Chapter 104

Raymond had not wanted to go into details, but Elodie badgered him into telling her that the ‘something’ buried in the backyard was a body, a woman the business rival killed in a fit of rage years ago. The business world, Raymond had told her, wasn’t a game of tea parties and patty cakes. It was a steel cage, where the weak got devoured by the hungry. And now, La Hacienda was a trophy too tempting to ignore, a prize worth playing dirty for. ‘Joint PR statement before the end of today,’ Dashiell suggested, his voice shifting to brisk CEO mode. ‘We have to be the first one to get the word out, before the media hounds do. Control the narrative.’ The businessman she used to know, the one who made her pulse flutter with his razor-sharp mind and quiet confidence, was back. It was those qualities, after all, that made the charade of their one-year marriage bearable. Elodie concurred, her own competitive fire mirroring his. ‘But a united front is just the amuse-bouche. We need the experts on t