Chapter Twenty-Two
Dawn
The first thing I notice when I wake up is that Nikolai isn’t next to me. The second is that I can feel the tension in the air before I open my eyes.
I blink against the morning light, shifting slightly, and find him standing at the edge of the bed, phone in hand, eyes dark. He looks calm. Controlled. But there’s something coiled underneath the surface.
I push up onto my elbows, voice groggy. “What is it?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just looks at me with those beautiful, brown eyes. Thinking. “You’re trending.”
My stomach knots before I even look. I don’t want to, but I do.
Luke Carter’s Sister: A Gold Digger?
The headline punches the air from my lungs. My pulse pounds in my ears as I skim the article, fingers tightening around the phone.
Anonymous sources claim that Dawn Carter, assistant to Blackthorn heir, Nikolai Blackthorn, has been leveraging her proximity to power for personal and financial gain.
Once becoming an assistant in California, Carter is now linked to one of the wealthiest men in the country—raising questions about how she secured the position so quickly.
“It’s not a secret that Nikolai Blackthorn has always had a thing for the ladies.” One source says. “I doubt this is any different.”
Only time will tell if the inclination to manipulate for wealth is a family trait.
The words blur together, nausea twisting in my stomach. I don’t even need to keep reading to know exactly what the rest says.
That I’m using Nikolai. That I’m some power-hungry opportunist riding on his name. And that Luke is somehow the same way.
They don’t even have to say the word. Whore.
I exhale, my pulse thrumming. “They’re calling me a gold digger…”
Nikolai’s voice is smooth, but firm. “They’re trying to destroy your credibility.”
My grip tightens on his phone. I force myself to take a breath. I should’ve known this would happen. I laugh, but it’s humorless, brittle. “You should’ve at least let me wake up a little before I saw it.”
Nikolai’s eyes flick over my face. “I already handled it.”
“What?”
He moves to sit beside me on the edge of the bed, but he’s still radiating tension.
He doesn’t like this—not just the article, but the fact that it’s about me.
“The article won’t last the day.” His voice is low. Final. “Their website is already being hit with takedown orders. It’s handled.”
I want to feel relief, and I should, but all I feel is the weight of knowing that it doesn’t matter. The damage is already done.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and I look over at the screen.
Cassidy
I hesitate, my stomach twisting. I don’t want to answer. I don’t want to hear someone else confirm what I already know—that my name is being dragged through the mud, that people are picking me apart, deciding who I am based on nothing but headlines and speculation.
But I also know that Cassidy won’t stop calling.
With a sigh, I grab the phone and accept the call, bringing it to my ear. “Hey.”
“What the fuck, Dawn?”
I flinch. That didn’t take long.
Cassidy’s voice is sharp, cutting through the lingering fog in my head. “I just saw the smear piece. What the hell is going on?”
I exhale, pressing my fingers to my temple. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t have the energy for this. “It’s nothing, Cass. Just some clickbait garbage. Nikolai already handled it.”
There’s a pause. “Handled it?”
Her voice is different now—more cautious. She knows I’m holding back. “Dawn.”
I don’t answer.
She sighs. “Are you okay?”
A lump forms in my throat. I swallow it down. “It’s fine.”
Cassidy exhales sharply, her voice turning ice cold. “Fuck this. Give Nikolai the phone. Now.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Hand him the phone.”
I glance toward Nikolai, who’s still sitting beside me on the bed, watching me carefully. He doesn’t say anything, but his brows lift slightly. I let out a slow breath, then hold the phone out to him. “She wants to talk to you.”
Nikolai takes it and brings it to his ear. “Cassidy.”
I hear her voice through the speaker, sharp and fed up. “Text me your address. Now. Tell your guard to let me in. I’m coming over.”
Nikolai chuckles, glancing at me. “It’d be good for Dawn to have a friend around. That’s fine. I’ll send it over now.”
My stomach flips. What? I sit up straighter, but he’s already texting her. Cassidy hangs up.
I stare at him. “You’re actually letting her come over?”
He tucks his phone away, a kind smile on his face. “Why not?”
My mouth opens, then closes. I have no argument. And maybe I don’t want one.
She takes less than an hour to arrive. The second the door opens, Cassidy steps inside—not charging in, not demanding answers, but scanning the room with quiet, assessing eyes.
Her gaze lands on me, curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket like it might hold me together.
She exhales softly. “Jesus, Dawnie.”
She doesn’t say anything else at first. Just sets down her bag on the coffee table and sits beside me, close enough that our shoulders touch.
A lump forms in my throat.
Cassidy never pushes—not when she knows I’m on the edge. Instead, she nudges my knee. “Tell me what’s going on.”
I force a weak smile. “You saw the article.”
She gives me a look. “Is that the only thing?”
I press my lips together.
She sighs, leaning over and resting her head on my shoulder. “I hate these hit pieces. I used to help write them, you know.”
I glance at her. “Yeah?”
She lifts her head, meeting my gaze. “Mhm. Before I switched to PR. Remember? I spent a whole year under some sleazy editor, learning to spin half-truths into career-ending disasters.”
I swallow. “So, you know what they’re doing to me.”
Cassidy’s expression hardens slightly. “I do. They’re turning you into a liability. And once the public sees you that way—well. Luke’s campaign won’t do as well as it could’ve.”
A chill crawls up my spine.
Cassidy puts her arm around my shoulder, and I lean into her. “So. What aren’t you telling me, Dawn?”
I hesitate.
Her voice softens. “Babe, please.”
My throat tightens. And maybe it’s the warmth in her voice, or maybe it’s the way she’s here, steady and real, when everything else feels like it’s crumbling—but I tell her.
Not everything. But enough.
I tell her about the note. The attack. That I don’t feel safe anymore. I tell her that it seemed to be just some creep, conveniently slipping little white lies that stop her from connecting everything to Blackthorn Inc. I hate it, lying to her, but I have to.
By the time I’m finished, her hands are balled into fists. “You’ve been dealing with this alone?” Her voice shakes. “Dawn, what the fuck?”
I blink. “I—”
Cassidy pulls away from me, pressing her fingertips against her temples, scrunching her face before letting out an exhale.
“No. I get it. I do. You thought you could handle it. But this?” She shakes her head, eyes now glistening with worried tears.
“You’re my best friend in the entire world, Dawn.
I love you. And you didn’t tell me someone tried to fucking kill you? ”
My chest tightens. She doesn’t sound angry. She sounds hurt.
I swallow, looking down at my hands. “I love you, too. I was scared… I’m sorry.”
Cassidy lets out a shaky breath, then reaches over and grips my hand, squeezing hard. “I’m here. You hear me? If you need anything—anything—I’m here.”
I nod, my throat too tight to speak.
She exhales, still gripping my hand, then we lean back into another half-cuddle.
A long beat.
“I don’t like the way they’re talking about Luke.”
I glance over. “What?”
Cassidy sits up and looks at Nikolai for the first time since she arrived. Then back at me. “You haven’t noticed? The shift in tone? A month ago, they were calling him a reformist. Now, they’re questioning his integrity. The language they’re using—it’s careful. Strategic.”
A sinking feeling unfurls in my stomach.
Cassidy exhales. Her grip still firm in my hand. “This isn’t just bad press. It’s a calculated shift.”
I stay quiet, waiting.
“They’re planting the seeds of doubt and suspicion. By the time people realize it’s bullshit, the damage will be done.”
I swallow hard. “But he didn’t do anything.”
Cassidy lets out a humorless huff. “Doesn’t matter. Public opinion isn’t about facts, Dawn. It’s about perception.”
A shiver works its way down my spine.
Cassidy shifts slightly, getting comfortable, but her tone is still serious. “I’ve seen this kind of thing before. It’s not random. It’s step one.”
I press my forehead against her shoulder, exhaling shakily. “Step one of what?”
She strokes her thumb over the back of my hand, her warmth grounding me. Softly, she replies. “Ending his career.”
Cassidy and I simultaneously exhale. The weight of everything lingers between us—Luke’s name still heavy in the air.
I shift against the couch, adjusting where she’s curled against me, but my eyes flick to Nikolai. He hasn’t said much of anything the last few minutes. Just sat there in the chair beside us, listening.
His phone is in his hand, thumb gliding across the screen. “It’s done.”
I blink. “What?”
He lifts his gaze. “The article.”
Cassidy pushes up slightly, turning to face him. “Just like that?”
He doesn’t look at her. “Just like that.”
Something tightens in my chest, my grip on Cassidy’s hand matching the feeling. I don’t know how he did it.
Cassidy shifts beside me, her brows drawing together. She glances between us, like she’s putting pieces together she doesn’t like.
But she doesn’t say anything.
She exhales, still watching Nikolai like she’s assessing something. Then, finally, she leans back against the couch again, her fingers drumming against my arm.
She glances around the room for the first time since arriving, her eyes trailing over the high ceilings, the dark wood, the expensive decor.
She lets out a low whistle. “Jesus. This place is insane. I didn’t take everything in the last time I was here.”
Nikolai huffs a quiet laugh. “That an official review?”
Cassidy smirks, stretching out her legs. “Just saying, I see why she’s staying.”
Nikolai’s gaze drifts to me, the curl of the start of a laugh on his lips.
Cassidy sighs. “I should’ve made friends with billionaires sooner.”
I snort. Nikolai just shakes his head, giving a quick, amused exhale through his nose.
The tension eases, and I feel like I can finally breathe.