Chapter 25
25
Lorenzo
The report hits my desk with a thud.
I don’t look up at first. Because if I do, and it has anything to do with Victoria, I might put someone through the drywall.
Then Dom, the head of my private household security, clears his throat.
My jaw tightens. “If you’re coughing like that, you’d better be dying p>
Dom shifts his weight. “You need to see this p>
He slides the file closer. I flip it open. The first page is a still image from a security camera—time-stamped ten minutes ago. It’s taken inside Danforth Steel’s executive conference room.
And there she is.
Victoria.
Standing at the end of a long conference table like she’s made of glass and fury. Hair twisted back. Jacket thrown over one arm. The look on her face? Pure steel.
The look I remember.
The look that ruined me the first time.
My pulse spikes in my throat.
She’s talking. Arguing probably. Her father’s across from her, looking like he swallowed a grenade. Grant Jameson sits beside him wearing that smug, oily confidence I’d like to beat off his face with a chair.
I flip the page so hard it tears.
Another angle.
Another shot of her.
Eyes sharp. Chin up. Tension in every line of her body like she’s holding herself together with sheer force of will. Something hot and ugly twists in my chest.
He shifts again, carefully keeping his distance. “She was at the office today. From my intel, they were discussing the fire. Thought you’d want to know p>
I tap two fingers on the photo, slow, controlled… deadly. “She looks tired p>
Dom stays quiet.
Smart man.
I slam the file shut. “Get me every detail from that meeting. Verbatim. I want the audio. I want the minutes. I don’t care who you have to blow to get it, get it p>
“Already on it,” Dom replies before heading out.
Smart move since I’m clearly unhinged with my obsession.
The moment the door clicks shut, I stand so fast my chair skids back.
She looks tired.
Good.
Let her feel a fraction—a sliver—of what I felt when I woke up one morning to find her gone, replaced by a note.
Fuck.
Even now, five years later, it still feels like I’ve been stabbed in the chest.
I push the file aside and grab the next stack waiting for me.
Financial analysis.
Market reports.
Risk evaluations.
The kind of data you could build a war out of, and I will.
I drag my finger down the first column.
Danforth cash flow.
Bleeding.
Hard.
Laughing under my breath, I flip another page. A graph shows a sharp downward drop. The kind that ends careers. The kind that destroys dynasties.
“Oh, sweetheart.” I trace the line. “Your castle is cracking p>
The fire at the steel plant was the first domino.
And now the reports show exactly what I expected.
They are hemorrhaging money, and the investors are panicking.
The downfall will be delicious.
I take my time reading every page, savoring the numbers, and when the door bursts open without a knock, I don’t flinch. I know who it is. Only one person in this house would enter without permission.
Rafe strolls in like he owns the place.
He glances around the room, eyes landing on the open bottle of tequila, then the half-shredded report on the floor.
“Jesus.” Rafe whistles, leaning against the doorframe. “Did you lose a fight with your office again, or is this part of the aesthetic you’re curating? I thought you only destroyed the warehouse, but this is making me think you need anger management classes p>
“Get out,” I mutter, not bothering to look up.
He ignores me.
“Rude,” he says, stepping farther inside and helping himself to the whiskey on my shelf. “Is this about business or the girl p>
My jaw flexes.
I keep reading.
He raises a brow. “Ah. So it’s both p>
I slam the file shut. “Why are you always here? Don’t you have a life p>
He downs the whiskey in one swallow. “Not really. My ex is trying to kill me all the time, so I’m much happier being here, when you only threaten to kill me half the time p>
“Glad I could provide emotional support,” I flip another document.
Rafe walks up behind me and looks over my shoulder. “What’s this? Oh. Their numbers dropped harder than you fell for that girl p>
My eye twitches.
This fucker thinks he’s funny…
Let’s see how funny he is when he’s facing me?
I turn and catch him grinning.
“Too soon?” he asks.
I toss a pen at his head. He dodges, laughing as it clatters across the floor.
“Look,” Rafe says, hands up like he’s surrendering, “I’m just saying—Danforth Steel bleeding out isn’t going to magically fix what happened between you two p>
I smile.
Slow.
Sharp.
“What’s funny.” He backs up a step, “is nothing about that smile is normal p>
“She shouldn’t have been in that meeting,” I say, voice low. Controlled. “She shouldn’t be anywhere near the fallout p>
“She’s part of the company,” Rafe reminds me, pacing to the window. “She was always going to be dragged into this p>
“She’s not built for war p>
“Well”—he shrugs—“she’ll have to be p>
I turn the page violently, ripping the corner without meaning to. “I’ll handle this.” I shove the next file open, then grab my phone off the desk and dial Dom. I don’t wait for him to talk before I start barking orders.
“Order the remaining inventory hijacked,” I say, while punching in a message to my logistics crew. “Every truck leaving Danforth Steel gets detoured. I don’t care how. Make it disappear p>
“On it,” Dom responds and waits for me to continue.
“Wow,” he says quietly. “You’re really doing it p>
“Oh, I’m just warming up.” I flip a page. “Next are the partners. Pull them out. Quietly. Bribe some. Threaten others. Make it look like financial instability. Just enough to get the board nervous p>
Rafe’s jaw drops. “You’re dismantling a billion-dollar company p>
“Brick by brick,” I reply.
“And for what? Revenge? Or because you’re still in love with her and want her to come crawling p>
“Back off,” I snap, whipping my gaze at him.
He raises both palms. “I’m not judging p>
“You are p>
“A little p>
“Well, don’t p>
Rafe sighs and grabs a second glass from the shelf. “You know, you’ve always been unhinged, but recently, this past week? It’s like watching a Greek tragedy, yet I’m not even sure if you’re the hero or the villain p>
“Villain obviously,” I respond, reading another report. “And thanks p>
“Not a compliment p>
“Didn’t ask p>
He sets the glass down and plants his hands on my desk. “Lorenzo. Seriously. You can’t keep doing this. She made her choice p>
A hot pulse flashes through me.
“Shut up,” I growl, standing slowly.
“You need to move on,” Rafe says softly.
I stare at him.
He stares back.
The silence crackles.
Then I laugh.
“Move on?” I repeat. “You really want to do this? You really want to piss me off p>
He hesitates.
Exactly. Then rolls his eyes. “You’re a dick p>
“Go home,” I say, dismissing him with a flick of my fingers. “But don’t forget to get me what I asked for p>
He lingers for a moment, searching my face.
Then he sighs, grabbing his coat. “Fine. But, Lorenzo… be careful. When you blow up someone else’s empire, make sure you don’t take yourself down with it p>
I grin. “Oh… that’s the fun part p>
He shakes his head and walks out, muttering something about therapy. The moment he’s gone, I pick up the file again. Victoria’s face stares back at me.
My chest tightens.
I brush my thumb over the image.
“You shouldn’t have fucked with me,” I whisper.
But she did.
So now?
Now I escalate.
Now I end this.
I reach for my phone.
“Dom, you still on the line p>
“Yes, boss p>
“Tank their reputation. Anonymous leaks. Fake scandals. Use the press like a weapon p>
“Yes, sir p>
“And, Dom p>
“Yes p>
“Make them bleed p>
I hang up.
Then sit back in my chair, staring at the grainy photo again.
The girl who once read to me in an abandoned boathouse. The girl who once kissed me like I was her whole world. The girl who left without a trace.
My voice comes out low.
Certain.
“I’m coming, Little Bird p>
I tap the picture, right over her face with one finger.
“And when the smoke clears…” My eyes narrow. “You’ll come back to me p>
A dark smile curls across my lips. “One way or another p>