“FUCKING FIRE THEM. FIRE THEM ALL!”
She flinched back. They all did. Everyone except Kyle, who had been talking on the phone with someone. Ray saw him spare his father a wary glance before hanging up his call and turning his head to look back at the news that was still on. She sighed as she looked back at the screen, her expression going stark at the far away flames that raged back in Milan.
And all around the fucking world.
As if confirming her thoughts, Verana’s tight voice cut through the tense atmosphere, “There’s news about other places as well.”
Alessandro growled as he hung up, but it was Maya who spoke calmly despite the crazy atmosphere, “Where?” she asked softly, and an array of goosebumps erupted on Ray’s arm. There was a quiet storm hurling in Maya’s eyes as she gazed back at Verana. To her credit, Verana didn’t look the least daunted,
“Amsterdam, Prague, Munich.” She started, her voice strained, “And that’s only in Europe.”
Ray sucked in a surprised breath and was about to respond when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She grit her teeth as she turned away from the rest of them and picked up the call,
“Speak.”
Ray’s eyes shut as she heard the female voice speak quickly, “There’s no chance of it getting on national television here. But the facilities Ray, they’re–”
“Thank you.” She replied, cutting her off, “Make sure it stays that way.”
Her phoneclickedas she hung up, but Ray was already turning to look at the rest of them, “I’ve gotten our Asian facilities handled. There’s no chance of news spreading there.” She said and braced herself as Alessandro slammed his fist against the wall and thundered,
“I don’t care about the fucking news,Walker.”The way he spat out her name made her bristle softly as he tilted his head up with suchhatredin his eyes, “Find out the peoplebehindthis.”
“Tell me how they know abouteachand every one of Kraft’s holdings.” A sharp exhale,“And how much it’s going to cost me.”
Ray made sure to keep all her emotions in check. Made sure to keep her expressions stale as Kyle stepped between their conversation, “This is the same situation the Ravens faced last year.” His tone was wary, almost exhausted as he turned to the voice of reason here. Maya stared back at her son, no thoughts showing in her eyes as she listened, “The group is the same. They’ve been targeting us for a while. Kraft had always been the one with a loose tongue, he must have let it slip.”
It was Ray who continued, “It’s going to cost us a lot.” She said grimly, but her shoulders were taut with conviction as she chose her next words carefully, “But we have a chance of getting out of this unscathed.”
Alessandro’s eyes glimmered with an odd sort of rage. But she noticed the way his fists loosened at her words, the way his entire composure softened by a fraction.
Ray exhaled, and crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall as she ignored the buzzing in her hand,
“Our business is down, but it’s only down by a fraction. We still have Noah Hassan’s support, and with that, we’ll be able to rise out of this sooner than the Ravens had.”
“IfNoah hasn’t bailed already.” Verana murmured but Ray shook her head,
“He’ll be angry, sure. But Hassans don’t go back on their word. Plus, I had the contract sent to his hotel before all this happened. He’s probably discussing the deal with his lawyers this very second.” Her sharp eyes rose to Maya’s, “And I made sure they’d side with the Lions.”
Maya’s lips twitched as Kyle scoffed out a laugh from beside her.
“Christ,” Vera murmured but Ray didn’t stop,
“With Noah as Kraft’s replacement and the upcoming event day after tomorrow, we have a good chance of showing everyone this isnothingfor us to handle.” Her eyes cut to Verana’s, “That is,ifwe get the news under control by today, and the fires are announced as coincidental mishaps orchestrated by Kraft himself.”
Verana’s brows shot up in the air, “You want to blame a dead man?”
She shrugged, “Last act of revenge against his dead sister-in-law?” Ray said but saw the flash in Maya’s eye. She continued nonetheless, her eyes dead set, her mind running at the speed of light,
“Nathan Kraft, a man who lost all his credibility after the Ravens threw them out of business,” Ray started dramatically, “After getting to know that a woman, who was also the sister of one of the most powerful families in theentire world, was taking over, he lost his mind. Although his death can be ruled as coincidental, his last actions cannot be so. A last act of revenge.”
She breathed out, her shoulders relaxing, “Burning everything June could have control over.”
A moment of silence descended upon them.
Ray waited for them to bite, her heart pounding in her chest. She dared a glance in Maya’s direction. Saw the woman considering her words. But Rayknew,by the gleam in Alessandro’s eyes, the set of Kyle’s shoulders, sheknew.Ray bit back a feral grin and plowed further,
“And it’ll all come beautifully together when we announce the alliance with the Ravens.” She said, her voice softening with practiced precision. She noticed how Maya’s lips etched into a small smirk as Ray continued, “We’ll get all the access to rebuildeverythingwe’ve lost. And by doing so, we’ll rise to power once again.Everyonewill know that burning us down doesn’t affect us after all.”
