Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 208

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"We begin this morning with breaking developments out of São Paulo, Brazil," the anchor announced as footage of tents, banners, and shouting protesters filled the screen. "Local environmental and labor groups have launched demonstrations outside the Horvath Industries project site, demanding accountability following months of silence regarding the deaths of three workers who perished during the early excavation phase of the 'Green Shores Development' project."

The camera panned to a woman holding a photograph of a young man in a hard hat.

"My brother died down there. The tunnel collapsed, and no one even told us why," she shouted, voice muted under the network's edit.

The banner beneath the screen read: HORVATH INDUSTRIES UNDER FIRE: FAMILIES DEMAND JUSTICE IN BRAZIL.

"The company has yet to issue a statement. Environmental regulators have previously cited the project for violations, including failure to conduct proper geological assessments prior to digging. Laws regarding environmental safety and worker protections appear to have been bypassed through backdoor permissions," the anchor continued.

Izzy lowered the volume until the screen went silent. She set the remote down beside her on the bed and glanced at Liam, who was still focused on his laptop across the room.

"You should be focusing on that," she said.

Liam didn't respond.

"I'm fine," she added. "You've seen the results. Bloodwork is good. No internal damage. The headaches are gone. I'm eating. I can sit up now without help."

He looked up from the screen.

"Your company's bleeding and you're here babysitting me," she said, crossing her arms.

Liam closed the laptop slowly, then walked over to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. "The company will recover."

"Really? Are you sure about that? Because those families seem pretty committed to burying you in court."

He shrugged once.

"I'll deal with it."

"When? After everything collapses?"

He didn't answer right away.

Izzy pursed her lips and watched him closely. "You're not helping me by ignoring everything else."

"I'm helping by making sure you don't end up in another hospital."

"And I'm telling you I'm not made of glass. Go run your empire, Horvath. I'll still be here when you get back."

strand of hair behind

him, then sighed and leaned back against

played on in the background. Another

FOR THE WORKERS.

after Izzy fell asleep, Liam silently left the room

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Chapter 208

stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind him. Mondo was already waiting by the railing with his phone in one

"Well?" Liam asked.

story broke. Five members requested an emergency call-in within the next forty-eight hours." Liam didn't react. He just kept walking down the hallway, and Mondo followed. "They're pressing for clarity on the site's safety audits. One

Liam stopped. "Lefevre?"

"Yes."

"No."

he expected it. "I already told them you'd address everything by the end of the

"Good."

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team dug deeper. The tunnel collapse wasn't just negligence. There's a string of insurance policy manipulations on the Brazil site. Payouts were processed faster than usual- unusual velocity for that region. And then

handed Liam a printed email chain, redacted but not enough to

registered in Kaliningrad. One of the signatures matched a broker linked to two companies- one in Serbia, the other out

up. "Are you telling me whoever's

not clean. The team thought

"And now?"

more like someone's been prodding from behind the scenes. The payout trail's been bouncing between front companies. We only got this one because the third-party banking software had an

down again at the name

doesn't make sense. The workers in Brazil had no ties

what's the

leverage or sabotage. Either they want to gut the company from the inside or smear you bad enough

asset we have with external

"Already started. I'll send the first batch

stairwell. Liam stopped again. "And what about

not low-level. Someone up top either knows... or sold

ors with

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MIL, LIH

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Chapter 208

broker. I want names. I want movement. If someone's trying to