Chapter 65: Chapter 66- The Devil Join Forces
The rain hadn’t stopped all night.
Thunder rolled over the skyline like a warning as Marcus stepped into the penthouse suite of his private hotel—an entire top floor reserved only for his darkest business.
Kate was already there.
A glass of whiskey in her shaking hand. Mascara smeared. Hair disheveled. Eyes burning with the kind of desperation that made even Marcus smirk.
He closed the door behind him.
"So," he said calmly, "you’re ready?"
Kate didn’t bother answering with words.
She shoved a tablet toward him, the headline glowing like fire:
SAMANTHA BRADLEY — NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS SHE FAKED ACCIDENT FOR INSURANCE FRAUD
Marcus watched her carefully.
"She destroyed my marriage," Kate whispered, voice trembling.
"She stole my life—twice."
Marcus poured himself a drink, amused.
"No, Kate. You destroyed your marriage. She simply walked back into the truth."
Kate flinched, rage flashing in her eyes.
"Are we doing this or not?"
Marcus leaned in, his voice smooth, practiced, poisonous.
"We are."
He tapped a few files on his laptop.
Photos. Fake documents. A doctored report from the old accident. A forged insurance payout under Ally Miller’s name.
Perfectly crafted lies.
Kate’s breath hitched.
"This will ruin her reputation," Marcus said.
"Then her company. Then her allies."
"And Nick?" she whispered.
Marcus smirked.
"Oh... he’ll fall with her."
Kate closed her eyes, swallowing hard.
Then she signed the file.
The devils officially joined hands.
********
Media Eruption – Elevate Under Siege
By noon, the internet exploded.
Talk shows. Podcasts. News headlines. Social media mobs.
"Was Samantha Bradley behind her own accident?"
"Elevate’s CEO accused of insurance fraud in her previous identity."
"Carter Group insider confirms legal investigation."
Samantha sat at her desk as her phone vibrated nonstop.
Her PR director called eight times.
Three investors demanded clarification.
Two board members requested an emergency meeting.
Jake slammed into her office. "Sam—this is bad. Really bad. The reports look real. People are panicking."
She flipped another page of her file, calm as a winter tide.
"They should panic," she said softly.
"It means the trap is working."
Jake’s eyes widened. "Wait—you knew this was coming?"
"I knew Marcus would get desperate," she said. "And Kate... she’s predictable."
Jake ran a hand through his hair.
"Sam, the board wants answers. Investors are threatening to pull out—this is a full-scale assault."
Her eyes finally lifted.
Cold. Unshaken. Relentless.
"They think I’ve played my last move," she whispered.
"They are wrong."
Jake froze, feeling a chill.
He had seen Samantha angry.
He had seen her broken.
He had seen her gentle.
But this—
this was the version forged by death and rebirth.
And she was terrifying.
---
Chloe Falls Fully Under Samantha’s Control
Chloe arrived at Samantha’s office trembling, aware that one wrong move could destroy her life.
She closed the door behind her.
"Samantha... I—I did what you asked."
She handed a flash drive over with shaking fingers.
"These are the reports the board tried to hide. And... and these are the internal emails between Nick and the board regarding Kate’s meltdown."
Samantha leaned back in her chair.
"And the call logs?"
Chloe swallowed. "Nick made three private calls to legal advisors—none of which Kate knows about."
"Perfect," Samantha murmured.
Chloe stepped closer, voice cracking.
"Please... don’t ruin me. I didn’t know what Marcus was doing back then. I swear—"
"You don’t need to worry," Samantha said calmly.
"As long as you obey."
Chloe nodded shakily.
"I will."
Samantha sealed Chloe’s fate with a single cold smile.
"Good."
---
Samantha’s Counterattack Begins
For weeks, she worked silently.
Behind the scenes. In the shadows.
She didn’t attack Carter Group openly.
She did something far worse.
She bled them slowly.
Quietly.
Strategically.
Through Jake’s dummy shell firms, she—
canceled three major Carter contracts
rerouted investors to Elevate under anonymous recommendations
planted subtle rumors about Carter Group’s internal instability
leaked a whisper of misconduct involving Kate
hinted at Marcus’s questionable overseas accounts
Not enough to be traced back.
Just enough to cripple them.
Nick noticed something was wrong before anyone else.
He was sitting in his office late at night when he spotted the pattern.
"Someone is dismantling us," he muttered.
But he didn’t know...
the person doing it was the woman he had just learned was his ex-wife.
---
Jake burst into Samantha’s office holding spreadsheets, bank logs, and analytic reports.
"Sam—this is insane."
He slammed the documents down.
"You’re not just attacking the Carter Group—you’re dismantling them from the inside out."
Samantha’s eyes didn’t lift.
"You’re taking their company," Jake whispered harshly.
"You’re taking their souls."
Samantha finally looked up.
And for the first time, Jake saw something beyond anger or vengeance.
A haunting emptiness.
"That’s the point," she said quietly.
Jake’s breath caught.
"Samantha—"
"I gave them mercy once," she whispered.
"And they buried me."
Lightning cracked across the sky behind her.
"They don’t get mercy anymore."
Jake’s phone buzzed violently.
He glanced down—
His expression turned white.
"Sam... you need to see this."
He held out his phone.
A new headline was trending everywhere:
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS OPEN FORMAL CASE
IN SAMANTHA BRADLEY INSURANCE FRAUD SCANDAL
Subheadline:
Anonymous witness comes forward claiming Samantha staged her entire disappearance.
Jake looked at her with rising fear.
"They escalated. Someone planted a witness. They’re coming for you."
Samantha straightened slowly, eyes narrowing.
Fire replaced ice.
"They want war?" she whispered.
She closed her laptop with a click.
"They just got one."
The storm raged outside.
And Samantha Bradley walked straight into it—
finally becoming the monster her enemies feared she would become.
*****
The Carter Group boardroom was quieter than a graveyard.
Nick stood at the head of the table, gripping the polished wood so tightly his knuckles were white. Half the chairs around him were empty—an insult in itself.
The remaining members looked anywhere but at him.
On the massive screen behind him, stock graphs plunged downward.
Investor withdrawals. Market skepticism. Rumors spreading like wildfire.
Nick cleared his throat, voice strained.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please—just listen. Carter Group is not collapsing. These... allegations against Samantha Bradley are fabricated. Our numbers can stabilize if we stop the panic—"
"Mr. Carter," one board member cut in coldly, "what we need is leadership."
"We have leadership," Nick snapped, eyes flashing.
"I’ve held this company together for years."
"Your personal scandals," another said sharply, "are now affecting business. Investors doubt your judgment."
The words hit him like a blow.
Another member leaned forward, fingers steepled.
"Your... history with Samantha Bradley is making you look compromised."
The room shifted.
Nick stiffened.
His jaw tightened.
"So that’s what this is really about," he said quietly.
"You’re blaming me for rumors—created by people who want this company destroyed."
No one answered.
No one needed to.
Their silence condemned him.
For the first time in years, Nick Carter stood in a room where his authority meant nothing.
When the meeting finally ended, the remaining board members walked out quickly—avoiding eye contact, avoiding responsibility, avoiding him.
Nick remained alone.
The chair next to his was empty.
The chair Ally once used to tease him about being too serious.
The chair Samantha had sat in only weeks ago, silent and unreadable.
His fingers trembled as he touched the armrest.
A ghost.
A memory.
A punishment.
---
Kate’s Meltdown
He stormed into the mansion after midnight.
He found Kate in the living room, surrounded by broken glass—bottles, vases, frames.
She turned when she heard him.
Her eyes were wild.
"You," she hissed.
"You did this. You built this mess with your lies."
Nick’s jaw clenched.
"Kate—"
"No!" She threw a glass against the wall.
"You still love her! I can see it every time her name is mentioned. You think I don’t see it?!"
He stared at her, exhaustion sinking into his bones.
"You want honesty?" he said quietly.
"You built this mess the day Ally walked away."
Kate froze.
The words strangled the room.
"You don’t get to say her name," she whispered, shaking.
Nick’s voice cracked, painful and raw.
"She walked away because we failed her. Because I failed her. And maybe—maybe we deserve everything happening now."
Kate slapped him—hard.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she screamed,
"Samantha will ruin all of us!"
Nick didn’t yell back.
He didn’t defend himself.
He just walked away.
Defeated. Broken. Holding the weight of a decade of guilt.
Upstairs, he collapsed onto the bed.
He buried his face in his hands.
And for the first time since the truth broke, Nick Carter finally hit rock bottom.
---
Chloe’s Breakdown — A Desperate Plea
Samantha’s penthouse was dim—only the soft glow of city lights illuminating her silhouette by the window.
Chloe burst through the door with red eyes, mascara streaked down her cheeks.
"Samantha—please—help me!"
She nearly fell to her knees.
Jake instantly stepped closer, instinctively protective.
Samantha didn’t move.
Chloe sobbed, voice shaking violently.
"Marcus—he knows I helped you. He sent someone to follow me today. If I don’t cooperate, he’ll kill me. Please—I have nowhere else to go."
Samantha finally turned.
She approached Chloe slowly, her expression unreadable, controlled, deadly calm.
"You want protection from Marcus?" Samantha asked softly.
Chloe nodded rapidly.
"Yes... yes, I’ll do anything—just don’t let him hurt me."
Samantha leaned in.
"One condition."
Chloe swallowed hard.
"O-okay."
"You hand me the master financial key to the Carter Group’s offshore accounts."
Chloe froze.
Her pupils dilated. Fear rippled through her.
"That... that key gives access to everything," she whispered.
"Every transfer. Every hidden asset. Every emergency fund. If I hand it to you—Carter Group would be—"
"Mine," Samantha finished quietly.
Chloe trembled violently.
"You... you’ll destroy my family because of my selfisness."
Samantha didn’t deny it.
Instead, she held out her hand.
"Your life," she said, "or your loyalty."
Chloe stared at her palm like it was a choice between heaven and hell.
Then—
her trembling fingers reached into her coat.
She placed a small encrypted device into Samantha’s hand.
The master key.
"The password," Chloe whispered, tears slipping down her face,
"is A.M.... the same initials on your pen. Nick still uses them for legacy-level access."
Samantha’s expression didn’t change.
But for Jake, watching closely, something flickered behind her eyes.
Something dangerous. Something final.
Chloe collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing.
Jake approached Samantha slowly.
"Sam," he whispered, "you know what this means."
She turned toward him.
Lightning flashed behind her.
"It means," Samantha said,
"the Carter empire falls tonight."
Jake swallowed.
She wasn’t bluffing.
She wasn’t raging.
She was cold.
Focused.
Unstoppable.
And this time—
she wasn’t just seeking justice.
She was taking their entire legacy with her.
---
Cliffhanger — The Final Strike Begins
Jake watched as Samantha inserted the master key into her laptop.
Lines of encrypted data flooded the screen.
Financial maps.
Hidden accounts.
Slush funds.
Board payouts.
Illicit transactions.
Everything the Carters thought was buried—
now belonged to her.
Jake whispered,
"Sam... if you do this... there’s no going back."
She didn’t even blink.
"There was no ’back’ after the day they left me bleeding on the road."
Her fingers flew across the keys.
Jake stood beside her.
And together—
they pulled the first thread.
The one that would unravel the Carter dynasty.
Forever.
