His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 166

Cole’s POV

Sophia shook her head. “He doesn’t tell me anything anymore. But I see the way he looks at her. The way he acts around her. It’s…” She paused, searching for the right word. “It’s obsessive. Unhealthy. Like she’s the only thing that matters and everything else—including his family is just background noise.”

This was useful information, confirmation of what I’d already suspected but hearing it from someone who knew Zane intimately made it more real, more concerning.

“What do you know about Olive’s past?” Sophia asked suddenly, turning to face me fully. “You dated her for years. You must know things about her that could be useful. Things that might make Zane see her for what she really is.”

I took a long drink of my wine, considering how much to reveal.

“I know she’s manipulative,” I said carefully. “I know she has this way of making men think they’re rescuing her when really she’s the one controlling everything. I know she acts innocent and vulnerable but she’s calculating every move she makes.”

“Exactly,” Sophia said with satisfaction, like I’d just confirmed something she’d been thinking. “That’s exactly what she’s doing to Zane. Making him think he needs to protect her, making herself seem helpless so he feels important. But underneath that act, she’s just a gold-digger who saw an opportunity to upgrade from you to a Mercer and took it.”

The casual way she said “upgrade from you” stung more than it should have, a reminder that in Sophia’s world…in everyone’s world, really…Zane Mercer would always be considered better than me in every measurable way.

“Do you want to break them up?” I asked directly. “Is that what this is about?”

Sophia looked at me for a long moment, and I could see her debating how honest to be.

“I want my brother back,” she said finally. “The brother I used to have before Olive Monroe poisoned his mind against his own family. And yes, if that means breaking them up, then that’s exactly what I want.”

This was it…the moment where I could both play it safe and keep my own agenda hidden, or I could take a risk and see if Sophia might be useful as an actual ally instead of just a source of information.

“What if I told you I might have information about Zane that Olive doesn’t know?” I said slowly. “Information about his past that could change how she sees him?”

Sophia’s eyes sharpened with interest. “What kind of information?”

“The kind that people kill to keep secret,” I said. “The kind that would destroy his relationship with Olive the second she found out about it.”

“Tell me,” Sophia demanded.

I shook my head. “Not yet. I need to verify some details first, make sure I have everything I need before I deploy it. But when the time comes…” I let the sentence hang there, pregnant with possibility.

Sophia leaned forward, her entire demeanor changing from angry and defeated to calculating and focused.

“We could work together,” she said. “Pool our resources. You want Olive back, I want Zane back. We both have reasons to see their relationship destroyed. Why not coordinate our efforts instead of working separately?”

It was exactly what I’d been hoping she’d suggest, but I made myself appear hesitant, like I needed to be convinced. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

“I have access to family information that you don’t,” Sophia said. “I know things about Zane’s business dealings, his

connections, his plans. And I can get close to Olive during work, can undermine her professionally in ways that you can’t.”

She stood and started pacing again, but this time it was with purpose instead of agitation, like she was formulating a plan in real-time.

“And you,” she continued, “you know Olive’s weaknesses. You know what she’s insecure about, what triggers her, what makes her run. Between the two of us, we can create a situation where their relationship implodes from multiple directions at once.”

I pretended to consider this, even though I’d already made up my mind.

Sophia sat back down, her glass empty, and I could see the exhaustion starting to creep into her features now that the initial fury was wearing off.

“We should work together,” she said finally, though her voice sounded tired now instead of energized. “You want Olive back, I want Zane back. We both have reasons to see their relationship destroyed.”

It was exactly what I’d been hoping she’d suggest, but the conversation felt mechanical now, robotic almost, like we were both just going through the motions of forming an alliance without any real passion behind it.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked, refilling both our glasses because this conversation clearly wasn’t ending anytime

soon.

“I’ve been doing research on her,” Sophia said, taking a sip of the fresh wine. “On Olive. Trying to find anything I could use professionally to undermine her credibility at work.”

“And?”

“And I found out she had an older brother,” Sophia continued, watching my face carefully. “One she lost. Years ago. She never talks about him, never mentions him, but it’s there in her background if you dig deep enough.”

I felt my entire body tense, but I forced myself to keep my expression neutral, mildly interested but not overly so. “Really?” I said, taking a drink to hide my reaction. “I think I heard about that once. Klaus, maybe? Or something like that?” Sophia’s eyes narrowed immediately, her entire demeanor shifting from tired to suspicious in a heartbeat.

“So you have been thinking about her,” she said, her voice sharp with accusation. “Researching her background. Looking into her past.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify