Chapter 1382:
He knew Brandon was watching.
Meanwhile, Darden urged the driver to hurry toward the venue. After the photos surfaced, the official livestream had been terminated—yet viewers quickly found another feed.
A new stream had gone live.
Rumors and vile comments flooded in. Speculation exploded everywhere.
Brandon had already ordered the images taken down, but it was useless. They were already everywhere.
More were bound to surface.
While Brandon scrambled to contain the damage, the new stream went live—and then the gunshots rang out. The guests were too busy running for their lives to record anything, so in the end, only one feed remained.
The one Brandon was watching right now.
Through the screen, Brandon’s eyes locked with Macauley’s.
“Macauley!” Brandon roared.
Brandon’s hands shook as he rifled through the scattered mess until he found Vivian’s phone. He didn’t waste a second before dialing Macauley.
The call connected almost immediately.
On the other end, Macauley shifted aside, set the phone on the table, and kept the gun pressed to Ari’s head.
Brandon’s voice exploded through the line.
“Let her go, now!”
The car hurtled down the highway, and Darden, riding shotgun, flinched at Brandon’s sudden outburst.
Macauley’s voice came through the speaker, laughter wild and faintly crazed.
“Let her go? After all the trouble I went through? Not a chance!” His manic laughter rang out, echoing through the room.
“Brandon, you idiot! I always wondered why you insisted on a face-to-face meeting and what you really wanted from me. Today, you gave yourself away!”
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Macauley leaned in close to the camera, staring straight into the lens as if he could see Brandon on the other side.
“You kept saying it was all about some confidential documents, but you wouldn’t budge on the exchange—Vivian for the files. That made me suspicious from the start. I kept turning it over in my mind, trying to figure out your game. Then today, I finally put it all together.”
His grin twisted into something ugly as he continued to taunt Brandon through the feed.
“You know, I actually thought about kidnapping Millie before. But she’s always flanked by heavy security, so I stayed away. When you started acting like you didn’t care about her anymore, I thought you’d finally moved on and she wouldn’t be of use. But now I get it. You’d lay down your life for Millie. She’s still your biggest weakness. And the best part? I realized I still had something up my sleeve.”
Macauley nudged a photo across the floor with his foot.
“These. If it were just the info in the files, that would be easy to handle. But these pictures? I can make as many copies as I want—send them anywhere, post them online whenever I feel like it. Unless you catch me, or finish me off, they’ll never truly disappear. They’re a ticking time bomb, Brandon. And that’s when I figured it out. You’re desperate to erase these for Millie’s sake. The harder you try to keep her safe, the more I want to blow it all wide open. So tell me—do you like my gift for Millie’s wedding, Brandon?”
Macauley’s laughter filled every corner of the building, echoing like a madman’s chorus.
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