Chapter 176
Liam's POV
The silence in the room wasn't comforting. It was thick, heavy—almost choking. Just like the weight in my chest.
She sat there, back slouched against the cold concrete wall, her black wavy hair falling over her bruised cheek, those silver eyes still glinting with something dangerous. Like she didn't regret anything. Like she hadn't driven a dagger through my back and twisted it until I bled loyalty.
Valkyrie.
The name used to taste like warmth and lust and late-night laughter.
Now it tasted like ash.
She didn't ask for water. Or food. Or mercy. She just sat there, chained but proud. Like I hadn't taken everything from her already. But I wasn't done. Not even close.
I turned my back to her and walked toward the control room, my footsteps echoing across the warehouse floor. Shadow was already waiting, arms folded, his eyes locked on the monitor showing Valkyrie in real time.
"She hasn't cracked," he said.
"She won't," I replied.
That was the problem with Valkyrie—she didn't break. She didn't beg. And maybe if she had, I would've stopped feeling this ache in my chest. This mess of fury and betrayal. But she didn't. She made it easy to hate her.
I leaned forward and pressed a button on the console. The intercom crackled to life.
"Comfortable, Valkyrie?" I asked coldly.
She tilted her head toward the camera, silver eyes gleaming under the flickering lightbulb. "Never better."
I clenched my jaw. God, she still had the nerve to sound smug.
Shadow glanced at me. "You sure you want to do this?"
I didn't answer. I walked out.
The heavy metal door creaked open again as I stepped inside her holding room. She didn't bother looking up this time.
"You're wasting time," she said flatly.
"No," I said, standing in front of her. "I'm reminding you what it feels like to lose control."
Her head lifted. Her eyes met mine, cool and unreadable. "So what? This is revenge now?"
I crouched in front of her, my voice dangerously low. "You gave Marcus my codes. You set up a trap that nearly got my team killed. You smiled while doing it."
Her expression didn't change.
"You think I won't destroy you piece by piece for that?" I asked.
"I think you're still hurt," she said. "And that's why you're being reckless."
Hurt. The word made me laugh bitterly. "You think this is about pain? You don't know me anymore."
"I knew enough to fool you for eight months," she said quietly.
And there it was again—the truth. So sharp and brutal, it nearly took my breath away.
"I gave you everything," I said, standing. "My trust. My operations. My bed. You betrayed all of it. For what? Loyalty to Marcus?"
She finally looked away.
That silence told me everything I needed.
So I did what I was already planning. I motioned to Shadow.
He entered and dropped a folder at my feet. Inside were photos—Marcus's most recent transactions, secret locations, weak links in his crew. Everything I'd gathered over the past year, quietly, secretly. Liam Blackwood might run a corporate empire in the day, but at night—I was something else entirely.
"Your assignment," I said, sliding the folder toward her. "You're going to help me tear him down."
Valkyrie scoffed. "You think I'll help you?"
"No," I said. "I know you will."
She laughed dryly. "You really think putting me in chains will make me your little spy?"
"No," I replied. "But watching the people you care about fall apart because of your silence might."
Her eyes snapped back to mine.
I gave a cold smile. "I've already planted seeds. Marcus won't know it's coming. But you'll know. Every fall, every blow—I'll send you the footage. You'll watch him crumble, and you'll remember that you made the wrong choice."
"You're sick."
"No, Valkyrie," I said. "I'm the monster you created."
She lunged forward, the chains rattling, but stopped inches from my face.
I didn't flinch.
"I loved you," she whispered. "I really did."
"You were good at pretending," I said flatly. "Now pretend again. Pretend you're still on his side. Pretend you're still loyal. Get close. Feed me what I need."
She stared at me. "And if I refuse?"
I leaned down, my voice ice. "Then I make sure you lose everything. And I mean everything."
I turned and walked out. The door slammed behind me, leaving her in the dark.
Shadow followed me into the hall. "That was... intense."
"She'll think about it," I said. "And she'll break. Slowly."
"You sure she's not playing you again?"
"I'm not the same man she fooled before," I said. "And she knows it."
Because now, I wasn't just the CEO of Blackwood Corp.
I was Liam Blackwood, king of the shadows. And I was done playing fair.