Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Grace
The silence in the penthouse stretched thick, suffocating.
Dominic hadn’t said a word since we got back.
Not when I locked the doors behind us. Not when he poured himself a drink, his movements slow, deliberate.
Not even when he sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, staring down into the amber liquid like it held answers he’d never find.
The Dominic Beethoven I had come to know was always in control.
He never let anything slip, never let anything crack through the carefully constructed image he wore like armor.
But now? He looked exhausted. Not in the way he usually did after late-night rehearsals or back-to-back interviews.
This was something else. This was deeper.
I stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching him. Waiting. But when the silence stretched too long, too thick, I finally spoke. “Who was he?”
Dominic didn’t look up. He let out a slow exhale, swirling the whiskey in his glass before taking a small sip. “Gerald Knox,” he murmured. “He used to work for my parents.”
I frowned, stepping closer. “Used to?”
Dominic let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head.
“They trusted him. He was their right-hand man. Helped them build their business. Handled negotiations, oversaw projects. He was supposed to be someone they could rely on.” He paused, rolling the glass between his fingers before finally lifting his gaze to meet mine.
“He thought he was going to inherit everything after they died.”
A sharp chill ran down my spine. “But you did.”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “Yeah.”
I studied him, piecing it together. Knox hadn’t just been a business partner—he had been waiting. Expecting to take over. But instead of being handed the empire he thought was his, he had been replaced. By Dominic. And he never forgave him for it.
I swallowed, my voice quieter this time. “You never wanted it, did you?”
Dominic exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. “No. But it was theirs. And if I didn’t take it, if I let someone else run it…” His jaw clenched, his fingers tightening around the glass. “It would’ve been like they never existed.”
Something in my chest tightened. I had spent weeks trying to figure him out, trying to understand why someone like him—a man with everything, fame, fortune, a career most people would kill for—had another life he kept hidden.
I had assumed it was about power. Control.
But now I realized it was never about that.
It was about holding on to the only thing he had left of them.
“You hate this, don’t you?” I murmured.
He didn’t answer right away. Then, softly—“I hate that they’re not here to run it themselves.”
For the first time, I understood why he never told the others. They wouldn’t have gotten it. Not like I did.
I nodded once, then turned back toward my laptop, my mind shifting into security mode. “If Knox has been watching you, he didn’t just start recently. He’s had time to plant things. Devices. Cameras.” I glanced over my shoulder. “I need to sweep the penthouse.”
Dominic nodded, setting his drink down. “Do it.”
I moved through the rooms carefully, scanning the walls, furniture, even the ceilings for anything out of place.
Hidden surveillance wasn’t always obvious—sometimes it was tucked inside vents, behind picture frames, inside objects no one would think to check.
After thirty minutes, I found the first one.
A tiny black camera, barely the size of a fingernail, nestled discreetly in a corner near the living room light fixture.
My stomach twisted as I plucked it off, holding it between my fingers.
A few minutes later, I found another.
And another.
Four.
By the time I reached Dominic’s bedroom, I was seething.
I moved with precision, sweeping through every surface until, finally, I spotted it. Near the bookshelf. Almost unnoticeable. Another camera. This one was angled toward his bed.
A sick feeling curled in my stomach.
Knox hadn’t just been watching.
He had been intruding on every moment of Dominic’s life, waiting, observing, studying his habits. And Dominic never even knew.
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to stay calm as I plucked the device off the wall. Then I turned and found him leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. He didn’t look shocked. He didn’t look surprised. He just watched me carefully, like he was waiting for my reaction.
I held up the tiny camera between my fingers.
"You were never just being watched," I said quietly. "You were being hunted."
Something dark flickered in his gaze. A long silence stretched between us, the weight of it settling in my chest. Then he exhaled slowly, nodding once.
"Then let’s make sure he never sees anything again."
I clenched my jaw. "Damn right."
I turned away, but as I did, a single thought sank deep into my mind—one I couldn’t ignore.
Knox wasn’t just watching Dominic.
He was waiting for something.
And whatever it was, I wasn’t about to let him get it.
That night, after I finished sweeping the entire penthouse, I sat at my desk, reviewing the footage from the bugs I had disabled.
Nothing recent. But the timestamps… They stretched back months.
Knox had started watching long before we even knew he was a threat.
I gritted my teeth, my grip tightening around my pen. He had been playing the long game.
I pushed away from the desk and moved toward the balcony, needing air. The city stretched out below me, glittering lights reflecting against the glass. I heard the soft sound of footsteps a second before Dominic appeared beside me, his hands resting against the railing.
He didn’t say anything.
Neither did I.
The silence between us felt different this time. Not tense. Not filled with unspoken challenges. Just… understanding.
Finally, I exhaled. "We’re going to stop him."
Dominic’s voice was quiet. "I know."
I turned my head slightly, watching him. "You’re not alone in this."
His fingers flexed against the railing. Then, after a long moment, he looked at me.
And this time, his usual arrogance was nowhere to be found.
Just something raw.
Something real.
For a split second, I thought he might say something else.
Something that would change everything.
But instead, he just nodded, his voice steady.
"Neither are you."
I wasn’t sure why, but the words settled deep in my chest, anchoring there.