I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father-Chapter 335: Paragon Of Perfection

The sterile silence of the loft was punctuated only by the distant wail of a siren, a mournful cry from the city beneath them.

"We will need a catalyst," Baby Doll said, her voice cutting through the stillness. "A public event. Something that forces a reaction from the public and Levi."

Brandon traced the condensation on the glass of water in front of him. "The engagement party. It’s on Saturday. The whole city is going to be there." The words tasted like ash in his mouth.

"Perfect," she said, a predatory glint in her eyes. "A captive audience of all the right people. The city’s elite. Business partners. Socialites. People who can turn on a dime when a reputation is tainted. They will be too eager to distance themselves."

"What do we do?" Brandon asked, leaning in, the familiar thrill of conspiracy eclipsing his discomfort.

"I have a contact," she began, tapping a perfectly manicured nail on the tabletop. "A discreet audio-visual technician. He owes me a favor. A big one. We’ll use him to orchestrate a little... multimedia presentation during the party."

Brandon’s pulse quickened. "What kind of presentation?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"The financials, for starters. Projected onto the main screen. We’ll loop the damning transactions along with some select... family photos. Maybe one of dear Levi looking cozy with a certain business rival right before the market crash that made a lot of people lose stock value."

"We can also enlist some social media accounts that will raise dust online." She continued. "Find a way to rope Lyse’s fashion business and her work with the shelters in, maybe link her with some trafficking suspicions."

Brandon stiffened, the aura wafting from him became dangerous.

"What does Lyse have to do with that?" He demanded aggressively. "Levi is the mark and not her, I don’t want her image harmed, that is my wife."

Babydoll rolled her eyes inwardly at him prononcing Lyse as his wife.

"You are lucky I like you." She thought but she hid all her thoughts with a smile.

"If we are to make them both to be discontent with each other, we have to make them both the targets." She explained patiently. "If Levi does not trust her, he will be cold towards her and that will cause her to withdraw from his side."

"Levi is not going to believe those lies about Lyse." Brandon insisted, his jaw set in a stubborn line that annoyed Babydoll.

"I will do everything to diminish this your paragon of perfection, soon enough you will be disgusted with her and want nothing to do with her."

Speaking aloud, she smiled.

"If Lyse falls apart in the public and Levi abandons her, who do you think will be there to provide her a reassuring shoulder?" She asked cunningly.

The image of Lyse sobbing in his arms made Brandon smile unconciously, his eyes getting a far away look as he fantasized about his happily ever after with Lyse while Babydoll stared at him.

The bliss written all over his face made her even more determined to win his heart and crush Lyse.

"There is only one problem," Babydoll lied, "Your stepmother is not the only person with connections to the underworld that wants a piece of you."

Brandon’s head snapped up at the new information.

"What do you mean?" He demanded, the fantasy shattered by the cold splash of reality.

She stood and walked over to a sleek, black laptop on the kitchen counter. With a few swift keystrokes, she brought up a file. A grainy surveillance photo filled the screen. It was Igor, the mountain of a man, standing outside a bar.

"He’s alive," Brandon stated, the words a flat observation.

"He’s more than alive. He is a problem, a loose end." Baby Doll said, swiping to the next image. This one was a still from a security camera inside what looked like a grungy apartment. Igor was stuffing stacks of cash into a duffel bag. "He cleaned out your stepmother’s safe. And he’s got a partner."

She swiped again. The photo showed Igor talking to a small, wiry man with a rat-like face and a pronounced limp. Luca.

"That’s the papparazzo that has been on my trail," Brandon said, a frown creasing his brow. "I should have killed him when I had the chance." The familiar taste of failure soured in his mouth.

"Regrets are a luxury we can’t afford," Baby Doll said coolly. "Luca might be a weasel, but he’s a well-connected weasel. He knows people who can create new lives. Igor has the money to buy one. They’re planning to run."

"Let them," Brandon scoffed. "They’re out of the picture."

"Are they?" Baby Dolld turned the laptop screen toward him, her expression grave. "Igor thinks you killed Honey. He’s not just running. He’s running with a grudge and a pocketful of your stepmother’s secrets. Secrets she wouldn’t have kept unless they were leverage. Against you, against Brett... against everyone."

She let that sink in.

"He could sell that information to the highest bidder. Or worse, he could decide to get his own kind of justice. He knows where you live, Brandon. Or at least, he knows where you *did* live. And he knows you’re obsessed with a certain fashion designer. How long do you think it will take a man like that to connect the dots and find Lyse?"

The room felt suddenly colder. The image of Lyse, not in his arms, but being confronted by the grieving, hulking Igor, sent a jolt of pure, ice-water fear through him. He had thought the fight was against Levi. He was wrong. The world was full of monsters, and he had just created another one.

"What do we do?" he asked, his voice low, the game suddenly larger and more dangerous than he could have imagined.

"We have two problems now," Baby Doll said, closing the laptop. "Levi, who is the prize. And Igor, who is the threat. We deal with the threat first. The engagement party is on Saturday. That’s five days from now. We find Igor before he leaves the country or finds you."

"And then?"

"And then," she said, a chillingly calm smile gracing her lips, "we make him an example."