She would marry someone else one day.
Not because she stopped loving Damien.
Because the man who broke them had been hiding in plain sight.
Sitting across from her in therapy sessions.
Listening to her fears.
Learning her weaknesses.
Pretending to help.
While secretly destroying everything she loved.
His name was Marcus Webb.
And he had been playing the long game from the very beginning.
---
The one hundred fifty-fifth week, Damien and Christabel tried to rebuild.
But the cracks were too deep.
The trust was too broken.
And the person who had been tearing them apart was already inside their home.
Not as an enemy.
As a therapist.
Someone she confided in.
Someone she trusted.
Someone who had been waiting for years.
---
The evidence was found in Marcus Webb's office.
Not on his computer.
Not in his files.
Hidden in the walls.
Behind a photograph of Christabel.
Damien stood in the center of the room.
The photograph was in his hands.
Her face. Her smile. Her eyes.
He had taken it years ago.
Before the war.
Before the cracks.
Before everything.
Marcus had stolen it.
Had hidden it.
Had worshipped it.
---
Cole stood beside him.
"There's more."
"Show me."
Cole opened the wall safe.
Files. Photos. Recordings.
Session notes. Private conversations. Intimate details.
Marcus had recorded everything.
Every therapy session.
Every confession.
Every fear.
Every weakness.
He had been building a case against Damien for years.
Not for the police.
For himself.
---
Damien listened to a recording.
Christabel's voice.
Crying.
Talking about her marriage.
About her fears.
About her doubts.
"I don't know if I love him anymore," she said.
"I don't know if I ever did."
The recording stopped.
Damien's hands were shaking.
His face was pale.
Cole took the recorder.
"Damien—"
"He was supposed to help her."
"He was helping himself."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
The second recording was worse.
Christabel's voice again.
Talking about Marcus.
"He's the only one who understands me."
"The only one who listens."
"The only one who sees me."
Marcus's voice responded.
"I see you, Christabel."
"I've always seen you."
---
Damien threw the recorder against the wall.
It shattered.
Pieces scattered across the floor.
Cole didn't flinch.
"We have enough to destroy him."
"Destroying him isn't enough."
"Then what is?"
Damien was quiet for a moment.
"Making him suffer."
---
The third recording was the worst.
Marcus's voice alone.
Talking to someone else.
Someone on the phone.
"The husband is volatile. The wife is vulnerable. If I play this right, I can have her. The money. The power. The life."
The other voice responded.
"And Damien?"
"Damien will be destroyed. One way or another."
"How?"
Marcus laughed.
"I've been recording his wife for years. Confessions. Fears. Doubts. I'll release it all. His marriage will crumble. His reputation will shatter. His empire will fall."
"And Christabel?"
"She'll come to me. She has no one else."
---
Damien stood in the center of the room.
His hands were steady.
His face was calm.
But his eyes were black.
Cole had seen that look before.
Only once.
The day Damien killed his first enemy.
"Damien—"
"Call Christabel."
"She's in a session with him."
"Now."
---
Christabel was in Marcus's office.
Sitting on the couch.
Talking.
Marcus sat across from her.
Smiling.
Listening.
Pretending.
Her phone buzzed.
She ignored it.
It buzzed again.
She ignored it again.
It buzzed a third time.
"Excuse me," she said.
She looked at the screen.
Damien's name.
She answered.
"Damien—"
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get out of his office. Now."
"Why—"
"He's the traitor."
---
Christabel's blood went cold.
She looked at Marcus.
His face had changed.
The kindness was gone.
The gentleness was gone.
The mask had slipped.
"Christabel—"
She stood.
"The recordings. The files. The photographs hidden in your wall. He's been building a case against us for years."
Marcus stood.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"He's lying."
"Damien doesn't lie."
"He's manipulating you."
"Damien doesn't manipulate."
"He's controlling you."
She walked to the door.
Stopped.
Turned.
"You were supposed to help me."
"I was helping you."
"You were helping yourself."
She walked out.
Marcus stood in the empty office.
His hands were shaking.
His face was pale.
He knew what came next.
Damien Moreau did not forgive.
Damien Moreau did not forget.
Damien Moreau destroyed.
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was full of questions.
"Mama, why is Papa angry?"
"Because someone betrayed us."
"Who?"
"The man I trusted."
"The one who helped you?"
"Yes."
Lena thought about that.
"Did he pretend to be good?"
Christabel was quiet for a moment.
"Yes, baby. He pretended to be good."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's asleep?"
"She's dreaming."
"Of what?"
"Of you."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"Marcus is gone."
"Where?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Did you—"
"I didn't kill him."
"Then what did you do?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"I made sure he can never hurt us again."
---
She looked at him.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
First Line of Chapter 200 (Teaser):
"The one hundred fifty-sixth week, the recordings went viral. Not released by Marcus. Released by someone who wanted to destroy Damien and Christabel once and for all. The world heard Christabel's doubts. Her fears. Her confession that she didn't know if she loved her husband anymore. And Damien's empire began to crumble."