Eligos sat at the head of the grand dining table in his lavishly decorated dining room. The flickering candlelight danced across the polished wood and fine China, casting shadows that should have been calming. A perfectly seared steak sat on his plate, accompanied by an elegant medley of vegetables. His favorite bottle of red wine, aged to perfection, rested nearby. By all accounts, it should have been the perfect evening. But Eligos couldn't focus.

His knife hovered over the steak, untouched. His thoughts were elsewhere, swirling around Claire Peterson. The name alone made his jaw clench. The image of her cool, unbothered expression when things didn't go his way gnawed at him.

He stabbed the meat with his force and chopped it brutally as if the meat did some terrible things.

How had this happened?

This was supposed to be his moment. His plan to humiliate Claire should have been flawless. The fake scandal with Cindy was designed to wreak havoc on Claire's reputation or, at the very least, destabilize her relationship with Adrian Saint Laurent. Yet here he was, sitting alone with nothing to show for it.

Claire hadn't been humiliated. She hadn't crumbled under the weight of public scrutiny or flown into a fit of anger like he'd hoped. No, she'd stood tall, and worse-she and Adrian were seen having a romantic dinner afterward!

The mere thought made Eligos's blood boil. He could picture them now: Adrian doting on Claire, Claire looking smug as if she'd won. His grip on the knife tightened until his knuckles turned white.

He'd had men watching Claire that night. They reported back dutifully, their voices laced with fear of his reaction. And they were right to fear-he hadn't taken the news well. It was one thing for the plan to fail, but it was another thing entirely for Claire to bounce back stronger than ever. It felt like a slap in the face.

Eligos exhaled sharply and dropped the knife onto the plate with a loud clatter. The noise echoed in the silent room. His patience, already threadbare, snapped. With a growl of frustration, he swept the plate off the table with a forceful motion. It shattered against the marble floor, the sound satisfying in a twisted way. The red wine in his glass trembled from the force of his anger, a single drop spilling over the rim.

He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor, and leaned on the table with both hands. His dark eyes burned with fury, locked on nothing in particular.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous. "She wasn't supposed to win. Claire was supposed to crack and the headline about her so-called boyfriend didn't do anything."

For the first time, doubt crept into his mind. Had he underestimated Claire? She was supposed to be another pawn in his game, another piece on the chessboard that he could manipulate at will. Yet, time and time again, she slipped through his fingers, defying him with that infuriating resilience.

No, he wasn't going to let this slide.

Eligos straightened up and began pacing the room, his mind racing. He needed a new approach, something sharper, something that would cut deeper. And then it hit him-a name, one he'd been holding in reserve like a card up his sleeve.

Andrea.noveldrama

He stopped pacing, his lips curling into a sly, almost sinister smile. Andrea. His secret weapon. The young man was desperate, vulnerable, and utterly terrified of him-a perfect combination for manipulation.

Eligos had deliberately kept Andrea in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to bring him into play. And maybe that moment was now. Claire's Achilles' heel was her family; that much was obvious. Her half-sibling, Andrea, was the perfect tool to exploit that weakness. "Maybe it's time," Eligos murmured to himself, his voice barely audible in the vast room. "Maybe it's time to use Andrea. My secret weapon and the key to Claire Peterson destruction."

The idea grew in his mind, taking shape with each passing second. Andrea's desperation to save his

mother made him malleable, and et

easy to control. All Eligos had to do was dangle the right carrot in front of him, and Andrea would

do

whatever was asked-whether he

wanted to or not.

But the timing was everything. He couldn't act rashly. Andrea was a volatile piece, and if handled poorly, he could implode the entire operation.

No, Eligos needed to wait for the perfect opportunity, the exact moment when Andrea's desperation would peak, and Claire's guard would drop.

"When is that perfect opportunity come? If I waited long enough?" he muttered to himself.

He resumed pacing, his mind now working overtime. How could he stage this so that Claire wouldn't see it coming? He could picture it already the look of betrayal on her face when Andrea, of all people, became the weapon that shattered her world. The thought brought a dark satisfaction to his otherwise stormy mood.

But a small voice in the back of his mind whispered a warning. Claire had proven herself resourceful, and quick on her feet. She wasn't an easy target, and she certainly wasn't predictable. If he underestimated her again, it could blow up in his face. That voice annoyed him, but he couldn't ignore it. No matter. He would plan this move meticulously, leaving no room for error.

"I need to be smart and not reckless. One thing about Claire is catching her off guard. And if shocking her is that easy let me just hire someone who looks like Claire's parents, so she thinks that her parents aren't dead." Eligos added with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes.

He stopped pacing and poured himself another glass of wine, though he barely tasted it as he sipped. His anger had subsided slightly, replaced by a cold, calculating focus. Andrea was the key, and Eligos would make sure to turn it at just the right moment.

As he set the glass down, his phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up, glancing at the message. It was one of his men, reporting on Andrea's latest movements.

Eligos smirked. Speak of the devil.

He hasn't headed out of his apartment only to buy food and groceries other than that, he is staying inside.

Eligos typed out a quick reply,

Eligos: Good. Keep watching him. Don't interfere unless he tries to contact Claire and if he does, immediately contact me and then bring him to me.

He set the phone down and leaned back against the table, his mind already plotting the next steps. If Claire thought she was untouchable, she was in for a rude awakening. Eligos had played the long game before, and he wasn't above playing it again. A smirked across his features as he thought about some scenarios in which Claire would meet her secret half-siblings.

He picked up his wine glass and raised it slightly as if making a toast to no one in particular. "To the game, Claire," he said softly, his tone dripping with mockery. "Let's see how you handle this round."

And with that, he drained the glass, his anger replaced by a chilling resolve.

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