Chapter 66 – Between Shadows and Instinct

Dominic’s POV

After dropping Mannie off that night in her neighborhood, I had immediately gone back home to shower — because I felt like absolute filth in that place.

Even after we left the main road, the scent had clung to me like a curse — a mix of rust, damp air, and garbage that refused to leave my nostrils. I could still picture the cracked walls of her street, the way stray dogs dug through trash piles, the smoke rising from burning debris. That place had too much life in the wrong ways.

The moment I reached home, I didn’t even stop to speak to anyone. I went straight to my bathroom.

I turned on the shower and poured in the entire cup of mint oil instead of the usual few drops. The strong scent filled the air instantly, but it still didn’t feel enough.

I stood under the water for a long time, scrubbing until my skin turned red. The steam fogged up the mirror, but I could still see my reflection through the mist — tired eyes, clenched jaw, and a shadow that looked more restless than clean.

No matter how much I scrubbed, that feeling didn’t leave. The smell of her neighborhood lingered in my mind, not just the scent but the image of those kids searching for scraps in a dump, their tiny hands digging through piles of filth while flies swarmed around them.

I clenched my jaw and whispered to myself, “Luckily, I had cash on me. If not, I wouldn’t have been able to give those kids anything.”

But even as I said it, guilt burned somewhere deep inside me. Giving them money wasn’t enough. Not when they were already used to surviving that way.

I tilted my head back under the shower and let the water run down my face. “How does she even live there?” I muttered.

That thought brought her image back — Mannie. The way she stood that night, shaking but refusing to show weakness. Her eyes, though tired was steady. She didn’t ask for pity. She didn’t even flinch when I saw her street.

I frowned, pushing the thought away. She wasn’t my problem. And yet, here I was, thinking about her like she was.

Then I remembered — the gift I’d told Butler Wu to give her.

One of the smaller apartments under my name, decent enough, far from that miserable place. I had told Wu to hand over the deed and transfer the ownership. Mannie wouldn’t have accepted it otherwise. I knew how her pride worked. She’d rather live in a gutter than owe me anything.

“Or did that old man forget?” I muttered under my breath, even though I knew Wu was too disciplined to make such a mistake.

Still, I didn’t want assumptions. I wanted confirmation.

I grabbed my phone from the counter beside the sink and called my assistant. “Send me the picture of Mannie in her file.”

When the image arrived, I opened my contacts and called my private investigation unit.

The voice on the other end picked up instantly. “Sir?”

“The woman I asked you to hold back on,” I said, my tone sharp and clipped. “It’s time. Start digging. I want everything — family, history, medical records, background, associates. I want to know who she was before she became who she is now.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hung up and stared at her picture again — her soft smile, the weariness in her eyes, the kind of sadness that came from life, not pretense.

A low growl echoed in my head. My wolf.

“What are you doing?” he growled, his tone accusing.

“Finding answers,” I replied.

“You’re lying to yourself. You’re trying to prove she isn’t what you fear she is.”

My lips pressed into a hard line. He wasn’t wrong. I was doing exactly that. Because I knew what it meant if my suspicion was true. If she really was the one meant for me.

“I can’t bond with a human,” I said quietly. “Unless…”

The growl came again, louder this time. “Unless what? Unless you’re changing? Unless you’re becoming something else?”

“Stop.” I gritted my teeth.

The wolf’s presence grew stronger, like a shadow pressing against my thoughts. “You’re thinking too much like a man. You’re forgetting what you are.”

I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and spoke in my mind, “And you’re forgetting that she’s human. If she’s truly mine, she’s in danger just by being near me.”

The wolf snarled. “You think hiding her from the truth will protect her? Or pretending you don’t care?”

We argued — back and forth — until exhaustion finally forced silence between us. The bond that connected us pulsed faintly, uneasy.

After a while, I exhaled slowly and texted Butler Wu.

Message: The house I asked you to give her — was it given to the person that looks like this?

I attached Mannie’s picture and hit send.

No reply yet. He was probably asleep. I checked the time. Past midnight.

I had postponed my meeting earlier in the evening, but the time had already caught up with me. There was work waiting, and problems that couldn’t afford rest.

By the time I finished the last video conference, it was already four in the morning.

“Tch,” I muttered, tossing an empty water bottle into the bin. “My water’s finished again.”

The house was quiet, almost unnaturally so. My footsteps echoed lightly against the marble floor as I walked down the long corridor. The faint hum of air-conditioning followed me.

As I passed by Michael’s room, the memory of him fainting came back. I stopped at the door, tapping my knuckles against it. No response.

I pushed it open.

The faint smell of antiseptic greeted me. Michael was asleep on the bed, his breathing steady. A nurse was unhooking a drip from his arm.

“He just finished his drip,” the doctor nearby explained when he saw me. His voice was calm, low, almost sleepy. “He’s resting. Should wake up around eight, maybe earlier.”

I nodded silently, eyes fixed on the faint flush of color returning to Michael’s face.

“Seems he fainted quite hard,” I murmured. My brow furrowed slightly. What could’ve shocked him that much?

“Thank you,” I said to the doctor.

He packed up his case and left, followed by a maid carrying the used drip set. I walked with them to the entrance and signaled for one of the drivers to take him home.

When the car drove away, I lingered by the doorway for a while, the early dawn breeze brushing against my skin.

“When that brat wakes up, I’ll ask him what exactly he saw that made him faint,” I muttered to myself.

Before I could move, my phone buzzed in my hand.

The caller ID flashed: Operations Chief.

I answered immediately. “Report.”

“Sir,” the voice on the other end said, tense and urgent, “we have a serious problem. Confidential data has been leaked into the European market. We traced it to an internal source.”

My hand stilled. “How bad is it?”

“Bad enough to cost us billions, sir. We’re containing it, but—”

“But someone betrayed us,” I finished coldly.

“Yes, sir.”

My tone hardened. “What state is it in now?”

“Controlled, for now. But we need to handle the insider quickly before word spreads.”

“Do it,” I said flatly. “Make it clean. I don’t want loose ends.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And book me the earliest flight to Europe.”

“Already on it. I’ll send confirmation in a few minutes.”

The line cut, and the silence that followed felt heavier than before.

I stared out the window, the first faint light of dawn touching the sky. Betrayal had a scent. I’d smelled it too many times.

A few minutes later, another buzz came.

“Sir, the next best flight is at 11 a.m.,” my operations chief reported.

“Good,” I said, checking my wristwatch. 4:05 a.m.

That gave me time — just enough to prepare.

I ended the call and walked back to my room, the soles of my shoes making soft sounds against the floor. Inside, the air was cold and clean, untouched by sleep.

For a moment, I let myself lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling. But the image that came to mind wasn’t of spreadsheets or traitors — it was Mannie again. Her eyes, that fragile calm she wore, the tremor in her voice when she’d said “My child got kidnapped.”

I shut my eyes tightly.

“She’s nothing to you,” I reminded myself. “Nothing.”

But even my wolf didn’t answer this time.

—

Few Hours Later

The alarm buzzed at seven. I rose immediately, no hesitation, no drag of sleep. The world always started early for me — that’s how I stayed ahead of everyone else.

By the time I was dressed, the sun was already climbing higher. The house was awake now, servants moving quietly, breakfast trays clinking faintly.

I had two hours before the flight — enough time to stop by the office, grab key documents, and maybe check on a few reports.

As I stepped into the dining room, I was halfway through my coffee when a sound made me pause.

Through the open window, I heard a familiar voice — Michael’s.

I set my cup down. “That brat finally woke up.”

But the next sound made me frown — the quick rev of an engine. I moved to the window and caught sight of him through the driveway, slipping into his car like a thief escaping the scene of a crime.

“What the—”

I stepped outside just in time to see him notice me. His eyes widened, and instead of greeting me, he stepped harder on the gas.

The tires screeched, and in seconds, he was gone.

I stood there for a long moment, the morning wind tugging at my shirt sleeves.

My jaw tightened. “He definitely knows something,” I muttered.

My wolf stirred. “You think it’s about her?”

I didn’t answer.

I looked in the direction Michael had gone, the road stretching far and quiet. “He’s lucky I don’t have time for him right now.”

The wolf growled softly in my head, low and uneasy.

“Focus,” I said under my breath, turning back toward the house. “We’ll deal with him later.”

But even as I walked away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything — Michael’s reaction, Mannie’s silence, and that faint sense of danger that lingered in my chest — were all threads of the same tangled web.

And sooner or later, I’d have to pull on one and see what it unraveled.?