Chapter 577
Chapter 577:
He leaned forward, his eyes pleading. “Gerard and Cynthia are innocent in this. They had absolutely no idea Wendy was planning a coup p>
Eliza stared at him. Her face did not change.
“Who did you meet in London?” she asked.
Mr. Hayes blinked, momentarily thrown. “That has nothing to do with this,” he said quickly, looking away from her gaze.
Eliza rose from her chair, walked around the desk, and stood directly in front of him.
𝗦av𝖾 y𝗼𝗎𝗿 𝘧аvo𝗿𝗂𝗍𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗏𝖾𝗹𝘀 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝖺𝗅ո𝗈𝗏𝘦lѕ.со𝗺
“It has everything to do with this,” she said softly. “Because you are lying to my face p>
Mr. Hayes’s jaw tightened.
“Simon ran a deep background check on you twenty minutes ago,” Eliza stated. “Your flight records show three trips to London in the last month. You weren’t meeting with the Sterling family. You were meeting with a holding company registered to a man named Alistair Croft p>
Mr. Hayes went completely still.
A slow, impressed smile spread across his face.
“Well,” he chuckled softly. “The rumors about the new Koch Matriarch are entirely accurate. You are terrifying.” He shifted in his seat, his voice dropping an octave. “What I do in London is my own private business. But I swear on my life — I have never done anything to harm the Koch family p>
“Oaths are cheap,” Eliza said coldly. “I need a blood pact p>
She lifted the shipping contract and pressed it firmly against his chest.
“Help me dismantle Wendy’s offshore network,” Eliza said. “Do that, and I will clear your family’s name. I will approve your son’s marriage to Cynthia p>
Mr. Hayes looked across the room at Gerard. He saw the desperate hope swimming in his son’s tear-filled eyes.
“I am not an accountant,” Mr. Hayes said at last. “But I know exactly who controls the master key to the entire ghost ledger p>
“Who?” Eliza asked.
“The exiled playboy from the Croft family. Alistair Croft.” Mr. Hayes held her gaze. “He built the original encryption for Dallas’s father years ago. He’s the only one who can tear it down without tipping off their silent partners. He lives quietly in Washington D.C p>
Eliza did not hesitate for a single second.
“Get the jet ready,” she called to Simon.
Mr. Hayes rose from his chair, surprise crossing his face. “We are going right now? Does Dallas know you are flying to Washington p>
Eliza stopped walking. She turned her head and looked at him.
“I am the Matriarch,” she said, with absolute, chilling authority. “I do not ask for permission p>
Mr. Hayes stared at her. For a brief moment, something shifted in his expression — a flash of profound, unmistakable respect. It was the look of a rival king acknowledging the power of a queen.
“Let’s go to Washington,” he said, and smiled.
The grand ballroom of The Willard InterContinental in Washington D.C. was a suffocating sea of wealth and secrets.
The charity gala was a high-stakes political fundraiser.