chapter 12

LOUIS’S POV

The rest of the dinner was a blur. I smiled. I shook hands. I talked about stocks and mergers. My body was in the dining room, but my mind was in the kitchen.

I saw the look on her face when I gave her the envelope. Pale. Terrified. A look that carved something out of me.

I also saw the photograph on the floor as I left. A little girl with a bright smile and a yellow balloon. Sierra’s daughter.

Victor had crossed a line he could not uncross.

Celeste sat beside me, a perfect, cold statue. She made sharp comments wrapped in sweet smiles for our guests. She kept her hand on my arm, a claim. I wanted to shake it off. I wanted to walk back into the kitchen and ask the question that was burning a hole in my chest.

*Is she mine?*

The timing fit. Five years ago. One night. The fear in Sierra’s eyes wasn’t just about a threat. It was about a secret. A big, life-changing secret.

The little girl in the photo had brown hair. My hair. She had a smile I felt like I should know.

My chest felt too tight.

Finally, the last guest left. Celeste turned to me, her smile dropping. “We need to talk.”

“Not now.”

“Yes, now.” Her voice was sharp. “What is going on with you and that girl?”

“There is no ‘me and that girl’. She works for me.”

“Don’t lie to me, Louis. I saw your face. You look at her like…”

“Like what?” My voice was quiet. Dangerous.

She took a step back, but her chin lifted. “Like you want her. And it’s disgusting. She’s a servant. She’s here to cook your food, not warm your bed.”

Anger, white hot and sudden, flashed through me. “Be careful, Celeste.”

“Or what?” She laughed, a brittle sound. “You’ll throw me out? Do you know what that would do to your image? The perfect Louis Trevane, dumping his loyal girlfriend for the hired help? The press would eat you alive.”

She was right. Image was everything. It was the cage I had built for myself.

“Our arrangement has always been clear,” I said, forcing my voice to stay level. “We look the part. We help each other. You get access to my world. I get a polished partner for events. That is all. It was never real. Do not pretend it was.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly buried under anger. “Fine. It’s not real. But while we are *pretending*, you will not humiliate me by chasing the cook in front of our friends. Do you understand?”

I looked at her. This woman I had known for years. I saw the ambition in her eyes. The hunger for status. I had never minded it before. Now it felt cheap.

“The arrangement is over,” I said simply.

Her face went slack with shock. “What?”

“You heard me. I’ll have Marcus draw up the settlement. You’ll be taken care of. But this ends tonight.”

“You can’t be serious! Because of her? A nobody?”

“Get out, Celeste.” I was done talking. “Pack your things from the guest room. I want you gone by morning.”

She stared at me, her mouth open. For a moment, she looked like she might argue. Then she saw the truth in my eyes. This was not a negotiation.

Her face hardened into a mask of pure hatred. “You will regret this,” she hissed. “She will ruin you. And I will be there to watch it happen.”

She turned on her heel and marched up the stairs.

I stood in the empty foyer, the silence ringing in my ears. I had just lit a fuse. Celeste was vengeful. She would talk. She would try to hurt Sierra.

I had to move faster.

I walked to my study and closed the door. I opened my laptop and pulled up the security footage from the front gate. It was useless. As I’d been told, it had been looped. A blank, empty feed for twelve minutes. Professional work.

Victor was not playing games. He was sending a message. He could get to anyone, anywhere.

I picked up my phone and called Marcus. He answered on the first ring.

“Louis.”

“I want everything you have on Victor Hale. Every deal. Every shell company. Every mistress. Every dirty secret. I want to know what he eats for breakfast.”

“What’s this about?”

“He threatened Sierra. He sent someone to the gate with a photo of her daughter.”

Marcus was silent for a beat. “That’s a declaration of war.”

“Yes. And I intend to win. Pull all resources. Hire extra security for the perimeter. I want a detail on her daughter, starting tonight. Quietly.”

“Louis…” Marcus’s voice was cautious. “This is a significant escalation. For an employee.”

“She is not just an employee.” The words hung in the air. I did not take them back.

Marcus sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing you need to know right now. Just get me what I asked for.”

I hung up before he could ask more questions.

I sat back in my chair, staring at the dark screen. I thought about the photograph. The little girl’s smile.

Then I pulled up the old club footage again. I zoomed in on Sierra’s face. So young. So hopeful. I had taken that hope and given her… what? A memory? A child?

I had to know.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. The lights were off. It was spotless, every surface wiped clean. The soufflé dishes were washed and put away. She was good at her job. She was good at hiding.

I walked down the hall to her room. Her door was closed. A line of light glowed underneath.

I raised my hand to knock. Then I stopped.

What would I say? *Hello, I think I might be the father of your child. The man threatening you is my enemy. Let me fix it.*

It sounded ridiculous. She would shut the door in my face.

But I had promised her no more lies.

I knocked softly.

There was no answer.

I knocked again, a little louder. “Sierra? It’s me.”

I heard a soft shuffle on the other side. Then the door opened a crack. She stood there, still in her black dress. Her eyes were puffy, like she had been crying. She held the photograph in her hand.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“I wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” I pushed the door open gently. She took a step back, letting me in. Her room was neat and bare. It didn’t look lived in. It looked like a waiting room.

I closed the door behind me. We stood in the small space, the air thick with everything unsaid.

“I ended things with Celeste,” I said.

She blinked, surprised. “Why?”

“Because she was cruel to you. And because she was right.” I took a step closer. “I do want you. I have from the moment you got out of that car. Maybe from five years ago.”

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “Louis, you can’t…”

“I know who you are,” I said quietly. “I saw the footage. From the Red Velvet club. Five years ago. That was you. That was us.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn’t try to wipe it away. “So you remember.”

“I remember the night. I didn’t remember your face. But my body did. My soul did.” I reached out, slowly, and brushed the tear away with my thumb. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looked up at me, her blue eyes swimming with pain. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, remember that one-night stand? Surprise, you have a daughter.’ You were Louis Trevane. You were a universe away from me. I was scared.”

“Of me?”

“Of your world. Of what you would do. Would you take her from me? Would you throw money at us and make us disappear? I didn’t know. So I kept her safe. I kept her mine.”

Her words were a physical ache in my chest. “I would never take her from you.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I do.” I cupped her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. “Sierra, look at me. I am not a monster. That little girl… is she mine?”

She closed her eyes, more tears falling. A small, broken sob escaped her lips. She nodded.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Her name is Katie. And she’s yours.”

The world stopped. The air left my lungs. For five years, I had been a father and didn’t know it. I had a daughter. A living, breathing piece of me and this woman.

A wave of emotions crashed over me—shock, wonder, a fierce, instant love for a child I’d never met, and a roaring, protective fury toward anyone who would threaten her.

I pulled Sierra into my arms. She was stiff at first, then she melted against me, her body shaking with silent cries. I held her tight, my face buried in her hair.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured into her hair. “I’m so sorry you were alone. I’m sorry you were scared. It ends now. No one will ever threaten you or Katie again. I swear it on my life.”

She clung to me, her fingers digging into my back. We stood there in the quiet room, the truth finally setting us free.

And in that moment, I knew one thing for certain.

Victor Hale had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

He had threatened her.