All Chapters of Revenge is Best Served Cold: Chapter 71 - Chapter 76

Julian Gray's POV My hands shook as I adjusted my tie for the fifth time in ten minutes. The small velvet box in my jacket pocket felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Tonight was the night. After six months of dating, after falling deeper in love with Elena every single day, I was finally ready to ask her to marry me. The restaurant reservation was set for seven o'clock. Le Bernardin, the most expensive French restaurant in the city. I rented out the entire private dining room, filled it with white roses, and arranged for a string quartet to play Elena's favorite classical pieces. Maybe it was too much. Maybe Elena would think I was moving too fast. But I couldn't wait anymore. I loved her so much it felt like my chest might explode if I didn't tell her exactly how much. My phone buzzed with a text from Elena: "Running five minutes late. Client emergency." Even her work emergencies made me smile. Elena threw herself into every case like people's lives depended on it. Becau

Elena's POV Two weeks after our engagement party, life felt almost normal. The anonymous message turned out to be nothing more than an empty threat from someone seeking attention. No follow-up messages came, no mysterious phone calls, no reporters digging into my past. Julian and I moved forward with our wedding plans and business merger like nothing happened. The ballroom at the Grand Hotel buzzed with conversation and the gentle clink of champagne glasses. The Business Leaders Conference which we were attending, brought together the most powerful people in the city, and I worked the room with practiced ease. Two years of building Phoenix Advisory taught me how to navigate these events, and having Julian by my side made them even easier. "Elena, there's someone I'd like you to meet," said Mayor Davidson, approaching with a tall man in an expensive suit. "This is Robert Barbinski, CEO of Rebuilt Manufacturing. He's interested in your work." I shook Robert's hand and smiled prof

Julian Gray's POV Something about Carmen Rodriguez bothered me, and I couldn't shake the feeling even three days after the business conference. The way she approached Elena was too calculated and too perfect. The timing felt wrong, and her story seemed designed to make Elena sympathetic to her situation. I sat in my office at Gray Industries, staring at Carmen's business card that Elena gave me. Rodriguez Consulting looked legitimate on the surface, but I learned to be suspicious of things that looked too good to be true. The morning after the conference, I called Tom Mikell, a private investigator I used for business deals. I asked him to run a complete background check on Carmen Rodriguez, including her financial history, business connections, and any connection to Marcus Martinez. "I need everything you can find," I told Tom. "Financial records, business history, personal connections. And I need it fast." "No problem, Julian. Give me forty-eight hours." Now I sat waiti