Chapter 984

The air between them crackled with tension, thick enough to choke on.

Preston's smirk vanished.

"You dare lay a hand on me? Do you think Evelyn would stand for that?"

Last time, she'd nearly cut ties with Nathan over that internet scandal.

Nathan's dark eyes narrowed into slits, icy and dangerous.

Preston leaned back. "I know Isaiah came to you. Bet he spilled all my secrets, didn't he?"

Nathan scoffed. "So that's why you're here."

It clicked.

Isaiah had indeed been loose-lipped.

The Sinclair empire was a prize too tempting to ignore. Nathan had initially hesitated, wary of their influence—but Isaiah? The man was a walking liability. Nothing like his sharp, calculating nephew.

When Isaiah had willingly handed himself over, Nathan hadn't hesitated to exploit it. A few carefully placed words, and the fool spilled everything. How someone so incompetent held power was beyond him.

Nathan's gaze turned glacial. "Afraid I'll tell Evelyn you murdered your own mother? That you've been lusting after your sister-in-law? Or that you pushed your father down the stairs, leaving him paralyzed?" His lips curled. "No wonder the Sinclairs disowned you."

When Nathan first uncovered the truth, his first instinct had been to storm into Evelyn's life and rip the mask off Preston's lies. But Theodore had warned him—timing was everything.

His investigators had hit walls. The Sinclairs kept their skeletons locked tight. Yet Isaiah? One conversation, and the man folded like cheap paper.

Preston's fingers twitched, knuckles whitening. But his voice stayed light. "If you've got so much dirt, why haven't you told her?"

Nathan's expression darkened.

Preston chuckled. "Ah. You're not sure if it's true." He tilted his head. "I'm touched you think so highly of me."

Most men would've rushed to expose him.

"I won't let Evelyn get hurt," Nathan bit out. "Stay away from her, or I'll make sure she knows exactly what you are."

Preston rubbed his temple, amused. "How noble."

So Nathan actually cared.

He met Nathan's gaze, his own sharp and unreadable.

"Whatever deal you made with Isaiah—keep my relationship with Evelyn out of it."

Nathan's jaw clenched. "Or what?"

"Isaiah's specialty is playing the victim." Preston smiled. "The Sinclairs are vipers. Drag Evelyn into this, and neither of us wins."

Nathan's laugh was bitter.

"She'll regret this eventually. But until then?" His voice dropped to a threat. "No one needs to know she's making a mistake."