Some had shaken his hand at galas, been charmed by him, thought him a promising young developer.

And now they heard, in eleven seconds, the private truth of him, and I watched their faces change, and I understood that the case was already over.

Everything Cleo would lay out next — the forgeries, the phantom contracts, the diverted millions — was merely the paperwork.

The verdict had been delivered by his own voice, in a room he’d walked into still believing he could intimidate his way back to power.

Chapter 12 — Earned, Not Given

Cleo laid out the rest — the forged agreements, the fabricated emails, the bank records showing Konstantin had diverted millions into his own debts, into Astrid’s house, into gifts for Greta.