Chapter Sixty-Nine: Power Plays

"I want to hire Titan Security," I said, placing the contract on the kitchen island where Dominic was making coffee. "Full investigation package. Complete background workup. Financial forensics. The works."

He paused, coffee cup halfway to his lips. "Titan? That's not cheap, Scarlett. They charge more per day than most people make in a year."

"Good thing I just inherited 2.8 billion dollars then."

The number hung between us like a wall I hadn't meant to build. Yesterday, we'd been partners fighting the same war. Today, I could buy his entire empire three times over and still have change left for a small country.

"Who's the target?" he asked, setting down his cup.

"Your mother."

The silence that followed was so complete I could hear the hum of the refrigerator, the distant sound of traffic sixty floors below, the rhythm of my own heartbeat.

"Scarlett—"

"She tried to have me poisoned, Dominic. She worked with Blake to destroy my life. She's been planning my death since the moment we got married." I pushed the contract closer to him. "I'm done being reactive. I'm done waiting for the next attack. I want to know everything about Lydia Blackwood—every secret, every weakness, every crime she's ever committed."

"And then what?"

"Then I decide what to do with the information."

He studied my face like he was seeing me for the first time. "You're different."

"I'm the same person I was yesterday."

"No, you're not." He moved around the island, his presence immediately making the spacious kitchen feel smaller. "Yesterday you were my wife who happened to inherit a fortune. Today you're..."

"What?"

"A woman who can afford to hire the most expensive security firm in the world to investigate my family."

The way he said it—not accusatory, exactly, but careful—made something twist in my stomach.

"Does that bother you?"

"Should it?"

"I'm asking you."

He was quiet for a long moment, his dark eyes searching my face. "It scares me."

"Why?"

"Because power changes people. And you've just acquired more power than most heads of state."

I turned away from him, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at Manhattan spread below us. From up here, the city looked manageable, controllable. Like something I could hold in my hands and shape according to my will.

"Is that what you think? That I'm going to become some kind of monster?"

"I think you're going to become exactly what you need to become." His voice was closer now, right behind me. "The question is whether there's still room in that evolution for us."

I spun around to face him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that yesterday we were equals. Partners. Today, you could buy and sell me without blinking."

"Money doesn't change who I am."

"Doesn't it?" He stepped closer, his presence immediately overwhelming in the way that always made my pulse race. "You just told me you want to investigate my mother. Not ask for my help. Not discuss strategy together. You want to hire people to destroy her, and you're informing me about it."

Heat flashed through me, part anger and part something else. "She tried to kill me."

"I know."

"She worked with my ex-husband to poison me."

"I know."

"She's the reason Victoria is lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life."

"I know." His hands came up to frame my face, his touch gentle despite the tension crackling between us. "And if you want to destroy her, I'll help you do it. But I need to know—are we doing this together, or are you doing this to me?"

The question hit like a physical blow. "To you?"

"She's my mother, Scarlett. The woman who raised me. Whatever she's done, whatever crimes she's committed, she's still the person who taught me to tie my shoes and read bedtime stories and—"

"And tried to murder your wife."

"Yes." The word came out raw, broken. "And I hate her for it. But I need to be part of whatever happens next. Not because I want to protect her, but because I need to see for myself who she really is."

I studied his face, seeing the pain he was trying so hard to hide. This wasn't just about power or control or the shift in our relationship. This was about a man who'd just discovered that the woman who'd raised him was capable of murder.

"Okay," I said quietly. "Together."

"Together?"

"We hire Titan Security together. We investigate your mother together. We decide what to do with the information together." I reached up to cover his hands with mine. "Partners."

"Even though you could afford to do it alone?"

"Especially because I could afford to do it alone."

The relief in his eyes was almost painful to see. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Wait until you see what they find."

He pulled me against him then, his arms wrapping around me like he was afraid I might disappear. I could feel the tension in his body, the fear he was trying not to voice.

"What else are you afraid of?" I asked against his chest.

"Honestly?"

"Always."

"I'm afraid you'll realize you don't need me anymore."

I pulled back to look at him. "What?"

"You're worth billions of dollars, Scarlett. You control companies in six countries. You just destroyed one of the most powerful men in corporate America. What exactly do I bring to this relationship that you can't buy or build yourself?"

The vulnerability in his voice made my chest tight. "Are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious."

"You think I'm with you for your money? Your connections? Your business empire?"

"I think you married me for protection when you had nowhere else to turn. And now..."

"Now what?"

"Now you could hire an army to protect you. You could buy allies, connections, anything you need. So what exactly do you need me for?"