Chapter 6: The Reckoning

ELENA

The car ride back to the mansion felt like a funeral procession.

Julian's hand stayed wrapped around mine in the darkness, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. Neither of us spoke. What was there to say? We'd been caught breaking Silas's rules, and now we were heading back to face consequences neither of us could predict.

My mind kept replaying Julian's words: Let me take the blame.

Noble. Stupid. And completely irrelevant, because Silas didn't strike me as the type of man who dealt in half-measures.

When we pulled up to the estate, every window was dark except one — Silas's office, glowing like a lighthouse built to lure ships onto rocks.

"Remember what I said," Julian whispered as the driver opened our door. "I'll handle this."

I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he couldn't handle Silas any more than I could. But my throat was too tight, so I just nodded.

We walked through the front door. The house was silent... Mom already asleep, the staff dismissed for the night. Just us and the man waiting upstairs.

Each step up the marble staircase felt wrong. My legs were shaking, my pulse hammering in my ears. But underneath the fear was something else. Something I didn't want to examine too closely.

Anticipation.

Silas's office door stood open. He sat behind his desk, perfectly composed, a glass of scotch in one hand. The folder Julian had shown me — the one with all the evidence against my mother — lay open in front of him.

"Come in." His voice was calm. Too calm. "Close the door. Lock it."

I did, my fingers fumbling with the mechanism.

"Sit."

Two chairs had been positioned in front of his desk. We sat. I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing, nervous energy burning through me.

Silas took a slow sip of his scotch, his eyes moving between us like a cat deciding which mouse to play with first.

"So," he finally said. "Let's start with the simple question. Which one of you contacted the federal investigators?"

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"Dad, neither of us would—" Julian started.

"I'm not talking to you yet." Silas's gaze locked onto me. "Elena. Did you contact law enforcement about my business operations?"

"No." The word came out too fast. "I swear, I wouldn't even know how—"

"Wouldn't you?" He pulled out his phone and set it on the desk. On the screen was a photo — me and Julian in the library, his hand on my wrist, our heads close together over the folder. "Then perhaps you can explain why my son felt compelled to show you confidential documents. In secret. Directly violating the agreement we made."

The room felt too small suddenly. Too hot.

"I wanted her to understand what you'd done," Julian said, his voice tight. "The trap you built around her mother. She deserved to know—"

"What she deserved," Silas interrupted, "was to follow the rules we established. As did you." He stood, walking around the desk with predatory grace. "But you couldn't help yourself, could you, Julian? Had to play the hero. Had to show her you're different from your terrible father."

He stopped in front of Julian, looking down at him.

"Here's the problem with heroes, son. They get people killed."

Julian's jaw clenched. "This isn't about heroics. It's about—"

"Feelings?" Silas's voice dripped with contempt. "Please tell me you haven't developed feelings for her. That would be... disappointing."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Silas turned to me. "Stand up, Elena."

My body obeyed before my brain caught up. I stood on trembling legs.

"Come here."

I walked to him, hyper-aware of Julian watching, of how exposed I felt under Silas's cold examination.

"You know what I think?" Silas's hand came up, fingers trailing along my jawline. Not rough. Almost gentle. Somehow that made it worse. "I think my son showed you those documents hoping you'd trust him. Maybe even develop feelings for him in return. Isn't that right, Julian?"

"That's not—"

"Don't lie. You've always been terrible at it." Silas's thumb brushed across my bottom lip, and I hated how my breath hitched. "But here's what's really interesting. Elena didn't run to her mother with this information. Didn't call the police. Didn't do anything except come right back here when I summoned her."

His eyes bored into mine. "Why is that, Elena?"

I couldn't answer. My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth.

"I'll tell you why." His hand moved to my throat, resting there like a collar. "Because some part of you — the part you're terrified to acknowledge — knows exactly where you belong. Isn't that right?"

"No—" But my voice wavered.

"Your pulse is racing. I can feel it under my fingers. Are you scared, Elena? Or is it something else entirely?"

Behind me, Julian stood. "Dad, that's enough—"

"Sit. Down." The command in Silas's voice was absolute.

I heard Julian hesitate. Then the creak of the chair as he sat back down.

"Good boy." Silas's attention returned to me. "Now. Since you both violated our agreement, there need to be consequences. Julian, you're going to sit there and watch. And Elena..." His hand tightened fractionally on my throat. "You're going to show me exactly how sorry you are."

My heart was hammering so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

"Take off your sweater."

"Silas—"

"Sir. And that wasn't a request."

My hands were shaking as I grabbed the hem of my sweater and pulled it over my head. The air felt cold against my skin. Or maybe I was just hyperaware of everything suddenly — the sound of Julian's breathing behind me, the weight of Silas's gaze, the ache between my legs that I absolutely should not be feeling right now.

"The rest. All of it."

"Don't," Julian said, his voice strained. "Punish me instead. She didn't—"

"She accepted the information you gave her. She looked at confidential documents. She made choices." Silas's eyes never left mine. "And now she's going to accept the consequences. Aren't you, Elena?"

I should have said no. Should have used the safe word he'd given me.

Instead, I unbuttoned my jeans.

The sound of the zipper was impossibly loud. I pushed the denim down my hips, stepped out of it. Stood there in my bra and panties, my skin flushed with shame and something darker.

"Everything," Silas repeated softly.

When I was finally naked, I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hide. But Silas reached out and pulled my arms to my sides.

"Don't hide from me. Don't ever hide from me." He stepped back, and his gaze felt like a physical touch. "Turn around. Bend over the desk."

"Dad, please—" Julian's voice cracked.

"Watch. And remember that this is what happens when you try to undermine me."

I walked to the desk on legs that didn't feel like my own. The wood was cool under my palms as I bent over, my face burning with humiliation.

Behind me, I heard a drawer open. Then Silas's voice, closer now.

"You broke the rules, Elena. Both of you did. And in this house, broken rules have consequences."

Something leather brushed against my lower back. A belt, I realized with a spike of terror.

"Ten strikes. You're going to count each one. If you lose count, we start over. Do you understand?"

"Yes." My voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Sir."

The first strike came without warning.