21

**Chapter 21**

As the door clicked shut behind Matthew, the silence in the drawing room was deafening. Rachel and Jack stood frozen, the reality of their situation sinking in like a stone. The confidence they had walked in with was shattered, replaced by a cold, creeping dread. This wasn’t the Matthew they had known and dismissed as insignificant. This Matthew was someone else entirely—someone who had the power to destroy them.

Rachel’s mind raced, trying to piece together what had just happened. She had always thought she could manipulate Matthew, twist him around her finger like she had done so many times before. It was easy back then—back when he was still the naive, lovesick fool she could play with at her leisure. But now, she realized she had gravely underestimated him. The power he wielded wasn’t just in the wealth and influence he had gained—it was in the resolve and ruthlessness that had taken root in him.

There was a time when Matthew was nothing more than a convenient too