Chapter 37
Zora
My eyes remain fixed on Mikkel's body lying motionless across the carpet, blood continuing to spread beneath him in a slow, steady pool. My mind refuses to accept what it is seeing. Only moments ago, he had been standing in front of me, arguing over the future of the Krogen Empire. Now he is gone.
Across the room, Sebastian's laughter gradually dies away, leaving behind an unsettling smile that never quite disappears.
Tobias, meanwhile, calmly slips the pistol back into his pocket before looking down at his father as though he were studying an inconvenience rather than a corpse.
There is no regret on his face. No panic.
No hesitation. The complete absence of emotion is somehow more horrifying than the gunshot itself.
I finally force myself to speak, though my voice barely sounds like my own.
"Tobias... Mikkel was your father. How could you do that?"
For a brief moment, he simply looks at me, almost as though I have asked a strangely obvious question. Then he gives the smallest shrug.
"He was never worthy of leading this empire."
The casualness of his answer sends a chill down my spine.
"My entire life," he continues evenly, "he compared me to you. Every success I had somehow became another reminder that Marcus trusted you more. Every mistake I made became proof that I wasn't enough."
A faint smile appears at the corner of his mouth, though it carries no warmth whatsoever. "He spent decades trying to become Marcus, then expected me to spend my life becoming you."
He glances briefly at Mikkel's body before looking back at me. "He never understood that I had no interest in either."
I stare at him in disbelief. "So you murdered him?"
"I removed an obstacle."
"An obstacle?" I repeat, unable to hide the horror in my voice. "You're talking about your father."
He tilts his head slightly. "I know exactly who I'm talking about."
"Tobias, listen to yourself. You killed your own father because he compared you to me?" My voice rises despite my efforts to remain composed. "That isn't ambition. That isn't strength. It's insanity. People don't execute their own fathers because of resentment."
"People don't." He agrees. "Most people spend their lives complaining about what they deserve while waiting for someone else to hand it to them."
His eyes briefly drift toward Mikkel again. "My father was one of those people."
Silence settles over the room before he continues.
"He complained about Marcus for months. Complained about the will. Complained about you. Complained that life had been unfair to him."
Tobias's smile widens ever so slightly. "But complaining never changed anything. He wanted power, yet he lacked the courage to take it."
His gaze returns to mine. "I don't intend to make the same mistake."
I hold his stare, refusing to let him see how deeply his words unsettle me. "And you think this makes you powerful?" I gesture toward Mikkel's body. "You think shooting a man who trusted you somehow proves you're stronger than him?"
"It proves I was willing to do what he never could."
"No." I slowly shake my head. "It proves you're a coward."
For the first time, the smile fades from Tobias' face.
"A strong man confronts his enemies." I say quietly. "A coward murders his own father because he mistakes cruelty for strength."
The office falls silent once more as Tobias studies me without blinking. Whatever passes through his mind remains impossible to read, but I can feel the atmosphere shifting again, the tension becoming heavier with every passing second.
For several long moments, Tobias simply studies me. Then, to my surprise, he laughs.
It isn't loud or theatrical. It's quiet, almost amused, as though I've just said something genuinely entertaining.
As he begins walking toward me, he calmly pulls the pistol from his pocket and lets it hang loosely at his side, his posture so relaxed that anyone walking into the room would never guess he had murdered his own father a few minutes ago.
"Marcus always did have terrible judgment." He says, shaking his head with a faint smile. "Choosing you as his successor may have been his worst decision."
His eyes drift around my office before returning to me.
"This empire was never meant to be inherited." He says quietly. "It was meant to be taken."
"My dad disagreed."
A faint smile touches his lips. "Your dad grew weak."
"He grew wiser." I hold his gaze. "He spent his life surrounded by people who wanted what he had. If he left you or Mikkel out of his will, maybe he saw exactly who you really were."
The smile disappears.
"You still don't understand." Tobias takes an unhurried step toward me. "Marcus and Mikkel believed power came from boardrooms, signatures, and titles. They spent decades fighting over pieces of paper while convincing themselves they were in control."
He glances briefly at Mikkel's body before looking back at me.
"They forgot the only rule that has ever mattered. The person willing to do the unthinkable always wins."
I look at the body lying between us. "So that's how you justify murdering your own father?"
His expression doesn't change. "I don't justify it. I simply don't regret it."
Before I can answer, Sebastian finally finds his voice. "Tobias."
He takes a cautious step forward. "We've made the point. Just get her to sign the transfer documents, and we're done."
Tobias doesn't even look at him. His attention never leaves me. For several seconds, he simply stands there with his back partially turned toward Sebastian.
The silence becomes uncomfortable.
"Did you hear me?" Sebastian asks. "I said we…"
The gunshot interrupts him. The crack echoes violently through the office. Sebastian cries out as the bullet tears through his upper arm.
He stumbles into my desk, knocking several folders onto the floor before collapsing to one knee, clutching the wound as blood immediately begins soaking through his sleeve.
"What the hell?" Sebastian gasps. He stares at Tobias in disbelief. "That wasn't part of the plan."
The words hit me harder than the gunshot.
For a moment, I can't breathe. My gaze shifts between the two men as the truth settles into place. Sebastian hadn't just lured me here. He'd been working with Tobias all along.
Tobias finally turns to face him, his expression unchanged.
"You had one job." He says evenly. "Stay close to Zora. Marry her. Secure control of the company from the inside."
His eyes harden. "And you failed even that."
"I was trying to…"
"I don't care." The interruption is quiet, but absolute. "You're no longer useful. So be quiet... and stay out of this."
Sebastian falls silent, one hand still pressed against his arm as I continue staring at him.
Without another word, Tobias reaches inside his coat and removes a leather folder. He places it on my desk with deliberate care before opening it and turning it toward me. Transfer documents.
Every page is meticulously prepared, each one transferring control of the Krogen Empire into his hands.
"Sign." His voice is calm, almost courteous, as though he's asking me to approve a routine contract.
"Walk away from the empire, and your death will be quick. Refuse..." A faint smile touches his lips. "...and I'll stop being generous."
I don't even look at the papers before pushing them back across the desk onto the floor. "No."
For the first time, genuine curiosity flickers across his face. "You'd die for an empire?"
I meet his gaze without hesitation. "I'd die protecting Marcus’s final decision."
A quiet laugh escapes him. "Marcus taught you everything except the one lesson that matters."
"And what's that?"
"Empires don't belong to the people who inherit them." His fingers drum lightly against the table. "They belong to the people willing to take them."
"You mean the people willing to murder for them."
"If that's what it takes."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he asks, "Do you remember your flight to Elysian Haven?"
A chill runs through me.
"I arranged it. When that failed, I sent men to finish the job on the island." He continues.
The blood drains from my face. "You..."
"I never expected your little boyfriend to interfere." A faint smile returns to his face. "He proved far more troublesome than I anticipated."
Shock gives way to anger.
"You murdered innocent people. You brought down an aircraft... all for this?"
"For control."
I shake my head. "You still don't understand. Even if you force me to sign those papers, no one will ever follow you willingly. You'll always be remembered as the man who murdered his own family to steal an empire."
For the first time, his smile falters. Without another word, he picks up the folder again, places it in front of me, and sets a pen on top.
"This is the last time I'll ask."
I don't touch it. "No."
His patience finally evaporates. Slowly, he raises the pistol and The cold barrel presses harder against my forehead.
"Last chance."
"If you think killing me makes this empire yours..." A faint smile touches my lips. "...you're even more pathetic than your father was."
The words land exactly where I intend them to. For the first time since walking into my office, Tobias's composure cracks. A muscle twitches along his jaw, his grip tightening around the pistol as something dark flashes behind his eyes.
I draw a slow breath...
...and spit directly into his face.