Chapter 64: Shattered Reflections

The rain was a relentless drumbeat on the glass walls of Dominic’s penthouse. Thunder cracked in the distance, nature’s fury echoing the storm inside me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, the woman looking back at me barely recognizable. I wasn’t the same Elena Sinclair who walked into Caldwell Enterprises to take down a dynasty. No. That woman had believed in lines—clear ones, bold ones. Right and wrong. Truth and lies. Love and hate.

But now?

Now, everything was a blur. A twisted mosaic of betrayal, secrets, and stolen moments.

Behind me, the door creaked open, soft footfalls padding into the room. I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.

“Elena,” Dominic’s voice was low, hesitant, but still laced with that commanding undertone that always made my chest tighten.

I met his eyes in the mirror. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, his tie gone, his hair mussed from raking his fingers through it one too many times. But what struck me wasn’t any of that.

It was the pain in his eyes.

“What do you want, Dominic?” My voice was barely above a whisper, brittle with everything we’d uncovered just hours ago.

He didn’t answer at first. He walked up behind me, his reflection appearing in the mirror, just a step away. I could feel the heat of him. And I hated how much I wanted to lean back into him. To forget everything for just one second.

“Elena,” he said again, softer this time, “we need to talk. About your mother. And my father.”

The breath caught in my throat.

Victor Caldwell and Olivia Sinclair. Their names had become shadows, slipping in and out of every secret we unraveled. A forbidden love affair. One that had torn apart both families. But what we found tonight? It had gone deeper than we imagined.

I turned slowly to face him. “You knew.”

His jaw clenched. “Not everything. But yes. I had suspicions.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” My voice rose now, anger flaring through the fog. “You let me believe this marriage was just a business arrangement. A war between empires. When all along—it was personal. Deeply personal.”

His hand reached out, but I stepped back.

“Elena, listen to me,” he said, his tone urgent. “I didn’t know how to say it. How to tell you that our parents… that they weren’t just enemies caught in a scandal. They were lovers. And that love destroyed them both.”

I laughed bitterly. “That’s poetic. But you don’t get to paint them as tragic heroes, Dominic. My mother died in silence. Your father disappeared behind his empire. And now here we are, puppets in their unfinished play.”

Dominic stepped closer. “I’m not your enemy, Elena.”

“Aren’t you?” My voice cracked. “Because it sure feels like every time I get close to trusting you, you pull the rug out from under me. First my father’s scandal. Then your manipulation. Now this?”

His gaze burned into mine. “Do you want the truth?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then let’s find it together,” he said. “Let’s dig until there’s nothing left but the raw bones of the past. No more games. No more power plays. Just you and me, Elena. The truth. No matter how ugly it is.”

I stared at him, searching for the lie.

But there was none.

Just raw honesty. And pain. So much pain.

“I found something,” he said, pulling a folder from behind his back. He laid it on the dresser between us. My hands trembled as I opened it.

Letters. Dozens of them. Handwritten. Faded ink. My mother’s handwriting. And Victor’s.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, letter after letter revealing a love I never knew existed. A love that had tried to fight the odds, but had been crushed under the weight of duty, power, and family expectations.

“My mother loved him,” I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes. “She loved him, and it destroyed her.”

Dominic crouched in front of me, his hands brushing over mine. “She tried to run away with him once. Did you know that?”

I shook my head.

“My father told me… years ago. Before he got sick. He said Olivia was the only woman he ever loved. But Richard Sinclair… your father… he found out. And he ended it.”

I looked up, my vision blurring. “You think he had something to do with her death?”

Dominic didn’t answer. But his silence was enough.

My stomach twisted.

Just then, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I glanced at the screen.

Unknown Number.

I answered without thinking.

“Elena Sinclair,” a distorted voice crackled through the line. “If you value what’s left of your family, stop digging into the past. Or the next headline will be your obituary.”

My blood ran cold.

“Who is this?” I demanded. “Answer me!”

But the line went dead.

Dominic grabbed the phone, his face darkening. “They’re watching us. Whoever’s behind this… they know we’re close.”

I stood, the adrenaline pushing past the fear. “Let them watch. I’m done being afraid.”

He reached for me then, his hand curling around my waist, his breath hot against my cheek. “You terrify me sometimes,” he murmured, his voice like gravel.

“And you infuriate me,” I shot back.

He chuckled softly, and for a moment—just one stolen moment—the weight of the world disappeared. He kissed me. Not with desperation, but with something fierce and possessive, something that screamed, I need you.

And God help me, I kissed him back.

Because right now, in the eye of the storm, he was the only thing that felt real.

When we finally broke apart, breathless, I rested my forehead against his.

“We’re going to burn for this, aren’t we?” I whispered.

Dominic’s smile was dark, almost cruel. “Then let’s make the fire worth it.”

As Dominic and I make plans to confront Senator Sinclair, a new piece of evidence arrives at the Caldwell estate—an old security tape showing Olivia and Victor meeting in secret… and a shadowy figure watching them from the darkness.