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Chapter 218
~Zara’s POV~
"My love, you don’t understand the pressure we’re under right now. The board, the shareholders—if anything goes wrong—"
"Then all the more reason for me to be there!" My voice rose slightly. "I know how to handle these people. I know how to read them. Snow, you need me."
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he would argue further. Instead, he sighed, stepping closer to me.
"I don’t want you caught in the crossfire." Snow’s hand brushed a strand of hair from my face.
"This situation is dangerous, Zara. Marcus isn’t just reckless—he’s vindictive. And there’s more to this than just company politics. And not until we know who we are dealing with behind the scenes, his ghost or some sham person, I cannot risk it."
I tilted my head, searching his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I’ll explain everything later," he promised. "But right now, I need to handle this. And you need to focus on something else."
"Like what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He hesitated, then gave me a wry smile. "The Ivory Crescent Pageant."
I blinked. "The what?"
Snow chuckled softly, his fingers grazing my cheek. "The end-of-year event your family is hosting. You’re expected to plan and lead it as part of your role as Luna."
My stomach twisted at the reminder, but I managed a weak smile. I recalled Aira’s voice at night, informing me about it but I was too sleepy to figure put anything she said and only nodded to shoo her away.
"I’ll deal with it when I get back from the office."
"Zara..." he began, but I cut him off.
"Snow, I’m going," I said firmly, standing up. "I’ll help you at the company today, and tonight, we can talk about the pageant. End of discussion."
His lips parted, then pressed into a thin line as he realized I wasn’t backing down. Finally, he shook his head with a soft chuckle. "You’re impossible."
I grinned. "You married me, remember?"
Snow sighed, pulling me into a warm embrace. "I did. And I don’t regret it for a second."
His arms tightened around me briefly before he released me and took a step back. "Fine. You win. But you’re sticking by my side the entire day. No running off, no taking on extra work. Deal?"
"Deal," I said, smiling up at him.
Snow shook his head again, his smile lingering as he grabbed his suit. "Let’s go, then. We’ve got a lot to do."
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~Andrew’s POV~
The bustling energy of the office was noticeable the moment I stepped in. Snow’s company headquarters was nothing short of impressive—sleek, modern, and humming with efficiency.
I navigated through the elevator until I came to now’s floor and then made my way to Zara’s door, giving it a light knock before stepping inside.
She looked up from her desk, her face brightening when she saw me. "Andrew! You’re here."
"Of course," I said with a grin, closing the door behind me. "When you asked for help, how could I say no? Especially with a challenge like Marcus Devereaux."
Zara gestured for me to take a seat, but I shook my head, walking to her desk instead. "No need to sit. We’ve got a lot to discuss."
She smiled, leaning back in her chair. "Alright, but before we get into it, I owe you a thank-you for stepping in on such short notice."
"No need for thanks," I replied, waving her off. "You’ve got enough on your plate with this pageant coming up and Snow breathing down your neck."
At the mention of Snow, her cheeks colored slightly, and she let out a laugh. "Don’t remind me. He’s been in overprotective mode ever since Marcus started causing trouble."
I leaned closer, resting my hands on her desk. "Speaking of Snow, does he know I’m here?"
Zara’s lips twitched into a mischievous smile. "Not exactly. He’s busy in a meeting. Besides, I told him I’d handle this myself."
I raised an eyebrow, feigning shock. "You mean I might escape without getting one of his infamous jealous glares?"
That set her off laughing, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "He really does have a knack for those, doesn’t he? Remember the last time you were here for that business deal?"
"Oh, I remember," I said, smirking. "You’d think I was trying to steal his kingdom instead of just negotiate terms. He was glaring holes through me the entire time."
Her laughter was infectious, and I couldn’t help but join in. The tension in the room eased as we shared the memory, but I quickly refocused.
"Alright," I said, my tone shifting to business. "Enough reminiscing. Let’s talk about Marcus Devereaux."
Zara’s expression sobered immediately, her hands folding on the desk. "What do you have?"
I straightened, pulling a sleek tablet from my bag and placing it on her desk. "Marcus is not just reckless; he’s meticulous. He’s been playing this game a lot longer than most people realize."
Tapping the screen, I brought up a map with several red markers. "I managed to pinpoint his most likely location—an industrial complex on the outskirts of the city. It’s heavily secured, with multiple layers of encryption on their internal network. He’s hiding there for a reason."
Zara leaned forward, studying the screen intently. "What’s he doing there? Running operations?"
"Possibly," I said, swiping to another page. "But here’s the kicker—Marcus isn’t working alone. He’s partnered with someone, and they’re funneling resources through shell companies to make it harder to track."
Her eyes widened. "Do you know who his partner is?"
"Not yet," I admitted. "But I’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities based on financial records and recent acquisitions. One of them is a tech magnate with a history of shady deals. The other two... well, let’s just say their hands aren’t exactly clean."
I tapped another icon, bringing up a list of transactions.
"These payments caught my attention. They’re routed through offshore accounts, but they always end up at the same place—Marcus’s network. He’s funding something big, Zara. Something he doesn’t want anyone to find out about."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢