Chapter 13 #2
"The surveillance operation is too sophisticated, too well-funded.
The shell corporation that purchased the warehouse property, the professional-grade equipment, the coordination required to plant cameras without detection.
" I glance back at Luc. His expression is unreadable, but his grip on my shoulder stays firm.
"Rapier Strategic's investigation shows financial connections to my uncle, Armand Deveraux. "
"Your uncle who sits on LaCroix Petroleum's board and has been positioning to challenge your leadership."
"Yes." The word comes out harder than I intended. "Julien provided the obsession, the personal vendetta. Armand provides the resources and the political motivation. Together they're trying to destroy both my personal life and my professional position."
Andy sets down his tablet, studies me for a moment. "Ms. LaCroix, I need to ask you something directly. The photographs, the surveillance footage, if this material were to become public, how damaging would it be?"
The question I've been dreading. The one that matters more than any other.
"Professionally? Catastrophic. The board is already questioning my judgment.
Images of me in submissive positions would give them the ammunition they need to force me out.
" I don't look away from him. "Personally?
It would violate every person I've scened with.
These were private moments, negotiated encounters between consenting adults.
Making them public would hurt people who trusted me, who trusted Dominion's security protocols. "
"Which is why you didn't immediately go to the police when the photographs started arriving."
"I thought I could handle it privately. I thought if I controlled the situation, controlled the information, I could protect everyone involved." My throat closes. "I was wrong."
Andy leans back in his chair, processing. When he speaks again, his tone is quieter.
"You were protecting your community," he says. "There's honor in that, even if tactically it gave your stalkers more time to escalate."
The understanding in his voice catches me off guard. This isn't standard detective empathy. This is personal knowledge.
"Detective Broussard," I say carefully, "you seem unusually familiar with lifestyle dynamics and terminology."
A slight smile crosses his face. "I've done my research for this case."
"Research doesn't explain using terms like protocols and power exchange with that level of precision. Or understanding why consent matters beyond legal acknowledgment." I tilt my head. "You're not just academically familiar with the lifestyle. You've got personal experience."
The conference room goes very quiet. Luc's attention sharpens behind me. Remy's expression stays neutral, but his focus intensifies.
Andy holds my gaze for a long moment. Then he nods slowly.
"I'm a member at Dominion," he says simply.
His tone stays professional, but there's candor in it now.
"I understand what it means when someone violates those protocols.
I understand the difference between consensual power exchange and actual violation of consent.
And I understand why you didn't immediately trust that law enforcement would see that difference. "
"Because most people don't."
"Most people don't." He picks up his tablet again.
"But I do. Which is why I'm telling you that I will build this case in a way that protects the community, that focuses on the criminal behavior without sensationalizing the lifestyle context.
The evidence we need is the surveillance equipment, the financial trail, the pattern of escalation. Not the content of what was filmed."
My breath releases in a rush. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. We still need to prove Armand's direct involvement. Financial connections are suggestive, but we need more to make charges stick." He glances at Luc. "Your team's been working that angle?"
"Following the money," Luc confirms. "The shell corporation, the equipment purchases, the coordination. We're building the case, but it takes time."
"Time the board isn't giving me," I say quietly. "There’s a vote coming soon. Days maybe, not weeks."
Andy's jaw tightens. "I'll do everything I can to expedite the investigation, but I can't promise we'll have everything you need for the board meeting. Criminal cases move on their own timeline."
"I know." I straighten in my chair. "But at least now the truth is on record. Whatever happens with that vote, there's an official statement documenting what's been done to me."
"And when we catch them, and we will, that statement becomes the foundation of the prosecution." Andy's voice carries absolute certainty. "Julien's already paid. But Armand Deveraux will answer for every single thing he's done."
The interview continues for another hour. More questions, more details, more pieces of the timeline documented and recorded. By the time Andy finally shuts off the recorder, I feel wrung out but also strangely lighter. The truth is official now. On record. Real.
Andy stands, extends his hand again. "Thank you for your cooperation, Simone. I know this wasn't easy."
"Thank you for understanding." I shake his hand. "Not just about the case, but about the context."
"The lifestyle's about trust and consent. What Julien did violated both. That's not kink, that's abuse." His jaw tightens. "And I will make sure that distinction is clear in every aspect of this investigation."
He nods to Remy and heads for the elevator. The moment the door closes behind him, Luc's hands find my shoulders and he pulls me up out of the chair, turning me to face him.
The worst is over. I got through it.
"You did well." He leans in, voice low and rough with approval. "That was harder than the board meeting."
"The board meeting was politics. This was personal." I lean into his touch without thinking about it.
He slides one hand to the back of my neck, fingers curling into my hair. "He's good at his job. And he's right—the evidence we need is operational, not personal." He pulls me closer, his other hand settling on my hip. "Breathe."
I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until he commands it. I exhale, inhale, and feel the tension drain.
"Good girl."
The praise sends heat through me despite everything.
Luc keeps his hand on my back as we head for the parking garage, his touch steady while I pull myself back together. Outside the media vans are probably still circling, reporters still hunting for the story. But for the first time in weeks, I'm not afraid of what they'll find.
Because the truth is finally on the record. And the truth, eventually, will set me free. Even if I have to fight for every inch of that freedom.
The drive back to the Pascal estate takes the same counter-surveillance route in reverse. Luc checks mirrors, scans intersections, maintains the tactical awareness that's become background noise to my life now. His palm returns to my thigh, that solid weight anchoring me.
I lean my head against the window and watch New Orleans slide past.
My phone buzzes. Text from Henry:
Meeting with legal counsel tomorrow morning. Coordinating board strategy. You did well at the board meeting.
I show Luc the message. He glances at it, nods, but doesn't comment. His attention stays on the road, on the threat assessment, on keeping me safe.
We're almost to the estate when his phone rings. He answers on speaker.
"Talk to me."
"It's Andy. Got something." The detective's voice carries an edge I haven't heard before. Excitement mixed with controlled anger. "We traced the signal from the hidden camera at Dominion. The one Julien planted."
Luc's palm tightens on my thigh. His voice stays level, but I feel the shift in him—predator recognizing prey. "Where?"
"LaCroix Petroleum. The feed was routed through the building's maintenance room." Andy pauses. "Whoever's monitoring that camera has been doing it from inside the company's headquarters."
The words hit like a physical blow. Someone at LaCroix Petroleum. Someone with access to the building's infrastructure. Someone who's been watching the live feed of Dominion's private rooms from inside my own company.
"Armand," I breathe.
"Or someone working for him," Andy says. "I'm getting a warrant. We're going to sweep the maintenance room, pull server logs, find out exactly who's been accessing that feed."
"When?" Luc's tone goes flat and hard.
"Tomorrow morning. Early, before the building's fully staffed.
" Andy's tone sharpens. "This is it. This is the evidence that connects your uncle directly to the surveillance operation.
Once we have proof he was monitoring that feed from inside LaCroix Petroleum, the board won't be able to ignore it. "
"And if the warrant doesn't produce evidence?" I ask quietly.
"Then we keep building the case," Andy says. "But I'm good at my job. If there's proof in that maintenance room, I'll find it." He pauses. "And when I do, he's finished."
The call ends. Luc and I sit in silence as he pulls through the estate gates. He pulls into the guest house drive, kills the engine, and turns to face me fully. He cups the back of my neck, thumb stroking the pulse point there.
His grip on my neck tightens. "Inside. Now."
"Yes, Sir."
"This is the connection we needed." His voice is dark with certainty. "Tomorrow, Andy executes that warrant and we get proof. Then your uncle learns what happens when someone threatens what's mine."
The claim in his tone should probably worry me. Instead, it steadies my breathing.
"What if Armand's already covered his tracks?"
"Then we find another way." His grip tightens slightly. "But we don't concede the fight before it happens. You walk into that board meeting with your head up and your spine straight, and you show them exactly why your father chose you to run this company."
I want to believe him. Want to trust that justice and evidence and truth will be enough. But I've fought Armand long enough to know he doesn't leave obvious trails.
Still. For the first time since this nightmare started, I have law enforcement on my side. I have official documentation. I have a detective who understands the context and is building a case that focuses on the crimes, not the scandal.
It's not victory. But it's progress.
"Come on." Luc releases me and opens his door. "You need to get some rest."
He comes around to my side, opens the door, and offers his hand. I take it, let him pull me out and against him. His arm wraps around my waist, holding me close as we walk to the guest house entrance.
Tomorrow the warrant executes. Tomorrow we go to war with Armand. Tonight, I let Luc lock the door behind us... tomorrow can wait.