All Chapters of Before love Lies: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Tyler stood at the head of the table, his hands pressed flat against the cold marble. His chest rose and fell as he looked around the silent room.No one had spoken.No one had supported him.Slowly, a bitter smile formed on his face.“So,” Tyler said quietly, “nobody stands with me.”His voice grew sharper.“Nobody believes my father’s death was unsanctioned?”The room remained silent.Several of the family representatives avoided eye contact.Tyler nodded slowly.“I see.”He pushed his chair back. The legs scraped loudly across the stone floor, the sound echoing through the chamber.“So this is how it begins.”He straightened his jacket and looked directly at Dennis Rothschild.“War.”A few people at the table shifted uneasily.Tyler’s voice rose.“Let the first gunshot mark the beginning.”He pointed around the room.“Let the strongest family take what remains.”The air grew heavy as his words sank in.“I hereby declare war,” Tyler continued, “on behalf of the McCart family against

Sam’s voice cut through the quiet, sharper than before.“Master John.”I didn’t turn from the window.“Report.”“Oil reserves under your control remain stable. Market influence increasing. Dennis Rothschild’s net worth has dropped significantly due to loss of U.S. oil access.”I nodded slowly.“And us?”A brief pause.“You have officially reached a net worth of approximately thirty trillion dollars.”A small smile crept across my face.“Back in the game.”“Yes, Master.”Sam continued.“Recommendation: diversify into energy infrastructure. Specifically electric companies.”I turned now, interested.“Explain.”“Control of oil provides leverage,” Sam said. “Control of electricity provides permanence.”I walked toward the desk.“If you control both…”“You control transportation,” Sam finished. “You control industry. You control the narrative.”I let that sink in.Oil was power.Electricity was the future.“Start acquiring,” I said.“Quietly.”“Yes, Master John.”⸻Miles away, the conseque

I sat in my room, watching the bloodshed unfold like it was just another market shift.Another name gone.Another seat empty.Another family erased.They still didn’t see it.They still thought this was about revenge… about power plays… about ego.But this—This was something else entirely.⸻“Master John.”Sam’s voice cut through the silence.“Update.”“Go ahead.”“The McCart family has officially fallen out of the top-tier structure. Assets are being absorbed rapidly.”I nodded.“By who?”A brief pause.“The Maxwell family.”That made me turn.“Joanne Maxwell?”“Yes.”Sam continued.“She has successfully positioned herself as one of the top five families.”I let out a quiet breath.“Interesting…”⸻Across the world, in a high-rise overlooking Manhattan—Joanne Maxwell stood at the window, the city stretching endlessly beneath her.Power.You could feel it radiating off her.The first female to break into the top five.Unheard of.Unchallenged.Until now.A slight grin formed on her

Walking away from John was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.Harder than the lies. Harder than the nights I spent pretending I didn’t feel anything. Harder than knowing, deep down, I was never supposed to be part of his world in the first place.I can still feel his lips.That kiss… it wasn’t just a goodbye. It wasn’t closure. It was confusion, pain, everything we never said crashing into one moment that I knew I wouldn’t survive if I stayed any longer.That night—we crossed a line.And the truth is… I didn’t even understand what love was.Not really.Not until him.Not until the way he looked at me like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just another piece on a board controlled by men with power and money and expectations. But even then… I knew something he didn’t.John loved Michelle.Maybe he didn’t want to admit it. Maybe he tried to bury it under everything we had. But I saw it—in the way his voice changed when he said her name, in the hesitation he didn’t even realize he had.And me?I w

The first time my mother said her name…I didn’t react.Not outwardly.I was sitting across from her, reviewing acquisition reports, barely looking up as she spoke like it was just another name on a list.“Jasmine Ito,” she said calmly. “She’s available.”Available.That’s how these things are framed.Not who she is.Not what she wants.Just whether or not she can be placed.⸻I kept my eyes on the file in front of me.“Background?” I asked.“Strong,” my mother replied. “Disciplined. Educated. Positioned within Edison Shipping. Her father has built a respectable network—just outside the top tier.”Just outside.Unfortunate.But fixable.⸻“And her?” I asked.There was a pause.That caught my attention.“She’s… not weak,” my mother said carefully. “But she’s not fully aligned yet either.”Not aligned.That meant independent.That meant unpredictable.That meant interesting.⸻“Send me her profile,” I said.⸻I expected data.Metrics.History.A résumé of usefulness.⸻What I got…Was h