He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

Richard didn’t say a word at first. Instead, a dangerous heat flared in his eyes as he slowly turned his head to glare at Nicholas. The silent warning was enough to make his brother instantly look away.

Then, Richard’s gaze shifted to Christian. The two men locked eyes, the air between them instantly charging with a suffocating tension.

Christian merely smiled, a slow smirk as he shook his head. "Oh, I won’t be accepting a private apology in this room, Richard," he taunted, his voice dripping with malice. "I want it on camera. High definition. You’re going to record it so the whole world can watch you beg."

"Not in this lifetime," Richard sneered, his teeth grinding together so hard the bone click echoed slightly in the quiet room.

"Then this meeting is over," Christian declared, pivoting sharply away from the table.

An immediate wave of panic broke out among the board members. Foreheads creased, and frantic whispers erupted.

"Is he actually leaving?" someone muttered down the line.

"Wait," Henry commanded, his voice booming with absolute authority to freeze him in his tracks. Christian stopped, but he didn’t bother turning back. "We still have one critical, unanswered question for you."

Christian let out a loud, dramatic exhale, slowly rolling his shoulders before turning around. His face was a mask of boredom. "Make it fast, old man. I have a tight schedule to keep."

"You still haven’t told this board how you obtained that video," Henry said, his sharp eyes pinning him down. "Did Pamela hand it over to you? Was it Cara? Or is someone else entirely?"

Christian’s lazy gaze drifted over to Pamela. She practically looked terrified, her eyes wide and silently begging him for mercy. He sighed, shaking his head with a look of pure pity as he tore his eyes away from her.

"Why won’t you just tell them the truth, Christian? Why are you doing this to me?" Pamela cried, her voice cracking with pure desperation.

Christian completely ignored her. Instead, his gaze settled on Roxanne, offering a small, knowing smile as if checking to see if she was just as desperate to know. Then, he looked back at Henry.

"You’re the almighty Vance family. I’m sure you have more than enough resources to dig up the truth. You don’t need to look very far, Henry. The answer is sitting right under your noses."

"Just tell us already and cut out the parables!" Margaret snapped, her nails digging into the mahogany. "You won’t be walking out of this estate until you give us a straight answer! Who gave you the damn video?"

Christian remained entirely unfazed by her outburst. He let out a low chuckle, scanning the furious faces around the table, before his eyes landed back on Pamela. He nodded slowly. "You were completely right, Pamela. This table really is a playground of secrets."

Pamela swallowed hard, her face draining of what little color it had left as every single eye in the room swung heavily onto her. She looked frantically at Henry, her hands shaking. "I didn’t— Father, I swear I didn’t—"

Henry sharply cut his eyes away from his daughter, completely ignoring her pleas, and locked onto Christian. "Answer the question! If you’re going to refuse, say it plainly and stop wasting our time."

Christian gave a compliant nod. "Look, I would love to tell you all, but honestly, I stand to gain a hell of a lot more by keeping my source a secret. Plus, I happen to be a man of my word."

Richard let out a dry laugh. "You cheated on your wife, blackmailed this company and leaked private footage. You’re the last man on earth who should lecture anyone about keeping promises. What a joker!"

Under her breath, Roxanne let out a sharp, mocking scoff, agreeing with Richard.

Christian’s brow pulled together, his eyes narrowing as he zeroed in on her. "Don’t listen to him. I am a man of my word, Roxanne. I promised the person who handed me that footage that I would never reveal their identity, no matter how bad things got. And here I am, keeping my end of the bargain. Why won’t you give me any credit for that?"

"And you’d rather destroy my life instead? After everything I told you in confidence?" Pamela interjected, leaning halfway across the table. "Why aren’t you keeping your word to me?"

Christian laughed in her face. "Because keeping my word to you doesn’t make me a dime, Pamela." He turned back to Henry, his smile turning wicked. "All I’m willing to tell you is this: the culprit is in this room right now. They are sitting at this exact table, playing the part of a loyal supporter."

A heavy silence blanketed the room for a split second before absolute chaos erupted.

Executives and family members immediately began trading dark, accusatory glances, murmuring fiercely amongst themselves.

Christian shook his head, thoroughly enjoying the psychological warfare. "I’d say that little clue is more than enough for you geniuses to root out the mole."

Margaret stared down at the bickering board members, exhaustion settling over her features. She let out a sharp breath and looked up at Christian. "What is your price to name the exact person? We don’t have the time or the luxury to run an investigation. We are losing millions by the hour. Let’s end this circus right now."

Christian’s smile grew wider, entirely victorious. "Someone at this table has already paid for my silence. If you can clear that bar, I’ll lay the exact name on this table right now."

"Hand me the terms," Margaret commanded, her tone switching instantly into a cold, ruthless business register. "I want to review them myself."

Richard leaned forward, his entire frame rigid with anger as he stared down at his mother. "What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mother? I am not negotiating with this lunatic," he said, the words forced through clenched teeth.

Margaret’s shoulders dropped a fraction as she shot Richard an unyielding look. "If you aren’t willing to negotiate a settlement with him, Richard, then let Roxanne go back to him!" she declared coldly. "After all, the man is still her legal husband."

"Never," Richard fired back. His voice wasn’t loud, but it possessed absolute finality that left zero room for argument.

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