“I built what you paid for,” Marcus spat.

“I did not pay for this,” Damiano said.

He stepped closer to me, his hand reaching out, but he stopped when I pressed my back against the cold stone column.

The physical distance between us felt miles wide.

“Arya,” Damiano said. “I did not know what he was doing to you.”

“But you knew what he was,” I said.

“I knew he was corrupt,” Damiano said. “In my world, everyone is corrupt.”

“I thought you were different,” I said.

“I am not different,” Damiano said. “But I am trying to make this right.”

Marcus laughed again, but there was a nervous edge to it now.

He looked toward the end of the corridor, where the sound of the gala music still drifted.

“You can’t make this right,” Marcus said. “The files are already with my attorneys.”

“Your attorneys are currently being disbarred,” Damiano said. “And your bank accounts in the Caymans were frozen twenty minutes ago.”

Marcus froze.

The smugness left his face, replaced by a sudden, sharp pale.

“You’re bluffing,” Marcus said.