Chapter 151: The Devil You Don’t Know [Music: Darkside By Oshins & Hael] Agatha was sitting under the big oak tree, sunglasses on, and sipping wine. I walked close, her head turning towards my direction. She took off her sunglasses and smiled. "You’re late. That’s unusual for you." I recalled Catherine tied up on my bed as I had her for breakfast, her moans still making my ears tingle. It was a very eventful morning, and time became useless for me. "Your punctuality always defines you. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?" She pressed her lips on the cigarette holder between her fingers. In silence, I pulled out the chair to sit and checked my Rolex while crossing my legs. "One hour." She scoffed as if I had offended her. "You’re the one who said we should meet... yet you play time. I thought we might have a lot to catch up on." "Yes, we do. I’ll start first." "Ares—" "After Theo Mercer was unable to secure an investment from me, he got lucky. He hitched a partnership with the Voss family. You uncovered this, so you approached him." Agatha sighed, looking away from me, but I continued regardless. "You fucked him and whispered sweetly to his ears about how you wanted to know more about your daughter-in-law through his eyes. Hence, Theo began stalking my wife to keep tabs on her." She chuckled, setting her glass on the table. "What’s this an intervention?" "The Masquerade Ball. You didn’t want Theo there because it would be far more suspicious, but he came, not to see his lover but for a different reason entirely. He was the rat sent by Voss." She gulped, leveling her gaze. "I guess you didn’t think that his partnership with Voss would lead to some unforeseen event. Not being in control must have been difficult. He wasn’t just your puppet; he was Voss, too." "I didn’t know Theo was the rat," she confessed. "You, on the other hand, have something going on with Voss. I heard from your father that you took Noel Voss’ tongue, and now his son has a bone to pick with you." Agatha shrugged. "I did my homework. Someone attacked you at the ball. I had to find out. I heard about the shootout, too." Her eyes observed me, and when she couldn’t find any visible wound, she held my gaze. "Noah Voss is in hiding now; no one has seen him since. Some say he’s fatally wounded or dead in a ditch somewhere. You know how the rumors are." "I pray he’s not dead." "Of course you do. Death is mercy for you. And you, sweetheart, when everyone thought you were defeated by a weaker enemy, you proved them wrong and rose like a phoenix. I think you won that squabble by proving you’re indeed the Devil. Do you know some say you’re immortal?" "I never pictured you as a superstitious person." She took a drag from her cigarette and directed the smoke towards me. "I believe them. You’re the Devil." Her sultry tone made my skin crawl, for I knew she wasn’t just talking about reputation. She had been giving me fuck me eyes ever since I came here—Eyes I wanted to gouge out. "I’m proud of you. Despite our disagreement, I do believe the city is safe in your hands. Your father’s stubborn, but he does respect what you have built for yourself: the men, loyalty and fear. The little nuggets squirm when they hear your name. You’re a made man." She leaned back on her seat. "All because of me. Even you can’t deny it, no matter how much you try to condemn me. I’m your everything, Ares, and nothing is gonna change that. Nothing." Silence stretched, and our eyes were heated, but mostly from me. Her smirk broadened almost like she had me right where she wanted. Agatha believed she still had that power over me, believed it was dormant and waiting to be awakened. Despite my effort to build, she wanna watch the walls crumble so that I’d fall back in her arms. "Spying wasn’t the only thing you had in your clutches," I began, feeling a coldness slicing through my skin. "The accident from months ago was your doing. You had my wife attacked again..." My skin turned to ice, and I’m seconds away from breaking her fucking neck. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 Agatha released a breath, once again acting like the victim. "Why do you always make me the villain? All I do is for you, why don’t you understand this? I admit I never should have slept with Theo. I betrayed you, but you did too. You destroyed every chance for us to be together again. Any chance with... Adrian. You know he talks about you a lot; he respects and looks up to you." Her words were her attempts to make me feel, but she keeps forgetting that I’ve been numb for years... ever since she shattered me. "I came here to make something clear..." I began in an icy tone. "Touch Catherine again and your son will pay the price." Horror became her gaze, not by my threat but at the thought that I could say those words to her face. "H-How could you say that...?" she murmured, heartbroken. I don’t blink or react, only a sinister smile curling my lips that made her recoil. "Father will pass soon. Agreeable or not, the empire will be mine. I don’t fucking care if you have sunk your claws into his mind or dipped his tea with the daily dose of..." I don’t finish and let her become more shaken by the fact that I know everything. "He falls, and you follow, as well as every trace of you. Six feet under." "I won’t let you harm Adrian!" I pushed to stand, adjusting my tie, and walked. "Ares! "ARES!" I got in my car, and Julian didn’t waste any time driving out. I dialed a number and pressed the phone to my ear when the call was answered. "Do it. Make it look like an accident."