Chapter 9
KAI
Dad’s different at breakfast.
Not obvious. He’s still reading the financial section, still drinking his coffee black, still giving Donovan half his attention while reviewing reports. But there’s an energy shift I can’t quite pin down.
Then Samantha walks in, and Dad’s eyes track her movement across the room before he catches himself.
There it is.
I take a bite of toast and watch the show. She pours coffee, says good morning to all of us, sits in her usual spot. Except Dad’s looking at her the way he looks at acquisition targets he’s already decided to pursue.
Interesting.
Donovan’s oblivious, focused on his tablet. But I know my father and I know he wants Samantha.
I don’t know if he’s already had her or if he’s still in the planning phase.
After breakfast, I head to the security room on the lower level. It’s technically Donovan’s domain since he handles most of the surveillance for our operations, but I have full access. We all do.
The room is small, lined with monitors showing feeds from cameras throughout the estate. Main house. Guest wings. Common areas. Even some exterior shots of the grounds and perimeter.
Our private wing has cameras too. Fewer than the rest of the house, and only in hallways and common spaces. But they’re there.
I settle into the chair and pull up the archives from the past week.
The system is organized by location and timestamp. I start with the private wing, scrolling through footage at double speed. Nothing unusual. Staff coming and going. Me heading to my room after late nights. Donovan walking to his office.
Then I see Dad leaving his office. Late. Past midnight.
I slow the footage and watch him head toward the sitting room where we were with Veronica. The three of us were already there, getting started without him.
I fast-forward through the next few hours. The four of us eventually leaving separately. Veronica slipping out through the staff corridor like always.
Nothing I haven’t seen before.
I keep scrolling. More mundane footage. Staff. Family. Daily routines.
Then, I catch movement in Dad’s office at an unusual hour. Mid-afternoon.
And Samantha’s with him.
I lean closer to the monitor, adjusting the playback speed to normal.
They’re talking. She’s sitting in the chair across from his desk. He’s leaning against the desk edge, arms crossed. The body language shifts gradually. He moves closer. She doesn’t back away.
Then he touches her face.
The camera angle isn’t great. It captures the desk and part of the sitting area but not the full room. But I can see enough.
I watch her kiss him. Watch him kiss her back. Watch them move toward the couch that’s just barely in frame.
The footage doesn’t show everything. The camera positioning means I lose them once they’re fully on the couch. But I don’t need to see everything to know what’s happening.
Dad fucked Logan’s ex-girlfriend in his office.
And Samantha let him.
I lean back in the chair, processing.
I should probably feel weird about this. Watching my father with a woman I’m increasingly attracted to myself. But mostly I’m impressed.
Dad doesn’t do impulsive. Every move he makes is calculated. If he pursued Samantha, it’s because he decided she’s worth the complication. Which makes her even more interesting.
I watch the rest of the footage.
When she finally leaves his office, her hair is messy. Dad stays on the couch for another ten minutes, staring at the ceiling.
Yeah. He’s in deep.
I close the footage and clear my viewing history. Nobody needs to know I was here.
For now.
In the evening, I find Samantha in the library.
She’s curled up in one of the oversized chairs by the window, book in her lap, watching the snow fall. The lamp beside her casts warm light across her face.
She looks peaceful.
“Good book?” I drop into the chair across from her.
She jumps slightly, then smiles when she sees it’s me. “You scared me.”
“Sorry. Thought you heard me come in.”
“I was lost in thought.” She closes the book and sets it aside. “How was your day?”
“Productive.” I stretch my legs out. “Made some calls about a business problem. Went skiing. The usual.”
“The usual for you sounds exhausting.”
“Says the woman who came up with a viral marketing campaign that broke the internet.”
She laughs. “That was months ago. I’m practically retired now.”
“Retired at what, twenty-six?”
“Twenty-seven, actually.” She tucks her feet under her. “But close.”
Outside, the blizzard continues its assault on the mountain. Inside, the library is warm and quiet.
“Can I ask you something?” I say.
“Sure.”
“Why do you read so much?”
She blinks. “That’s your question?”
“Yeah. I see you in here constantly. You’re always reading. What’s the appeal?”
She considers this. “Escape, I guess. Books let me be someone else for a while. Experience things I’d never do in real life.”
“You don’t strike me as someone who needs to escape.”
“Everyone needs to escape sometimes.” Her smile is soft. “What about you? What do you do when you need to get away from everything?”
“Drive fast. Ski recklessly. Pick fights I shouldn’t pick.” I grin. “All the healthy coping mechanisms.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is. That’s the point.”
She studies me with those sharp eyes. “You like the danger.”
“I like feeling alive.” I lean forward. “Where’s the fun in being careful and playing it safe?”
“It’s called being responsible.”
“Is that another word for boring?”
She laughs again, and I realize I love that sound.
“You think I’m boring,” she says.
“I think you’re careful. There’s a difference.”
“Careful is probably smart, given my track record.”
“Or maybe careful is why you ended up with someone like Logan.” I pause. “Sorry. That was—”
“True?” She doesn’t look offended. “You’re probably right. I played it safe with him. Stayed in a relationship that wasn’t working and now I’m snowed in at a mountain estate with three men who terrify me in completely different ways.” She says it lightly, but I hear the truth underneath.
“How do I terrify you?”
She meets my eyes. “You don’t play by anyone’s rules. You do exactly what you want, consequences be damned. That kind of freedom is terrifying to someone like me.”
“Someone who overthinks everything.”
“Exactly.”
“What if you didn’t?” I shift closer. “What if you just did what you wanted for once? No overthinking. No playing it safe.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Start by admitting you want to.”
The air between us shifts. Gets heavier.
“Want to what?” Her voice is quieter now.
“Stop being careful.” I hold her gaze. “Stop overthinking. Stop pretending you don’t want things you think you shouldn’t want.”
“That’s very presumptuous of you.”
“Is it wrong?”
She doesn’t answer.
“You’re different from the other women who come through here,” I tell her. “They usually want to fix me. Tame the reckless youngest son. Make me settle down.”
“I don’t want to fix you.”
“I know. That’s what makes you dangerous.”
She tilts her head. “How am I dangerous?”
“Because you make me want things I don’t usually want.” The confession surprises me even as I say it. “You make me want to know what you’re thinking. What you’re hiding. What it would take to make you lose control.”
Her breath catches. “Kai—”
“My dad sees it too.” I lean back, giving her space. “That potential for wildness underneath all that careful control. That’s why he’s interested.”
Her face goes carefully blank. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Samantha. I’m not blind.” I keep my tone light. “Something shifted between you two. I noticed.”
“We’re just…he’s been kind to me. That’s all.”
“Sure.” I don’t push. “But for what it’s worth? I think it’s hot.”
She stares at me. “You think what’s hot?”
“That you’re not what you seem. That there’s more going on under the surface than anyone realizes.” I stand and head toward the door. “Keep reading your books, Samantha. But don’t be surprised when real life gets more interesting than fiction.”
I leave her there, stunned and beautiful in the lamplight.
Back in my room, I take my medication and think about the footage I watched earlier. About the way she kissed my father. About the way she’s looking at me now, like she’s trying to figure out how much I know.
She’s playing a game. I just can’t tell yet if she knows the rules or if she’s making them up as she goes.
Either way, I want in.
Whatever’s happening between her and my father, it’s not stopping me from pursuing what I want. And I want to see what Samantha looks like when she finally stops being careful and lets herself fall apart.
Preferably with me.