Chapter 80: Blood Ties and Broken Vows

The tension in the air between Dominic and Liam was palpable, charged with years of betrayal and resentment. I struggled to breathe as I observed the two brothers facing each other, their expressions contorted in a shared tempest of pain, anger, and regret.

"You believe you’re superior to me," Liam hissed, advancing, his voice escalating with a bitterness that cut through the atmosphere. "You always have. The golden child. The flawless heir. The one everyone relied on to mend everything."

Dominic remained unyielding. His fists clenched at his sides, his jaw set in a manner that indicated he was suppressing a rage that could demolish this entire structure if unleashed.

"I never aimed to be superior to you," Dominic replied in a deep, guttural tone. "I merely wanted us to endure this cursed family together. But you made your decision, Liam. You traded your soul for a place at a table constructed on blood and deceit."

Liam chuckled — a brief, harsh sound. "And you didn’t? Do you think you’re any different? We’re all tainted, Dominic. We’re all infected by the same blood. I just stopped pretending to be the savior."

I moved closer, my heart pounding against my chest. "Why assist them?" I pressed. "Why betray your own brother? Your family?"

Liam’s gaze shifted to me, and for a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of something human in his eyes. Regret, perhaps. Or shame. But it vanished quickly, replaced by the frigid demeanor of a man who had already condemned himself.

"They assured me a future," he stated plainly. "One where I wasn’t second-best. One where I wasn’t living in Dominic’s shadow. I was weary of waiting for leftovers.

Dominic shook his head slowly, disbelief written across every feature of his face. “You didn’t just betray me. You betrayed yourself, Liam. And for what? Money? Power? You’re nothing more than their puppet now.”

Liam’s hands clenched into fists. “Better a puppet than invisible.”

The room vibrated with the tension snapping between them. I could sense it in my bones — something was about to break.

“We’re not here to fight you,” Dominic finally said, his voice rough yet controlled. “We’re here for the truth. All of it.”

Liam’s jaw tightened. “You won’t survive it.”

“Try us,” I replied, moving closer to Dominic, standing resolutely by his side. For once, there was no hesitation. No fear. Just a fierce resolve coursing through me like wildfire.

For a long moment, Liam gazed at us, the internal battle within him evident on his face. Then he let out a heavy breath, the burden of his decisions weighing down his shoulders.

“They’re bigger than you realize,” he murmured. “The League. The Sinclairs. Even your own father, Dominic. Victor Caldwell isn’t clean. Neither is Senator Richard Sinclair.”

My stomach twisted violently. I had always known it deep down — my father was involved in something corrupt — but hearing it confirmed by Liam made it undeniable.

“What about Olivia Sinclair?” Dominic asked carefully. “Elena’s mother. Where does she fit into all of this?”

Liam’s mouth pulled into a tight line. His next words sliced through the air like a blade.

“She was the collateral damage.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my knees nearly buckling. Dominic reached out instinctively, steadying me with a strong hand on my lower back. His touch burned through the fabric of my clothes, grounding me when my world threatened to collapse.

“What do you mean?” I whispered.

Liam looked away, unable to meet my eyes. “Your mother… she wasn’t just Senator Sinclair’s wife. She was Victor Caldwell’s lover. They were planning to expose everything — the corruption, the deals, the blood money — and leave together. Start over.”

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces as Liam’s words crashed over me.

“But the Senator found out. And he made sure Olivia Sinclair disappeared before she could ruin him.”

“No,” I breathed, the word tasting like ash on my tongue. “No, that’s not true.”

But deep down, a small, shattered piece of me already understood it was.

Dominic’s grip on me tightened, his expression a rigid facade of rage and anguish.

“She had feelings for Victor?” Dominic inquired, his tone unsettlingly composed.

Liam gave a single nod. “Enough to gamble everything.”

I was breathless. My mind was a blank. My parents’ marriage had been a facade. My entire existence had been constructed on a bedrock of deceit. And my mother… she had perished because she loved the adversary.

Or perhaps he wasn’t an adversary at all.

Perhaps she had died simply for daring to love.

Dominic faced me, his gaze ignited with something intense, something untamed. “We need to uncover evidence, Elena. If we can reveal the truth about the Senator and my father, we can dismantle this entire empire.

I nodded numbly, my body moving on autopilot. My mind raced through a thousand memories, a thousand half-truths that suddenly made horrible sense.

“They kept everything locked away,” Liam said bitterly. “Victor has a safehouse. It’s where he hid all the evidence — the letters, the recordings, everything he and Olivia planned.”

Dominic’s voice dropped to a dangerous low. “Where?”

Liam hesitated. Then, with a heavy sigh, he rattled off an address. A place just outside the city, secluded, easy to miss if you didn’t know where to look.

Dominic grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers without a second thought. His touch was an anchor, a promise. Whatever came next, we were facing it together.

“This isn’t over,” Dominic told Liam, his voice sharp as a dagger. “Not by a long shot.”

Without saying another word, we turned away, leaving Liam behind in the shadows of his own destruction.

The journey to the safehouse was a haze. Dominic had one hand on the steering wheel and the other clutching mine tightly, as if releasing it for even a moment would cause everything to spiral out of control.

The wind rushed through the open windows, the city lights merging into streaks of gold and red as we raced down the deserted streets.

At last, after what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at a cottage that appeared abandoned, tucked away among towering trees.

"This is it," Dominic said with a grim expression.

We stepped out, the cool night air brushing against our skin. The safehouse stood before us, silent and expectant.

"Are you ready?" Dominic inquired, his voice barely above a whisper.

I gazed up at him, my heart racing wildly in my chest. In that moment, with the world collapsing around us, there was only one undeniable truth I held close.

I loved him.

Without hesitation, I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his.

It was anything but gentle. It lacked sweetness. It was filled with desperation and chaos, overflowing with all the unspoken words we had always felt. Dominic pulled me close, his hands entwined in my hair, his mouth consuming mine as if he were suffocating and I was the only breath he had left.

When we finally separated, gasping and yearning, his forehead rested against mine.

"We need to finish this," he murmured.

Together.

Always together.

I nodded, my fingers gripping his tightly.

Then we faced the door — towards the truth that awaited us on the other side.