Chapter 10 - Checkmate

Celeste walked into the sleek, glass-walled restaurant where Julian Mercer sat, a smirk already forming on his he waited for her, he was expecting her. She was brave to request a meeting with him by herself.

The host led her to his private booth near the window, where the city skyline glittered in the distance. Mercer was dressed impeccably in a charcoal grey suit, his blond hair neatly styled. He radiated arrogance, lounging like a king who thought himself untouchable.

“Celeste,” he drawled, standing as she approached. “I have to say that I’m quite surprised you wanted to meet with me. Given the circumstances, I assumed you’d be licking your wounds.”

She didn’t smile, neither did she bother with pleasantries. She slid into the seat across from him, resting her purse on the table.

“I know what you’ve been up to, Julian.”

He chuckled, swirling the whiskey in his glass. “Do you? Intersting, because from where I’m sitting, I’m the one calling the shots.”

Celeste tilted her head. “Are you?”

She reached into her bag, pulled out a neatly bound file, and placed it between them.

Mercer’s smirk faltered. “What’s this?”

“Go ahead. Take a look. I dare you.”

His fingers tapped the cover before he flipped it open. She watched his expression shift as he skimmed through the documents pertaining to his offshore accounts, all the bribery records, and the forged contracts. Every dirty secret laid bare.

His jaw tightened. “Where the hell did you get this?”

Celeste leaned forward, her voice smooth. “I have my sources. But the real question is: how do you think the world will react when this leaks?”

Mercer’s nostrils flared, but he quickly masked his anger with a tight smile. “You think this will ruin me?”

Mercer closed the file and leaned back. “You forget, sweetheart, people like me don’t fall so easily.”

Celeste arched a brow. “Oh, Julian. I think you vastly underestimate me and how much I really want to see you burn.”

For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.

She noted the uncertainty etched lightly in his face as he sat acoss from her, a slimmer shining in her eyes. This was exactly what she wanted, the all high and mighty Julian Mercer, off-balance.

Before he could even have a chance to recover, she continued, her voice laced with quiet confidence.

“This is just a fraction of what I have. If you so much as breathe in my direction again, this goes public.” The warning was clear.

Mercer exhaled through his nose, his fingers gripping his whiskey glass. “And if I don’t back down?”

Celeste smiled. It was cruel, that slow, knowing kind of smile that sent a chill down a man’s spine.

“Then you’ll find out exactly how much worse things will get for you.”

Mercer stared at her, the tension between them thick. Then, his smirk returned, forced and sharp. “You’re bluffing.”

Celeste picked up the file and slid it back into her bag. “If you think I'm bluffing, try me, test that theory.”

She stood up, straightened her dress, and turned to leave, but before she walked away, she said one final thing, “Oh, and Julian? If I were you, I’d start packing because after today, you won’t have a city left to hide in.”

And with that, she left him sitting there, whiskey untouched, his empire starting to crumble.

Mercer didn’t waste any time. By the time Celeste had gotten back to her penthouse, a series of articles were already circulating.

CELESTE LAURENT: DISGRACED STARLET ATTEMPTS TO TAKE DOWN MEDIA MOGUL

IS THIS A PUBLICITY STUNT? INDUSTRY INSIDERS SPEAK OUT!

JULIAN MERCER RESPONDS TO ACCUSATIONS—"THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN A BITTER VENDETTA.”

Celeste clenched her phone, her jaw tightening. Of course, he would strike back. She wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d roll over without a fight, but what he didn’t realize was that she was prepared for this.

Her phone buzzed, and her screen lighted up the name Damien.

She answered without hesitation. “I assume you’ve seen the news?”

His voice was smooth and calm. “I have. You did well, sweetheart."

Celeste blinked. She had expected a tongue lashing, for him to reprimand her, or at least, a warning about the risks of confronting Mercer head-on, but bot this time. This time, Damien sounded somewhat impressed.

“You’re not mad?”

Damien chuckled. “I never said that. But I expected you to act, so I made sure you wouldn’t face the fallout alone.”

Her brows furrowed. “What did you do?”

“Turn on channel five.”

Celeste grabbed the remote, flicking on the news.

Her stomach flipped. Damien had come to her rescue because there, on the screen, was Mercer’s face and right next to his face, a new headline.

BREAKING NEWS: JULIAN MERCER UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR TAX FRAUD & ILLEGAL BUSINESS DEALINGS.

Her breath caught.

Damien’s voice was like silk in her ear. “I told you, Celeste, that I protect what’s mine.”

She swallowed. “You… you leaked it?”

“I made sure it reached the right people.” A pause. “You were right to take the first step, but I needed to ensure that Mercer’s destruction wasn’t just public. It had to be permanent.”

Celeste sank onto the couch, heart racing.

Damien had just fired the final shot.

She exhaled, gripping the phone tighter. “So what happens now?”

Damien’s voice was laced with dark satisfaction. “Now, we watch him fall.”

As the new hit the media, Mercer’s spiral started happening faster than anyone expected.

His legal team scrambled to contain the damage, but the evidence against him was so airtight.m and overwhelming little could be done.

The media swarmed, turning on him overnight.

His business partners distanced themselves, and all his sponsors pulled out.

And just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, a new headline broke:

JULIAN MERCER’S ASSETS FROZEN AS GOVERNMENT TO PROCEED WITH SEIZURE OF PROPERTY & FUNDS

Celeste stared at the screen in disbelief. It was over. It was finally over. Everything Mercer had built, his entire empire - gone.

She exhaled slowly, thinking how Damien had delivered on his promise.

Julian Mercer wasn’t just losing. He was being erased.

As she sat watching the news, her phone buzzed again. A message from Damien.

Damien: Dinner tonight at my place. Let’s celebrate.

Celeste bit her lip, reading the text twice.

This victory was as much his as it was hers, and as much as she hated to admit it, she really wanted to see him tonight, to be near him, because in a world where she had learned to trust no one, Damien Sinclair had just proven that when he stood beside her, she never had to fight alone.