Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Knox
The boardroom carries the scent of polished wood and power. The kind of power that doesn't ask for anything. It takes.
Sunlight cuts across the glass walls like stage lights, turning every surface reflective. From up here on the forty-second floor of Vale Global, I have a perfect view of the city sprawling below like a kingdom I've already conquered, feeding me the sweetest lie of all: control.
I've always been addicted to that lie.
Men like me don't just want control. We demand it, crave it. And we always get what we want. No matter the cost.
Joining me around the long mahogany table is my father, Jeremiah Vale.
He sits at the head like the emperor of the dynasty he built.
Surrounding us are my three brothers: Dorian, the strategist who runs the private equity division with me; Levi, the numbers man behind our hedge fund empire; and Locke, the charmer who keeps our investors docile and the markets in our favor.
A room full of predators. Just like me.
For the last three days, the fallout from the John Monroe fraud scheme has consumed us. Every hour, every breath, every thought. I've just dropped the news about this morning's conquest, and every pair of eyes is riveted to me, intrigued.
I’ve shocked the hell out of them. No one anticipated me coming up with a plan so quickly, let alone one that included marriage to expand our empire.
Once again, I’ve proven there’s nothing I won’t do to become the leader I was born to be.
I earned the nickname the Monster back in my Harvard football days.
I was one of the toughest linebackers they’d ever had.
I didn’t just crush the opposition, I erased them.
I played to dominate. Fear earned me the name.
And I carried that same bloodthirst to Wall Street when I started working at Vale Global.
Dad leans forward with his fingers steepled and eyes brimming with pride.
People say my brothers and I look like different versions of him. We have his muscular physique, raven hair, piercing blue eyes, and the olive skin we inherited from our Italian roots. But I'm the one who mirrors him best.
At thirty-two, I’m the eldest. The heir who didn't just walk in his footsteps. I perfected them.
Dorian, Levi, and Locke trail behind at thirty-one, twenty-nine, and twenty-eight. They're successful, having achieved more than most men twice their age. But they haven't accomplished half of what Dad and I had already claimed before we were thirty.
And now I’ve come up with the same kind of ruthless plan a man like him would conjure. The kind that doesn’t just punish the one who wronged you but seeks vengeance from their family, too.
“Do you think the girl will agree to the marriage?” Dad gives me a cool, assessing stare. He knows we have this in the bag. He’s just checking.
“She will. She can’t afford not to.” I smile, remembering my encounter with the beautiful, fiery Isla Monroe.
The way she looked at me with those hazel eyes like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare hands was to be expected. But the fire beneath? That caught me by surprise.
Her tone told me she had a smart mouth but knew when to bite her tongue. Most likely, she was choosing her battles wisely because she knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on.
I also didn’t fail to notice that my little bride-to-be was more striking in person than her pictures on file. And she had a body made for hours of sin.
In three days’ time, the platinum-haired beauty could very well turn me down, but I know she won’t. Unlike me, she has a heart. And she loves her mother.
She won’t let her mother suffer, or die for the sake of pride. That makes her desperate. Desperate people say yes when they have no other choice.
“What about the trust?” Dad’s voice cuts into my thoughts, muddying the memory of Isla Monroe. “Are there any legal loopholes we need to be aware of?”
“No.” I shake my head and smirk. “Just the six-month time frame restriction and the marriage clause.”
“I looked into all legal matters personally and found nothing else we need to be concerned with,” Dorian adds quickly, and we exchange mischievous glances.
It was he who stumbled over the evidence of John’s treachery in an audit, then he followed the trail to hell and opened Pandora’s box.
“Everything seems to work to our favor.”
"Are you sure it wouldn’t be more beneficial to drag them through court?” Levi suggests with narrowed eyes. He’s always been the hothead rebel, preferring brute force over strategy. “It would certainly make an example of them and expose John Monroe."
“No. No court.” My voice slices through Levi’s suggestion.
“The man is dead. There’s no point making an example of someone who can’t feel shame.
The one thing his family has left is the restaurant.
And now that I hold an interest, I won’t let its value be tainted.
We also don’t want to be tied to another public scandal. ”
“Or reporters digging into the original embezzlement case," Locke says, giving Levi a sharp stare.
"No. We don’t need more press. Knox’s plan makes sense," Dad agrees, and I savor the familiar satisfaction from gaining his approval.
"We barely survived that scandal eight years ago.
We need to keep this quiet as best as possible.
The marriage arrangement solves multiple problems. It keeps the debt in the family, avoids headlines, and ensures we have complete control over the situation. "
“Exactly,” I agree, the aspect of control appealing to me most.
Yes, we were wronged as a company when the scandal hit years ago, but I was the one who took the fall.
I was blamed for the embezzlement because I’d signed off on the contracts tied to the missing investments. On record, I was the last person to review the transactions before they mysteriously disappeared.
I nearly went to prison when the case went to court. The lack of evidence acquitted me, but acquittal doesn’t erase doubt. Not in this business.
The board wanted me gone. Careless, they called me. Reckless. It didn’t matter that I’d earned my stripes the hard way. It took years to salvage my name and rebuild trust. And to this day I’m still fucking trying.
I kept asking myself who’d profited from my fall. Who’d stood to gain? The answer came eight years too late.
John Monroe.
That motherfucker was my senior manager at the time. He used me as his scapegoat.
The recent evidence proved it. Every time I logged into the system, he piggybacked off my credentials to reroute the money.
Then the bastard played me again when I gave him that loan.
I’m not known for compassion, but he came to me as an old mentor in trouble. I helped because I still felt responsible for the fallout that drove him and others out of Vale Global. I even gave him a year’s grace before repayment, not realizing he was screwing me over the entire time.
John Monroe cost us millions and nearly destroyed Vale Global’s reputation for good. Had we been a different company, we would have gone out of business.
Marrying his daughter and taking his legacy will be my sweet, sweet, sweet revenge.
Dad’s smile widens and he snaps his fingers at me. “We have these people exactly where we want them.”
“We do.”
“Well done, son. Well done. The board will be pleased.”
That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. “And I’m sure they’ll be pleased with the acquisition of a property with a prime location on Park Avenue.”
My father nods approvingly. "Spoken like a true Vale.”
Dorian rolls his eyes at the sentiment while Locke and Levi look at each other and chuckle. They might look like they’re mocking the family rhetoric, but I know they agree and support me.
“What are your next steps?” Locke asks.
“Planning the wedding as soon as Isla Monroe signs the contract. The quicker we get the ball rolling, the better.”
“What are you going to do with the restaurant?” Levi cuts in, eyeing me with curiosity, like he already knows the answer. My brothers know me too damn well.
And that question opens the door to the real play. Because the answer is the whole point of this mission. And this marriage. It’s how I’ll get retribution and secure my position at Vale Global.
“I’m going to level it and put up a twenty-two–story tower. Forty ultra-luxury apartments. The smallest units will go for five to eight million. Thirty to forty for the penthouse.”
Levi’s brows jump, and the room goes still, every pair of eyes locked on me like they’re seeing me for the first time.
“Holy shit,” Dorian breathes.
I grin, pride settling deep in my chest. “Projected revenue is half a billion, minimum.” I glance at my father. “And I’m tying the restaurant to Vale Global to give us our first foothold in real estate.”
“My God. You never cease to amaze me.” Dad claps once, delighted. “When did you come up with this?”
“Last night.” I nod. “I was thinking about the location and the layout of the building. It was originally a railroad service depot, so the foundation is solid, and we can build up without issue.”
“That is fantastic.” Dad throws his hands up. “People have been trying to get their hands on that building for years.”
“Now we have it.” I look at each of them in turn. “When one door closes, the Vales open another.”
“Real estate,” Dorian says with a crude grin. “The gift that keeps on giving when you already own the world.”
“Indeed.” I nod once, satisfied.
With branches worldwide and a legacy that goes back to the seventeen hundreds, Vale Global is renowned for their expertise in investments and private equity. But we’ve never branched out into real estate. This will be the first time, and fuck, what an acquisition.
“I’ll set up a meeting with the board as soon as we have that contract.” Dad clasps his hands as if in prayer.
“I’ll let you know the moment it’s in my hands.”
“Perfect. You and Dorian focus on this.” Dad snaps his fingers twice. “Make sure everything goes smoothly.”