Chapter 66: The Safe House and the Secret

The vehicle sped through the night like a bullet slicing through the darkness. Rain pounded against the windshield, with the wipers working relentlessly back and forth, yet the constant swish did little to ease the anxiety building in my chest.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the message on my phone:

"You’re next. Just like your mother."

Who on earth sent it? How did they know we were so close to the truth?

Liam shot me a glance from the driver’s seat, his jaw clenched. He hadn’t said much since we departed from Dominic’s penthouse, but the tension radiating from him in waves spoke volumes. "We’re almost there," he said, his voice sharp. "It’s a Caldwell property. Off-grid, untraceable."

I nodded, holding my phone tightly in my lap. My mind was racing—Dominic. The video. My mother. My father’s betrayal. The reality that someone had actually placed a target on my back.

“I shouldn’t have left him,” I whispered.

Liam’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “He told you to leave. You know how Dominic is. He’d destroy everything before allowing anyone to harm you.”

That reality did little to alleviate my guilt.

“But what if—” My voice faltered. “What if something happens to him?”

Liam’s expression softened just enough to reveal the brother beneath the tough exterior. “Dom’s faced worse. He’s not going down now. Not with everything at stake.

A flash of lightning lit up the woods ahead as we veered off the main road and onto a narrow gravel path. Trees loomed in from both sides, the feeling of seclusion enveloping me like a second skin. At last, we arrived at a sleek, modern cabin tucked away among the trees. Stone and glass, both secure and stylish. Just like Caldwell.

The instant we entered, security systems sprang to life, and Liam placed his fingerprint on the panel by the door.

"You’ll be safe here," he assured me. "For now."

I didn’t take a seat. I couldn’t. My nerves were too tightly wound.

"Liam..." I turned to look at him. "We need to discuss the past."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Us," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "What we almost became."

A brief flicker of emotion crossed his face—nostalgia, perhaps, or something more bitter. He crossed the room and leaned against the counter.

"You want to bring that up now?"

"Yeah," I murmured. "Because I believe everything is interconnected. The marriage we were forced into. How it abruptly ended. It wasn’t just a coincidence, was it?

He let out a sharp breath. "No. It wasn’t." 

That affirmation sent a shock through me. 

"I loved you," he confessed softly. "Perhaps not in the same way Dominic does, not with that level of obsession. But I loved you enough to envision a future together. And our families? They opposed that." 

"Why?" I inquired. 

"Because they had other plans in motion," Liam replied grimly. "Something grander. You were always destined for Dominic, Elena. Not out of love—but for leverage." 

I stepped back. "They tore us apart… to turn me into his pawn?" 

He nodded. "My father understood I wouldn’t see you as a political tool. But Dominic? He was ruthless enough to engage in the game. That’s why they chose him. Why they handed you over to him." 

I gazed at him, my heart racing. The thought that I was meant to end up with Dominic felt wrong. 

But the most troubling part?

A small, broken piece of me felt no regret.

Because despite all the deceit and betrayal… I truly loved Dominic.

"I never knew," I murmured. "Liam, I’m so sorry."

He shook his head. "Don’t apologize. We were never meant to endure the world they created."

Before I could reply, the security panel beeped—someone was at the gate.

Liam immediately drew his weapon. "Get down."

But a moment later, the screen lit up with a face I recognized.

Dominic.

Wet, battered, but alive.

I dashed for the door, struggling with the lock before flinging it open. He stepped in, and I threw myself into his embrace, clinging to him as if I could ground us both.

"You’re safe," I whispered.

"I am now." He kissed my hair, then turned to Liam. "Thanks for bringing her to safety."

Liam nodded once, stepping back into the shadows.

Dominic guided me toward the fireplace and helped me sit. His clothes were torn, his lip split, and there was a nasty gash along his temple.

“What happened?” I asked.

“They sent a professional,” he said. “Got past my security. But not past me.”

He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask. The firelight flickered across his face, painting his sharp features in shades of gold and amber. Despite everything, he looked at me with that same raw intensity that always left me breathless.

“I found something else,” he said, pulling a USB from his pocket. “From my father’s archives. It’s about yours. And the night your mother vanished.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

He plugged the drive into a nearby laptop and opened a file.

It was a letter. Typed. Dated the same week my mother disappeared.

To Richard Sinclair,

Terminate the situation. She’s become a liability. Do what must be done. Make it look like an accident. The child must never know.

—V.C.

I froze.

V.C.

Victor Caldwell.

“No,” I whispered. “That can’t be right. He loved her. He—he wanted to run away with her.”

Dominic didn’t say anything.

Because he wasn’t sure either.

Either the letter was a forgery…

Or Victor Caldwell ordered the hit on my mother.

“I don’t believe it,” I said, but my voice cracked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Dominic crouched in front of me, cupping my cheek. “We don’t know the full story yet. But we’re getting close. And whoever’s been hiding in the shadows all these years? They’re scared. That’s why they’re trying to kill us.”

I nodded slowly, tears burning behind my eyes. “Then let’s make them afraid of us.”

His lips curved into a dangerous smile. “That’s my girl.”

He leaned in, and I met him halfway, our kiss a mix of desperation and defiance. His hands buried in my hair, mine gripping the front of his shirt like a lifeline. The world around us was falling apart, but in that moment, we were the only thing holding it together.

But the moment shattered when a red alert flashed across the laptop screen.

SECURITY BREACH.

MAIN GATE DISABLED.

Dominic pulled back, fury in his eyes.

“They found us.”