By the time the banquet ended, my body felt like lead. The drunken stupor made it nearly impossible to move. Tristan dismissed the crowd with a casual wave, his demeanor unbothered. Just then, his assistant, Luke, arrived and whispered something in his ear. A slow, sinister smile spread across Tristan's face as he nodded.
"Take him to the mansion," he ordered.
The next thing I knew, I was being dragged outside. The cold night air did little to clear my mind as they shoved me into a car and drove off. My limbs felt heavy, unresponsive and my head lolled against the window.
Once inside the mansion, they didn't waste time. Tristan's men tied my hands and feet, securing me to a chair. The tightness of the restraints bit into my skin, sending a wave of sharp pain through my body.
Tristan stood before me, his expression smug as he watched me struggle uselessly.
I glared at him coldly before suddenly spitting right onto his face. "Tristan, what the hell are you trying to do?! I treated you like a brother and I even promoted you to Vice President! Is this how you repay me?!"
Tristan wiped his cheek slowly, his smirk unfaltering. Then, without warning, he drove his foot into my stomach. The force of the kick sent a jolt of agony through my body, knocking the wind out of me.
"Shut the fuck up, you dog!" he snarled.
He crouched down, his voice dropping into a low, almost amused whisper. "Since things have come this far, I might as well let you die with some understanding. Do you think I held a press conference when buying this mansion just for show? I wanted everyone to know I'd be living here."
His words sent a chill down my spine, but I forced myself to focus. "What are you talking about?" I demanded, though my voice came out hoarse.
Tristan smirked. "Do you remember Martin? He's getting out of prison tonight—and he'll be coming here to kill me. And you... you're going to be my scapegoat."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"You framed him to go to prison. You were the one stealing kickbacks! And now you have the audacity to say all this?!" I spat, my fury barely contained.
Tristan chuckled, his fingers lightly tapping against my bound arm as if amused by my anger. "Oh, so you knew? Then aren't you curious why I'm so sure Martin will come for revenge?"
A terrible thought flashed through my mind.
"If it was just about being falsely accused, he wouldn't resort to murder... unless..."