Chapter 52: Trust No One
The city of Manhattan sprawled beneath her, the towering skyscrapers lit up like stars in the night. But Cambria felt no sense of triumph as she looked out over the skyline from the penthouse. Instead, a heavy silence had settled inside her, despite the victory she had just won in the boardroom. She had secured her place. She had taken control of her father’s empire. But the world had yet to see the full force of her wrath. And despite her resolve, one thought kept tugging at her: Who could she trust now?
Her phone buzzed on the desk, interrupting her thoughts. It was a message from Elara. Cambria’s mind sharpened; Elara had been her closest ally, her strategist, but there was something about her message that made her pause.
"Cambria, I’ve found something. You need to see this. It’s about Maddox."
Her pulse quickened. Maddox. The man she had once loved, the man who had caused her so much pain. He had been trying to reach her ever since the scandal had broken, but she had kept him at arm’s length. The thought of trusting him again felt like stepping into the unknown. But there was something in Elara’s message that gnawed at her. What was it about Maddox that still had the power to unsettle her?
Cambria grabbed her coat from the chair and headed out the door. Knox was waiting for her in the hallway, his expression unreadable as always.
"Where are you headed?" he asked, his eyes scanning her face as she adjusted her coat.
"To meet Elara," she replied, her voice firm, though doubt simmered beneath the surface. "She’s found something. Something about Maddox."
Knox’s eyes darkened, but he nodded. "Be careful, Cambria. Maddox isn’t the man you think he is. You have to remember what he did to you."
Cambria paused, her hand on the doorknob. "I know what he did, Knox. But I also know he’s not the enemy anymore. I need to understand everything, especially if he’s connected to this mess."