Ruby's laugh echoed through the room, cold and merciless. "Oh, you poor fool," she said, her tone almost pitying. "Did you really think she loved you? That child was never anything but a tool to her. A means to an end." She stepped closer to him, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And you? You were nothing more than a stepping stone. Disposable."
The man's shoulders sagged under the weight of her words, his hands shaking as he turned back to the woman. She had gone still, her face pale, her eyes darting wildly as though searching for an escape. Ruby took a step back, watching the unraveling with a satisfied smirk.
"You two deserve each other," she said finally, her voice cutting through the suffocating silence. "But let me make one thing clear—you will never beat me. Not now, not ever." She leaned in close, her voice a hiss. "Remember that as you watch your little empire crumble."
