Chapter 148: Chapter 148

Christian stood at the edge of the great hall, a glass of bourbon in his hand, watching the crowd with a detached air. The gala was in full swing, laughter and conversation swirling around him. It was supposed to be a social event, but he wasn’t interested in doing so at the moment.

His mind was currently elsewhere, scanning the room for Camille. He had to make sure she was holding up her end of the bargain.

Finally, he spotted her approaching, moving gracefully through the crowd in her lavish dress.

In that moment, he found himself a little mesmerized by her beauty. Although he had never been completely swayed by looks before, he couldn’t quite understand why she seemed so striking tonight.

Perhaps it was because of her words earlier. Although Christian knew they were a lie, the sincerity in her tone unsettled him.

Either she was thinking of him, or she was thinking of another man, which irritated him for some reason.

When she finally reached him, her expression was a carefully crafted mask of neutrality. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying, though her makeup was mostly intact unless one looked closely.

To his surprise, she touched his arm gently and led him to a quieter corner of the hall.

“What is it?” Christian asked, his tone sharp but curious.

Camille glanced around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “I spoke to Michael,” she began, her voice low and measured. “He invited me to his private residence tomorrow night.”

Christian raised a curious eyebrow. “Oh? And how did that come about?”

It seemed like a quick move for someone like Michael, so he was suspicious.

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering with a mixture of fear and determination. “He took me to the garden earlier because of what I said about our relationship,” she continued. “He told me he was jealous and realized he couldn’t just let me go. He asked for a chance to prove his love for me.”

Christian felt a surge of amusement. Oh, how foolish people could be when it came to love. “Go on,” he said.

“So I saw this as an opportunity.” Guilt filled her expression as she said this, and she looked as if she regretted it. “I told him that I loved him too, and that I wanted to get away from you to be with him. That he was the only man I loved. I cried and made him believe I was torn between you and him. He bought it. I told him I didn’t want to divorce you, so he decided to invite me to his private home instead. He wants to have a secret affair.”

Christian wanted to laugh out loud.

Oh, how low the man had fallen just for love. Who would have thought that the weakness of the mighty Michael McGregor was a mere woman? This was too funny.

It was even funnier because Camille looked so guilty, but at least she was doing her job well so far. Even if she tried to rebel, she had no proof since he had made her erase it all. She really had no choice but to follow Christian’s orders at this point.

Even Michael couldn’t do anything as long as there was no evidence, and the evidence that Camille had was extensive.

She had already erased them all now, though, so there was no way they could bring him down. Christian had covered all his bases.

His lips curled into a satisfied grin. This outcome was a lot better than he had hoped for. “Interesting,” he said silently, enjoying the angry and regretful look on Camille’s face. “So you finally got him to lower his guard.”

Camille nodded, her face an emotionless mask once more. “Yes. He trusts me now. He thinks I’m on his side.”

Christian took a sip of his bourbon and considered the implications. “Good. Very good. When you get to his house, I want you to snoop around. Find anything that might be useful. Documents, conversations, anything that might help us destroy the McGregor empire. Oh, and financial records of John McGregor and his bribes as well. And remember, you’re my woman. I don’t want you sleeping with him. You can do anything to seduce him except that.”

Then he leaned closer, his voice a menacing whisper. “And remember, my dear, this is your chance to prove your loyalty. Don’t disappoint me.”

Camille met his gaze, her eyes cold and unreadable. “I won’t.”

Christian watched her for a moment, searching for any hint of deception.

But she remained stoic, her demeanor unyielding.

Finally, he nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Now get back to mingling. We don’t want anyone to suspect anything.”

As she walked away, Christian felt a surge of triumph.

Everything was falling into place. With Camille in Michael’s house, it was only a matter of time before he had the leverage he needed to bring the McGregors to their knees.

He took another sip of his bourbon, savoring the taste of impending victory. The game was far from over, but tonight he felt the scales tipping in his favor.

And Christian Callahan always played to win.

***

The night was quiet and cool as Camille approached Michael’s private residence, her heart pounding in her chest.

She passed through security thanks to Michael alerting them to her arrival. However, she made sure to dress in a simple dark outfit with a hat pulled low over her face.

At this point, she felt like a character in a spy movie.

She had to be careful. Any misstep, any careless mistake at all, could alert Christian and ruin everything.

Before she got here, she had a revelation. It turned out that the paranoia she had been feeling was not entirely unfounded.

It seemed that Christian had sent someone to follow her inconspicuously, but he had increased it to two people. He had stopped spying a long time ago, but now it seemed that he didn’t trust her that much, so she had to be more careful.

She also found out yesterday, after returning home from the gala, that her two brothers had returned from abroad.

Paul told her that they had arrived and that they had left their father there with their mother to watch over him since he seemed to be responding well to the treatment. Also, the hotel needed Paul and Benjamin, so they had to come home.

Camille couldn’t help but smile. Now that they were home, she could speed up the plan to her advantage.

So, she asked Benjamin to send her a message on her private phone, one that even Christian didn’t know she had and one that he couldn’t spy on.

-

Camille: Ben, I need you to meet me tomorrow.