'I Do' For Revenge-Chapter 241: Use This

The video ended.

I sat frozen, staring at the blank screen. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

A new email arrived, containing just coordinates: Café Lumière, 52nd and 6th Avenue, Midtown.

And below it: Time remaining: 1 hour, 59 minutes.

It was a public location, not an abandoned warehouse or a dark alley, but a busy coffee shop in the middle of the city where hundreds of people would see us. Charles was being smart; he knew I couldn’t ignore this.

Eclipse Beauty wasn’t just my company. It was Helena’s career. It was jobs for three thousand employees across twelve countries. It was proof that I had built something real, something that mattered.

I should tell Axel. I should show this to Tye immediately.

But my hand moved to my phone instead, pulling up Prince Leopold’s number.

"Prince Leopold speaking," a cultured voice answered on the second ring.

"Your Highness, this is Layla O’Brien," I said. "Duke Silas’ granddaughter."

There was a pause. "Layla! Yes, of course. I’m surprised to hear from you directly. Is everything alright? I heard about the Eclipse situation. Absolute madness."

"I’ve been better," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Your Highness, I need to ask you about the Memorial Tea for the Duke. Is it still happening?"

"Please, call me Leo," he said warmly. "And yes, next week is the planned date. I’ve already coordinated with Isabelle’s camp. A dreadful woman, but protocol demands it. Why do you ask?"

I took a breath. "Because I need your help with something. The Duke needs to make a dramatic return at that tea."

Silence.

"I’m sorry," Leo said slowly. "Did you just say... the Duke needs to return? Layla, your grandfather is dead. We attended his funeral."

"He’s not dead," I said quietly. "He’s alive, Leo. He’s been in hiding because someone tried to kill him. But he’s here, safe, and we need to expose Isabelle publicly."

"Good God," Leo breathed. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"He’s in the next room," I said. "Leo, I need you to keep this secret. No one can know until the Memorial Tea. Can you do that?"

"Of course," Leo said immediately. "Of course. This is extraordinary. The Duke is alive. Isabelle will be destroyed when he walks in."

"That’s the plan," I said. "Something public, something that shows he’s alive and well. The Memorial Tea could be perfect."

"It will be perfect," Leo said, excitement creeping into his voice. "A grand entrance. The Duke arriving with you and Axel. Isabelle’s humiliation would be exquisite."

"Exactly," I said. "Can you make it happen?"

"Consider it done," Leo said. "And Layla, about the Eclipse crisis, I have connections with the European regulatory boards. I can help untangle this mess through diplomatic channels."

My heart lifted slightly. "Really? How long would that take?"

"A week, perhaps two," Leo said. "These things require delicate negotiation."

My hope crashed. "I don’t have a week, Leo. The stock is collapsing right now."

"I understand," Leo said sympathetically. "But these processes take time. I’ll start making calls immediately."

"Thank you," I whispered.

I ended the call and stared at Charles’s message again.

The Duke appeared in the doorway, leaning on his cane. He must have heard my conversation.

"You look like a general contemplating a siege," he said, walking slowly into the office.

"That’s exactly what this is," I said bitterly. "Charles has Eclipse surrounded, and I’m trapped in here watching it burn."

The Duke sat down across from me, his eyes sharp despite his age. "Tell me what’s happening, Layla. All of it."

I explained Charles’s message, the contamination evidence, and the impossible choice.

The Duke listened silently, then nodded. "Do you know what I learned in my years dealing with men like Charles?"

"What?"

"Sometimes the only way to end a siege is to ride out and face your enemy on the field," he said. "But never alone, and never without an advantage he doesn’t know about."

"What advantage do I have?" I asked helplessly. "Charles has planned this for months."

"You have people who love you," the Duke said simply. "You have Axel, who would burn the world down for you. You have Tye, who’s outsmarted worse men than Charles. And you have me, an old duke who still knows how to play the game."

"So what do I do?"

"You tell your husband," the Duke said firmly. "You show him that message. And you let the people who care about you help you turn Charles’s trap into his grave."

—

AXEL’S POV

I was in the security office with Tye, staring at lines of code scrolling across multiple screens.

"Thanks to Daniel’s backdoor access, I’m deep in Charles’s server architecture," Tye muttered, typing rapidly. "I’ve been mapping his system for days now. He didn’t just hack the Eclipse database; he built backdoors into it months ago. Multiple layers of encryption, routing through servers in six different countries."

"Can you trace the contamination attack?" I asked.

"I’m trying," Tye said, navigating through folders. "But Charles is thorough. Everything is compartmentalized. I need to find the right directory."

My phone buzzed. Helena, updating me on the press conference. The stock was still falling.

"We need to find something," I said. "Some leverage. Some way to prove this is all fabricated." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Hold on. There’s something here." Tye said, his eyes narrowing.

I leaned closer. "What?"

"Files," Tye said, opening folders. "Documents about... physical evidence?"

My stomach dropped. "What kind of physical evidence?"

Tye’s face went pale as he read. "Charles didn’t just create digital contamination reports. He actually planted physical evidence in three Eclipse manufacturing facilities. Trace amounts of banned substances in the storage areas."

"What?" I grabbed the monitor. "When?"

"Months ago," Tye said. "Look at these dates. May, June, July. He had people infiltrate the facilities and plant evidence that would show up in any independent testing."

"But the products are clean," I said. "We tested them."

"The products are clean," Tye confirmed. "But if authorities inspect the facilities now, they’ll find contamination in the storage areas. It’ll look like Eclipse was manufacturing in contaminated environments, even if nothing actually got into the products."

I felt cold rage building in my chest. "So even if we prove the digital alerts were hacked..."

"The physical evidence will destroy Eclipse’s reputation," Tye finished. "Charles created a no-win scenario."

"There has to be a way to remove the evidence," I said.

"There is," Tye said grimly. "If we knew exactly where Charles planted it. But these files don’t have specific locations. Just facility names. We’d need to search three entire manufacturing plants. That could take weeks."

"And we don’t have weeks," I muttered.

"No," Tye said. "We don’t."

I stared at the screen, my mind racing. Charles had been planning this for months.

And then I understood.

"He’s going to force Layla to negotiate," I said quietly.

"What?"

"Charles knows we can’t find the evidence without him," I said. "He’s the only one who knows the exact locations. So he might want to force Layla to come to him, to trade something for the information, or just allow his plan play its course."

"What could he possibly want?" Tye asked.

Before I could answer, the office door opened.

Layla stood there, looking pale and holding her laptop.

"Axel," she said quietly. "We need to talk."

I knew immediately. "What happened?"

She walked in, setting her laptop on the desk. The video was paused on Charles’s face.

"He sent me a message," she said. "Thirty minutes ago."

I felt my blood pressure spike. "And you’re just telling me now?"

"I needed to think," she said. "I called Leo about the Memorial Tea. I talked to the Duke. I needed to process before..."

"Layla, what does the message say?"

She played the video. I watched Charles’s smug face, listened to his ultimatum, and saw the coordinates for a public café in Midtown.

"Absolutely not," I said the moment it ended. "You’re not going."

"Axel..."

"No," I said firmly. "This is exactly what we discussed. Charles is trying to draw you out."

"He’s not trying to kill me," Layla said quietly. "If he wanted me dead, he’d send a hitman, not a meeting invitation to a public café."

"Then what does he want?" I demanded.

"Something," Tye said, understanding. "He wants to trade the locations of the physical evidence for something."

Layla looked at me. "I can’t let Eclipse burn, Axel. Three thousand people depend on this company. Helena’s entire career is tied to it. This isn’t just about me."

"And it’s not just about Eclipse," I countered. "This is about keeping you alive."

"He’s right," Tye said. "Charles is unpredictable. Even in a public location, he could have backup plans."

"Then we make backup plans too," Layla said. "I’m not saying I walk in there alone and helpless. I’m saying we use this."

I stared at her. "Use this how?"

"He’s trying to make me choose between my company and my safety," Layla said. "And we both know I can’t let Eclipse burn."

I stepped closer, taking her hands. "Layla..."

"So we don’t let me go alone," she interrupted. "We turn his trap into ours."