Chapter 68
ARIA’S POV
“What?” Damien grabbed the phone, his face draining of color as he read. “That sick fuck p>
I couldn’t breathe. My chest constricted, the room spinning. “He… he knows. He knows what we p>
“Security sweeps this house daily,” Damien said, but his voice had gone sharp. Dangerous. “There’s no way he could p>
“Then how does he know?” My voice came out shrill. I pressed my hands to my face. “How does he know we had sex? How does he know about the park, about everything p>
Damien was already moving. He grabbed his phone and made a call.
“Get me a full electronic sweep team. Now. Every room. I don’t care what time it is—get them here in the next ten minutes or you’re fired.” He ended the call and turned to me. “Get dressed, we need to check this room ourselves before they arrive p>
My hands shook as I pulled on my clothes. The beautiful evening we’d shared suddenly felt contaminated.
“Where would he hide something?” I asked, wrapping my arms around myself. “Where do we even start p>
“Smoke detectors, electrical outlets, anywhere with a power source.” Damien was already examining the smoke detector on the ceiling. He pulled over a chair and stood on it, unscrewing the cover.
Nothing.
He moved to the nightstand, checking the lamp, the clock radio. I started on my dresser, pulling out drawers, checking behind picture frames.
“This is insane,” I muttered, my voice breaking. “We’re tearing apart my own bedroom because your psychotic brother p>
“Found something p>
I spun around. Damien was standing by the bookshelf near the window, holding something tiny between his fingers. Even from across the room, I could see the small lens glinting in the lamp light.
A camera.
My stomach heaved. I pressed a hand to my mouth.
“That was I couldn’t finish the sentence. My knees buckled, and I sank onto the edge of the bed. “That was pointed at the bed p>
DAMIEN’S POV
Rage unlike anything I’d ever felt consumed me. Pure, white-hot fury that made my vision narrow to pinpoints.
Marcus had watched us. Had watched me make love to Aria. Had seen her vulnerable, exposed, trusting.
I crushed the tiny camera in my fist, not caring that the lens cut into my palm. Blood welled up, dripping onto the hardwood floor.
“Damien, your hand” Aria started.
“There are probably more.” My voice came out strong. I moved to the other bookshelf, running my hands along the spines. “He wouldn’t just plant one p>
“Stop.” Aria’s voice was hollow. She hadn’t moved from the bed, her face completely white. “Just… stop for a second p>
I turned to look at her. She was hugging herself so tightly her knuckles were white.
“He watched us,” she whispered. “Your brother watched us have sex p>
“Aria”
“Don’t.” She held up a shaking hand. “Don’t tell me it’s going to be okay. Don’t tell me we’ll handle it. Just… answer one question p>
I waited, my bloody hand clenched at my side.
“Are people in your family all fucking lunatics?” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Is this genetic? Because if it is, if there’s even a chance Noah could turn into—into that p>
“No.” I crossed to her in three strides, kneeling in front of her. “Noah has your heart, Aria. Your kindness, your strength. He’s nothing like Marcus or my father p>
“But you share the same blood.” Tears streamed down her face. “You and Marcus. You grew up in the same house, had the same father, and he turned into a monster who plants cameras in bedrooms to watch his brother have sex. What kind of sick, twisted p>
She broke off, pressing both hands over her mouth like she might be sick.
“Marcus was always different,” I said quietly, my chest tight. “Even as a kid, he hurt animals. Manipulated people for fun. Father saw it as strength, encouraged it, but by the time he was thirteen, he’d done things I swallowed hard. “Things that made even Father uncomfortable p>
“What things?” Her eyes searched mine. “What did he do p>
“That’s not important right now p>
“The hell it isn’t!” She shoved at my chest. “Your psychotic brother has been watching us! Watching me! Watching our son! I deserve to know exactly what kind of monster we’re dealing with p>
A knock at the door interrupted us.
“Mr. Blackwood? The sweep team is here p>
I stood, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. “Come in p>
Four men in black tactical gear entered, carrying equipment. They moved efficiently through the room, scanners sweeping every surface.
“Found another one,” one of them called out. He was pointing at the smoke detector I’d already checked—apparently I’d missed a secondary device hidden in the mounting bracket.
“And here.” Another tech held up something from behind the dresser mirror.
By the time they finished, they’d found six cameras and four audio devices in Aria’s bedroom alone.
Six.
Six different angles of our most intimate moment. Six recordings of Aria’s pleasure, her vulnerability, her trust.
I was going to kill him. Slowly.
“Check every room in this house,” I ordered, my voice deadly calm. “Every closet, every bathroom, every inch of this property. Find them all p>
“Yes, sir p>
As they filed out, Aria stood on shaking legs. Her face had gone from white to gray.
“I need She swayed. “I think I’m going to be sick p>
She ran for the bathroom. I heard her retching, the sound tearing at my chest.
When she emerged ten minutes later, she looked hollowed out.
“I want to leave this room,” she said flatly. “I want to burn every piece of furniture, every curtain, every” Her voice cracked. “I can’t stay here p>
“We’ll move you to a different room. Tonight.” I reached for her, but she stepped back.
“Don’t touch me. Not… not right now p>
The rejection stung, but I understood. Everything about this evening had been poisoned. Contaminated by Marcus’s voyeurism.
“Aria”
“Is Noah’s room bugged too?” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Tell me the truth p>
“We’ll check, right now p>
We walked down the hallway in silence. The sweep team was already in Noah’s room. Our son slept peacefully through the invasion, his small chest rising and falling with each breath.
“Clear,” one of the techs said quietly. “Nothing in here p>
The relief on Aria’s face was palpable. She moved to Noah’s bed, smoothing his hair back with trembling fingers.
“At least he was safe from that,” she whispered.
“Ma’am?” One of the techs approached carefully. “We found multiple devices in the master bedroom, the living room, kitchen, and study. Eleven cameras total, eight audio devices. Whoever planted these had extensive access to the house p>
“When?” I demanded. “How long have they been here p>
“Based on the models, I’d say they were installed within the last month. These are high-end, military-grade surveillance. Very expensive p>
A month.
Marcus had been watching us for a month.
Every conversation, every moment. Every.
My phone buzzed. Another message from my dear brother.
Enjoying the scavenger hunt? Don’t worry, you found them all. I’m not a complete monster—I turned off the feed before things got too graphic. Well, mostly. Had to make sure you were taking proper care of my sister-in-law. She deserves better than a cold fish, after all. Glad to see you’ve learned a few tricks.
I showed Aria the message. Watched what little color remained drain from her face.
“Turned off the feed before things got too graphic,” she repeated robotically. “Mostly, he is saying he still watched some of it p>
“Aria”
“No.” She stood abruptly, startling Noah, who stirred but didn’t wake. “No, I can’t—I can’t do this right now. I need air. I need to think. I need to not be in this house full of cameras and your psychotic brother’s p>
She pushed past me, practically running for the stairs.
I followed. “Where are you going p>
“Outside. The garden. Anywhere that doesn’t feel like a fucking peep show p>
She burst through the back doors onto the patio, gulping in cold night air like she’d been drowning.
I kept my distance, giving her space while making sure she stayed within the property walls.
“Are people in your family all lunatics?” she asked again, her back to me. Her voice was calmer now, but somehow that was worse. “Seriously, Damien. I need to know. Because if this is what the Blackwood genes produce—voyeuristic psychopaths who plant cameras in their brother’s bedroom—then I need to get Noah as far away from this family as possible p>
“My father was cruel,” I said quietly. “Emotionally abusive. But he wasn’t… this. He wasn’t a criminal. Wasn’t a stalker. Marcus is something else entirely p>
“What made him that way p>
“I don’t know.” The admission burned. “Maybe he was born wrong. Maybe Father’s abuse broke something fundamental in him. Or maybe he’s just evil, and there’s no deeper explanation p>
Aria turned to face me, her eyes red-rimmed. “He watched us, Damien. He watched me” Her voice broke. “I’ll never get that back. That evening, that moment of feeling safe with you—it’s ruined now. Tainted p>
“No.” I moved closer, slowly. “What we shared was real. Marcus can’t take that away p>
“Can’t he?” She laughed bitterly. “Every time I think about it now, I’ll wonder if he’s watching. I’ll remember those cameras. I’ll feel his eyes on me p>
“Then we make new memories,” I said fiercely. “Better ones. In places he’s never touched p>
“How can I trust anywhere is safe?” She wrapped her arms around herself. “How can I trust anything ever again p>
I had no answer for that.
We stood in the cold garden, the house lit up behind us like a crime scene—which, I supposed, it was.
My phone rang, it was the head of my security team.
“Talk,” I answered.
“Sir, we’ve completed the full sweep. Eleven cameras, eight audio devices, all removed. We’re installing new security protocols now, including signal jammers and daily electronic sweeps. But sir… there’s something else p>
My stomach dropped. “What p>
“The cameras weren’t recording to an external server. They were feeding live to a local receiver within a half-mile radius. Which means p>
“Marcus has been close,” I finished. “Watching in real-time from somewhere nearby p>
Aria’s sharp intake of breath told me she’d heard.
“Find the receiver,” I ordered. “Search every building, every vehicle, every structure within that radius. I want to know exactly where that bastard has been hiding p>
“Yes, sir p>
I ended the call and looked at Aria. She was staring at me with dawning horror.
“He’s been here,” she whispered. “In the neighborhood. Watching us like we’re a reality show p>
“We’ll find him p>
“Will we?” She shook her head. “Or will he just disappear again? Plant more cameras? Continue this sick game forever p>