Marius #2
My thumb stopped over a name I knew wouldn’t hide behind a ringing phone.
Unlike the rest of them, she’d never been the type to duck a conversation, even an uncomfortable one.
That was one of the few things I’d always respected about her.
The phone rang three times before her calm, unmistakable voice came across the line.
“Marius.” There wasn’t an ounce of surprise in her tone.
“I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything.”
“I’ve noticed.”
I leaned back in my chair, swirling the bourbon around inside the glass as I watched the ice slowly melt. “I understand business with Isaiah has...slowed down.”
“It has.”
“And yet you’re still entertaining him.”
“I’m honoring an agreement.”
“You know...your husband would’ve understood what I’m doing.” The silence that followed lasted just long enough for me to wonder whether I’d finally found the crack in her armor.
“No. My husband respected you.”
“He respected strength.”
“He respected principles.”
Another pause sat between us, but this one felt different. “The man you’ve become would’ve disappointed him.”
My smile disappeared. Queen never raised her voice or resorted to insults the way most people would’ve when given the opportunity.
She didn’t threaten me, curse me out, or waste time trying to convince me I was wrong.
Instead, she held up the memory of the man her husband had once respected and measured it against the man I had become.
Somehow, that simple comparison landed harder than any threat she could’ve made.
“My loyalty to my husband is the only reason I answered this phone and honored your request to begin with. My hope was that you two would settle this mess,” she continued, her composure never wavering. “Don’t mistake that for loyalty to you.”
Before I could rebuttal the line went dead.
I sat there for several moments staring at the black screen reflecting my own face back at me.
Everybody else had ignored my calls out of fear, but Queen had done something far worse.
She’d answered because she believed I deserved to hear the truth, then walked away without waiting to see whether I accepted it.
She probably thought those words would make me reconsider the path I’d chosen.
She was wrong.
Still...they left one hell of an imprint.
Setting the phone back on the table, I turned my attention toward the board hanging across the room.
Elias photograph was gone, reduced to ash hours earlier, while the faces that remained continued staring back at me as though daring me to make my next move.
Former allies had abandoned me, old loyalties had dissolved, and the kingdom I’d spent decades building had begun shrinking around me one unanswered phone call at a time.
The fewer people I had to rely on, the fewer people there were to betray me.
It lingered in the corners of the room like an unwanted guest refusing to leave, forcing me to sit with thoughts I’d spent years making sure never caught up to me.
Everybody had an opinion now. Everybody suddenly believed they were morally superior because they no longer stood close enough to get blood on their hands.
Funny how righteousness always found people after the work had already been done.
I stood and wandered back toward the board, studying every photograph pinned beneath the red string crisscrossing from face to face.
At one time or another, every person staring back at me had played a role in my life.
Some had been useful. Some had been loyal.
Others had simply been obstacles waiting to be removed.
Looking at it now, the board no longer resembled a masterpiece.
It looked like the aftermath of a kingdom collapsing under its own weight.
Elias’ photograph was gone, reduced to ash in my fireplace.
Queen had all but washed her hands of me.
Yuki had become so consumed by her second chance at happiness she’d forgotten who helped create the first. My sons had chosen each other over their own blood, and the judge I’d once believed I could always manipulate had become another man chasing redemption.
Everybody. Every last one of them had convinced themselves they were better off without me. I laughed, the sound bouncing off the empty walls before dying just as quickly as it had come.
“They think love saved them.”
“They think family makes them untouchable.”
I traced my finger across Kade’s photograph before letting it drift toward Ysis.
They were always side by side. Even on my board, they somehow found their way back to each other.
I stared at the two pictures longer than the others, my mind turning over every move they’d made since fate foolishly decided to let their paths cross.
Everything I’d built had started unraveling the moment that girl walked into my son’s office.
Somehow the two of them had managed to do what governments, law enforcement, and rival organizations never could.
It had never been about the money, the businesses, or even the children they’d eventually bring into this world.
Between all the lies, bloodshed, and years I’d spent manipulating every situation to my advantage, those two fools had managed to build something I’d spent my entire life convincing myself didn’t exist.
They’d given people a reason to stand together instead of running apart. I’d always believed fear was the greatest motivator a man could possess, because fear made people obey, kept them predictable, and reminded them what happened when they stepped out of line.