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“Is it really my empire if you run it?” She lifted a brow. “I’m a figurehead.”
I countered with my own glare. “Do you think everyone doesn’t suspect who funneled the money out of all the accounts? Or who strategically set up the trust with said assets, making it impossible for anyone other than blood-linked Angelos children to inherit?”
She remained quiet for a moment, then said, “Papa and I had an emergency plan. I never thought I’d have to put it into action.”
“Good thing you did. It has helped keep Andraius in a chokehold for nearly five years.”
“It still doesn’t make me anything more than a figurehead, even if you manage to get rid of Andraius.”
“Don’t you remember the golden rule Theios Peter taught you for our world? The reason for so many of our wars.”
She pursed her lips. “The one who controls the wealth is the one who sits at the head of the table.”
“You are the only one who can access the nearly billion dollars you funneled out of the thirty or so accounts.”
“How did you manage it?” Theo asked. “And where did it go? We traced it to multiple Swiss accounts, and then it disappeared. How the fuck do you make a billion dollars vanish?”
“It was Papa’s secret. I’m not at liberty to share.”
“What happens if you die?”
She shrugged. “I suppose God will judge me, and I’ll end up in heaven or hell.”
“You are the most frustrating woman I have ever known.” Theo moved across the room. “Why is it so hard for you to give us a straight answer?”
“You want to know why?”
“Yes.”
“No matter what I feel for you, I will never answer to you. Neither of you is my father or husband, and the being-my-lovers part was out of the question by your choice.”
“You will take the reins once Andraius is out of the picture.”
“And unseat the two of you? I think not.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Believe what you will. Your ingrained loyalties remain with the family. Andraius isn’t the head of the Angelos Syndicate. The two of you are. Maybe in the beginning, my spouse muddled his way through things, but the two young men with the business degrees and street smarts took over, and the moron didn’t even realize. I can’t compete with that. And I don’t want to.”
“You can’t just walk away.”
She moved toward her bathroom, pausing in the archway and glancing over her shoulder. “You’re right. I can’t.”
“Enough with this cryptic shit.”
“Well then, let me make this crystal clear for the two of you.” She took hold of the doorknob and stepped into the bathroom. “I believe our association as anything beyond business is over. As you like to remind me, I’m not free.”
“Is that how you truly want it?”
“It is best to do it that way. I can’t handle this emotional roller coaster.” She dropped her head, closing the door slightly. “I’m sorry. We crossed a line today that should never have occurred. It won’t happen again.”
“You expect us to pretend it is business as usual?”
“Yes. The two of you are Andraius’s right-hand men. And I am his errant wife.”
Sixteen
Nerine
