Chapter 61: A Trap Set in Silence

I once thought that justice was found in a courtroom with a judge and a gavel. 

However, as I stood in Dominic's private conference room, its walls thick enough to hold secrets that could topple empires, I realized the truth. 

Justice is often delivered in hushed tones. 

It manifests in meticulously prepared papers, in shattered admissions, and in the way Olivia Sinclair avoided her husband's gaze while gripping a flash drive containing three decades of deceit.

Senator Richard Sinclair—my father—was going down. But he didn’t know it yet.

“What if he doesn’t show?” I asked, glancing at the clock for the fourth time. We had thirty minutes until the meeting. A fabricated “private Sinclair-Caldwell family summit,” arranged by Dominic with a subtle whisper through our shared PR team.

“He will,” Dominic said, adjusting the cufflinks on his tailored suit. “Your father likes to believe he’s still in control. This meeting gives him the illusion of power.”

“You’re sure this is the only way?”

He gazed at me then, unmasked, revealing the man behind the empire. 'You sought the truth. And this—this is how we uncover it.' 

Victor Caldwell was the first to enter, exuding a blend of composed charm and tired dignity. Olivia followed closely, her posture rigid, yet I could see her hands quivering as she took her seat opposite Dominic. 

'I despise this,' she whispered, her eyes fixed on the door. 'I loathe that it has come to this.' 

Victor regarded her with kindness. 'It reached this point the moment we allowed him to triumph.'

A chill settled over the room.

And then, precisely on time, Senator Richard Sinclair walked in.

He wore his trademark navy-blue suit, his American flag lapel gleaming under the soft chandelier light. He scanned the room, brows narrowing when he saw Olivia and Victor seated together. Then his eyes landed on me.

“Elena.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Didn’t realize this was going to be a family reunion.”

“Oh, it’s more than that,” I said coolly. “Please, have a seat.”

He didn’t sit. Instead, he walked slowly around the table, examining each of us like we were chess pieces.

“Dominic,” he said, stopping behind him. “Careful how close you get to my daughter. You might start believing you have a claim to her.”

Dominic’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t rise to the bait.

Richard finally sat across from me. “So, what’s this really about? Because I know it’s not about a press release or a partnership.”

“No,” I said, placing the flash drive on the table. “It’s about your crimes. And the ones you buried behind both our names.”

He went completely still. His mask didn’t crack—but I saw it in his eyes. The flicker of fear.

“You’re bluffing,” he said.

Victor leaned forward. “We’re not.”

“You both ruined lives,” Olivia said, her voice sharper than I’d ever heard it. “But we were the collateral damage. You played puppet master while we buried everything—our past, our child, our truth.”

Richard’s head turned slowly. “You’re still clinging to that fantasy?”

“You know it wasn’t,” she said. “You forced me to walk away from the man I loved. And now, your own daughter knows everything.”

His eyes snapped to me.

“What exactly do you think you know, Elena?”

I stared him down. “That you blackmailed Mom. That you forced her into a marriage to cover up your political scandal. That you orchestrated the smear campaign against my fiancé years ago to keep me under your control. And more than anything… I know that you’re the one who pitted the Sinclairs against the Caldwells to keep your legacy intact.”

He didn’t speak. Not at first.

Then he chuckled—dark, humorless.

“You really think this will stick?” he said, leaning back in his chair. “A few whispered confessions? A flash drive of data you barely understand? I built this city, Elena. I built your career, your reputation—hell, even your fake little marriage. I own you.”

“No,” I said, standing. “You did. But now, I own your downfall.”

I pressed the remote Dominic had slipped into my hand earlier. A hidden screen flickered to life on the far wall.

Surveillance footage.

Audio recordings.

Signed bank statements—linked to shell companies he thought were buried.

His face finally shifted.

“You bugged me?” he hissed.

“Careful, Senator,” Dominic said, rising to his full height. “Wouldn’t want to admit anything too incriminating on camera.”

“You planned this,” Richard growled. “You used her to get to me.”

Dominic stepped beside me. “No. I fell in love with her. Everything else came second.”

The room fell silent.

It was the first time he’d said it. Out loud. In front of everyone.

And my heart reacted before my mind could catch up.

I reached for his hand—and held on.

“Your game is over, Dad,” I said. “You can either cooperate and step down quietly… or this footage goes to every major news outlet in the country.”

He stood, slow and venomous, like a cornered snake.

“You think the public will believe the daughter of a disgraced senator?” he sneered. “After the lies I’ve fed them for thirty years? They’ll turn on you. Just wait.”

“I’m not afraid of the truth,” I said. “Because unlike you, I didn’t spend my life running from it.”

His eyes locked with mine—and for the first time, I saw what he really was.

Not powerful.

Not untouchable.

Just… a man.

A weak, scared man who let ambition consume whatever soul he once had.

“Get out,” Olivia said. “Before we have you dragged out.”

He glanced at her. And for a moment, just a heartbeat, there was something almost like remorse in his eyes.

Then it was gone.

He left the room without another word.

Later that night, I stood alone on the balcony again. This time, not with fear.

But with fire in my blood.

Dominic joined me, his arms wrapping around my waist.

“You really told him off,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“I really did,” I breathed.

“Doesn’t mean it’s over,” he added. “There’ll be fallout.”

“I know.”

“But I’m with you,” he said. “No matter what happens.”

I turned in his arms and kissed him—fierce and full of all the fury and passion and hope I’d been carrying for weeks.

“Then let it all burn,” I whispered. “As long as we stand in the ashes together.”