Page 279 of Soft For A Roi

“Marcel Delacroix wasn’t a perfect man. He was a man who lived by what generations before him had taught him. He wasn’t soft, he wasn’t easy, and he damn sure wasn’t weak. He built something that most of you in this room benefited from.

Some of you got rich because of him. Some of you stayed alive because of him. And some of you are only here to make sure he’s really gone.

He taught me how to move, how to read people, and how never to let emotions cost me power. But the most important thing he taught me… was to finish what you start.

So understand this.

Just because he’s gone… doesn’t mean anything stopped. I finish everything.”

Nobody moved.

Nobody tested what I said.

I stepped back and didn’t look for approval.

I walked from the podium and reached for Yuna’s hand again.

I held it tighter this time.

Possessive.

Grounding.

We turned and walked out of the church.

Past my new team.

Past the men who owed us.

Past the ones who hated us.

I felt all of it.

At the top, it was lonely.

And they all knew it.

Because now, there was nobody left above me.