Chapter Five

***Elena’s POV***

Entertaining??

I scoffed internally. What the hell does he mean by that??

The word echoed in my mind long after Dominic left the study. I didn’t know if he meant work… or humiliation. Given the sharp gleam in his eyes, I suspected both.

The maid escorted me back to the room where I’d first woken up. My mind was a storm of thoughts — confusion, hatred, curiosity, fear. Mostly fear though. But beneath it all lay a small, stubborn ember of defiance that refused to die no matter how battered I was.

I had survived hell once already… I would not break again.

I sank into the sofa near the massive window. The morning light cut through the glass, spilling gold over polished marble floors. Somewhere below, I could hear the faint buzz of activity — guards, men talking, engines running.

This is Dominic’s world… Ruthless. Efficient. Dangerous.

Sadly… mine now, too.

Juliet appeared not long after. Her kind eyes studied me carefully, like she already knew something had shifted.

I can't deny that I was somehow glad she came.

“He told you to leave, didn’t he?” she asked softly.

I gave a humorless smile. “He did. Then he changed his mind… or maybe he’s planning a different kind of execution.”

Juliet sighed. “Dominic isn’t an easy man, Elena. But he’s not cruel without reason. You’ll learn that.”

I wanted to laugh. Not cruel? The way he’d looked at me earlier – like I was a puzzle he could dismantle if I bored him… didn’t exactly scream kindness.

Still, I said nothing. Words meant nothing here. Actions did.

By late afternoon, a uniformed man knocked on the door. “Boss says to bring her to the east wing.”

Juliet’s expression darkened. “That’s the intelligence floor,” she murmured. “Be careful. Those men bite before they ask questions.” She told me with care.

My stomach tightened as I followed him down a long corridor lit by narrow skylights. The further we went, the quieter it became — until the hum of electronics replaced footsteps.

He stopped before a glass-walled office. Inside, Dominic stood beside a table littered with files and monitors. His coat was off, sleeves rolled up. The air seemed to curve around him, bending to his gravity.

He didn’t look at me when I entered.

“Sit.”

A single word. Cold command. Yet my body obeyed before my mind caught up.

He slid a file across the table. “You said you wanted to stay. Fine. Earn it. I want you to sort through this data — financials from a shell company connected to a rival. Spot inconsistencies.”

I blinked. “and why do you think I can do that?”

He finally looked at me… those gray eyes, stormier than before. “If you can’t, you’ll be out before nightfall. If you can… you’ll have proven you’re more than a frightened stray.”

My pride kicked up, steadying my voice. “Then I’ll stay.”

He gave a curt nod and walked away, leaving me with papers filled with numbers, codes, and bank trails.

Hours passed. My mind fell into rhythm — counting, decoding, mapping. I had once managed part of charitable fund allocations for Marcus, though he never let me sign off on anything. But I remembered. I always remembered.

Hey, don't look down on me. I'm actually a lot smarter than you think.

These numbers told stories — hidden transactions, ghost accounts, money circling back under new names. It was almost poetic, corruption disguised as arithmetic.

It was all so funny.

By the time Dominic returned, the overhead lights had dimmed.

“Well?” he asked.

Without looking up, I said, “Three accounts funnel money into offshore investments under a false identity. Whoever did this is laundering at least two million monthly.”

He was quiet for a moment. Then I heard a low chuckle — the first real trace of amusement I’d ever heard from him. “You’re either exceptionally gifted… or exceptionally dangerous.”

I looked up sharply the corners of my lips lifting. “Maybe both.”

That earned me a rare, fleeting smile. Small, but deadly.

“You stay,” he said simply, shutting the folder. “You’ll work under my systems lead. Report directly to me.”

Dominic turned toward the door, pausing at the threshold.

“One rule: you don’t lie. Not to me. Not even once. I can forgive mistakes... but not deceit.” His voice dropped to a murmur. “Lie to me, and I’ll know.”

His footsteps faded down the hall.

And just like that, I had what I wanted — a reason to stay. A way in.

Over the next few days, life in the Blackwood estate shifted from suffocating silence to organized chaos. Men in tailored suits came and went, coded messages flashed across screens, and every corridor whispered power.

I learned to move quietly, to watch without being noticed. Dominic barely acknowledged me outside brief instructions, but I saw him — the controlled violence beneath his calm exterior. And sometimes, when fatigue peeled back his precision, I caught something raw in his gaze. A man haunted by something he refused to name.

I wondered what ghosts bound him to this solitude.

Juliet came by often, bringing me food and quiet company. I think she sensed the tension storming behind my stillness.

One evening, as I worked late in the office, Dominic appeared again. No warning. No footsteps. Just the heavy silence that arrived with him.

“You’ve been busy,” he said.

“Would you rather I be doing something else?”

I replied not even sparing him a glance.

Oddly, he didn't retort to what I said.

“You found a backdoor through encrypted transfers — that takes skill.”

I shrugged. “Numbers don’t lie. People do.”

That made him pause. He studied me, arms crossed, an unreadable expression flickering in his eyes.

“You’ve seen people lie, haven’t you?” he asked.

“I’ve lived it.”

A faint nod. “Then maybe you’ll survive here.”

He turned to leave, then stopped mid-step.

“Dinner."

"Tonight."

"Downstairs."

"Don’t make me send the guards to fetch you.”

My mouth twitched. Bossy to the core. “Yes, Boss,” I said dryly.

The dining hall looked more like a courtroom than a place for meals — long dark wood, candles flickering against antique glass. Dominic sat at the far end, his posture casual but his presence sharp as ever.

He glanced at me. “You’re not properly dressed.”

“...”

I looked at him confused then at my choice of outfit. I wore a white top with a pair of jeans. It's just dinner, what's the big deal?

“Sit,” he said again, gesturing across from him.

I obeyed, though the distance between us felt like both territory and test.

Different kinds of dishes were arranged on the long table like a feast. I wonder what happens to the rest of the food. He obviously can't finish all of it.

A maid stepped forward and served both of us.

For a while, silence reigned. Only the soft clinking of cutlery broke the air.

Finally, I asked, “Do you always eat with your employees?”

His lips curved slightly. “Only the ones who nearly die on my property.”

A small, unwilling laugh escaped me before I caught it. His gaze sharpened, and for an instant, there was warmth — faint, dangerous warmth — in his expression.

“You should laugh more,” he murmured, easing back in his chair. “It suits you better than defiance.”

“Defiance kept me alive,” I said quietly.

He met my eyes, and for a moment, the world seemed to still.

“Maybe that’s why you’re still here.”

The air between us turned heavy — not threatening, not yet, but charged with something unfamiliar. I looked away first, retreating into my plate.

Minutes later, he rose. “Rest. Tomorrow, I’ll test how far your loyalty runs.”

“I thought I was just here to work.”

He stopped by the door, his voice low. “In my world, work and loyalty are the same thing.”

That night, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The faint hum of the estate echoed beyond the walls. Dominic’s empire breathing.

For the first time since I woke here, my rage found direction.

I had access to his systems now. To information. To tools that could rip Hartwell apart from the shadows.

Dominic thought he’d taken me in for his reasons. But he had no idea that I was already planting mine.

Still, something unsettled me… the memory of his voice at dinner, the way it softened when he said I should laugh more.

Danger came in many forms. Marcus had hidden cruelty behind charm. Dominic hid decency behind menace. I didn’t know which mask would break me faster.

But I knew one thing for certain: I couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not until every name that had betrayed me burned in ruin.

And if Dominic Blackwood was the devil I had to dance with to make that happen… then let the waltz begin.