meeting is in two days,” Dante said. “We need to coordinate with the police before then. Make sure they have everything they need to arrest her the moment Marcus goes public.”
“Two days.” Marcus felt something shift inside him. The rage was still there but underneath it was something colder, sharper. A plan forming. “Two days and I destroy her in front of everyone she’s tried to impress. I take everything from her the way she took everything from me.”
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Marcus pulled it out and saw an email notification from Penelope’s assistant.
The subject line made his blood run cold: URGENT: Shareholder Meeting Rescheduled
He opened it with hands that wanted to shake but didn’t.
Mr. Thorne,
Please be advised that the shareholder meeting originally scheduled for Wednesday has been moved to tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2 PM. Mrs. Thorne has requested that all board members and major shareholders be
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Chapter 156
present for an emergency vote on company leadership.
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She has also asked me to convey that you should come prepared to address recent allegations regarding your personal conduct and professional judgment.
Regards,
Jennifer Wu
Executive Assistant to Penelope Thorne
Marcus read it twice, then handed the phone to Dante without saying a word.
“She’s making her move,” Dante said after reading. “She knows we’re onto something. She’s trying to force your hand before you’re ready.”
“Or she thinks she’s already won.” Marcus took the phone back and stared at the email. “The photos with Aurora just came out. My wife is about to have emergency surgery. From the outside it looks like I’m falling apart. Penelope probably thinks I’ll just roll over and resign rather than fight.”
“So what do we do?”
Marcus looked at Dante, then at Mimi, then finally at Elara. His wife looked exhausted, one hand resting protectively on her swollen belly where their babies were running out of time.
He thought about his mother walking across Park Avenue fifteen years ago with no idea that death was speeding toward her. Thought about his father slowly losing himself to grief and manipulation. Thought about every lie Penelope had told, every life she’d damaged, every crime she’d committed.
“We go to the meeting,” Marcus said. “We let her think she’s won. And then we destroy her.”
“Marcus, we’re not ready. The police haven’t even seen this evidence yet-”
“Then we get them the evidence tonight. We give them everything they need to arrest her tomorrow. And when she stands up in front of that board to demand my resignation, I’ll show everyone exactly who she really is.”
“This is risky. If something goes wrong”
“Nothing will go wrong. Because I’m done playing defense, Dante. I’m done letting her control the narrative and manipulate the situation. Tomorrow at that meeting, Penelope is going to pay for every single thing she’s done. Starting with my mother’s murder.”
Marcus’s phone buzzed again. Another email from Penelope’s assistant, this one addressed directly to him.
P.S. Mrs. Thorne asked me to add: Come prepared to resign.
Marcus smiled and it wasn’t a nice smile. He showed the message to Elara.
“She has no idea what’s coming,” he said softly.
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Chapter 156
“No,” Elara agreed. “She really doesn’t.”
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