Chapter 9 - The Silent Alliance

Celeste wasn’t naïve, she knew Damien was already working to take down Julian Mercer, but the more she thought about it, the more one truth became impossible to ignore, she couldn’t just sit back and let him handle it, this was her fight, her name on the line.

No matter how tempting it was to let Damien bulldoze his way through this war, she refused to be a damsel waiting for rescue. She would take control on her own terms.

Her fingers hovered over her phone, the contact list open to someone she hadn’t called in years, Liam Kensington.

Liam was an investigative journalist, a Media fixer, and, once upon a time, someone she had trusted before she learned that trust was just another weapon people used against you.

She inhaled sharply, debating if she should even do this. "If Damien found out..." She shook the thought away. "He won’t find out."

She tapped the number and after the second ring, a familiar deep voice answered.

“Well, well. Celeste Laurent. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Celeste leaned against the marble counter of her kitchen, gripping her phone tighter. “I need information. Discreetly.”

Liam chuckled. “Discreet isn’t usually your style, sweetheart. You normally like making an entrance.”

“I’m not in the mood for games, Liam.”

There was a pause. Then, his tone turned serious. “Who are we looking at?”

“Julian Mercer.”

There was silence as Liam heard the name.

“That’s a dangerous name.”

“I don’t care.”

Another pause. Then Liam exhaled. “Alright. I’ll see what I can dig up, but Celeste, be careful. If Mercer’s got people backing him, you’re not just poking the bear, you’re setting fire to the whole damn forest.”

Celeste’s grip tightened. “Then let it burn.”

She ended the call before he could respond, chest rising and falling rapidly. "I don't need Damien to fight my battles. I can do this myself."

Or so she thought.

Damien leaned back in his office chair, fingers steepled as he stared at the screen in front of him, the security feed displayed Celeste pacing in the kitchen, phone in hand.

He had tapped into her calls the moment the threat from Mercer escalated, not because he didn’t trust her, but because he needed to stay one step ahead.

And now he was watching her take action without him.

His lips curled into something between amusement and frustration as he listened to the conversation unfold.

"Liam Kensington." He knew the name and

the man. Knew that Celeste reaching out to him meant she wasn’t just waiting around for his plan, she was making one of her own.

He had to give her credit and respect, but she was underestimating how deep this war ran.

She didn’t realize that Mercer wasn’t just a problem to solve, he was a disease that had to be eradicated.

Damien Sinclair was not known to leave unfinished business.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Lucas answered instantly. “Boss?”

“I need you to intercept a man named Liam Kensington,” Damien said smoothly. “He’s about to start digging into Mercer. Make sure he finds exactly what I want him to find.”

A pause. Then, “Understood.”

Damien ended the call, eyes still on Celeste’s form, she thought she was acting alone but the reality was that she had never been alone, and as long as he had a say in it she would never be alone.

Two days later, Liam called back.

Celeste was in the middle of reviewing scripts when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen before swiping to answer.

“Tell me you have something.”

“Oh, I’ve got more than something,” Liam said, amusement in his voice. “Julian Mercer is dirtier than a politician in an election year.”

Celeste straightened. “I’m listening.”

“Financial fraud, backdoor deals, hush money to cover up scandals, you're sitting on a goldmine of corruption. And get this, he’s not just a pawn, he’s got powerful people backing him.”

Celeste’s stomach twisted. “How powerful?”

“Let’s just say if you go after him, you’re not just making enemies in the media, you’re stepping on some very rich, very dangerous toes.”

Celeste exhaled slowly. “Send me everything.”

“Already did,” Liam said. “And Celeste, please do be careful.”

She hung up, clicking into the email Liam had sent.

Her eyes scanned the files, her breath hitching as she took in the extent of Julian’s corruption. With this information, she could destroy everything he had built.

Her phone buzzed again. Another email was coming through, from a blocked sender.

Her brows furrowed as she opened it, and her heart stopped. "The same Mercer intel, but this was more thorough, more strategic."

Then the realiszation hit her - someone had fed the information to Liam that they wanted him to find. That meant this could only be one person, Damien.

He had intervened and helped her plan without her even knowing.

Celeste gritted her teeth, her emotions warring between anger and something dangerously close to admiration.

That night, Celeste walked into Damien’s office without knocking.

He looked up from his desk, completely unsurprised.

“You found what you were looking for,” he said smoothly.

Her jaw clenched. “You fed Liam the information.”

Damien leaned back, his smirk infuriatingly calm. “Did I?”

She slammed the folder onto his desk. “Don’t play games with me, Damien. You manipulated my move.”

His grey eyes darkened, amusement fading. “I protected you.”

Celeste exhaled sharply. “I didn’t ask for your protection.”

His voice dropped, dangerously soft. “And yet, you needed it.”

She hadn't realised until that moment, juat how powerful Julian Mercer was

If she had gone after him without Damien’s silent assistance, she would have been walking into a trap.

She wasn’t used to someone watching out for her, someone being three steps ahead, not against her, but for her.

She crossed her arms. “You can’t keep controlling my moves.”

Damien stood, rounding the desk until he was standing right in front of her. “I don’t and I won't control you, Celeste,” he murmured. “But I will protect what’s mine.”

Her stomach flipped. “I’m not yours, Damien.”

He tilted his head. “Aren’t you?”

She had no answer to that because the way he was looking at her, it was like he already owned every part of her.