บททั้งหมดของ Falling for the CEO'S brother : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Sebastian's povThe call lasted exactly seven minutes. Seven minutes of me delivering threats in three different languages to make absolutely certain my message was understood. By the time I hung up, my contact in London knew that if anything else happened to Elise, there wouldn't be a hole deep enough for them to hide in.I set the phone down on my desk and took a breath, forcing the rage back down where it belonged. Elise didn't need to see that side of me right now. She needed me to be calm and make her feel safe.She needed me to be something other than the monster I usually was. The monster I never want her to know.When I walked back into the living room, she was standing by the window staring out at the city. Her arms were wrapped around herself and even from across the room I could see she was trembling."Elise."She turned and I saw the tears streaming down her face. All the fear and stress and violation she had been holding back finally breaking through."I can't stop thinki

Elise's pov "That's David Morrison," I whispered, staring at the enhanced image on the screen. "Marcus's personal assistant."The face was unmistakable now that I could see it clearly. David Morrison, the quiet, efficient man who had worked for Marcus for the past five years. The one who scheduled his meetings, managed his calendar, brought him coffee exactly how he liked it.The one who had access to everything in Marcus's life.Including me."I see him almost every day at the office," I continued, my voice shaking. "He's always been polite and professional. He even asked about my weekend plans last week and recommended a restaurant.""He was gathering information," Leonardo said. "He was establishing your patterns, your routines, your relationships."Sebastian's expression had gone dangerously cold. "He's been working for Marcus for five years. Which means Lucien Grey placed him there long before I came back to New York. This isn't spontaneous. This is planned.""Planned for what?"

Elise's povI was just paranoid. The sedan wasn't following us and soon turned down a different lane.I barely slept that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Marcus's text. Something about my father and Sebastian that you need to know.What did he know? How much had Lucien told him? And worse, was Marcus complicit in everything his father had done?Sebastian found me at three in the morning sitting on the couch in the dark, staring out at the city lights."Can't sleep?" he asked softly."Too much on my mind."He sat beside me and pulled me against his chest without a word. We stayed like that until dawn, his steady heartbeat the only thing keeping me grounded.Now, standing outside Marcus's office at Grey Tech, I felt that same sense of dread pooling in my stomach."You don't have to do this," Sebastian had said in the car. "I can handle Marcus.""No. I need to hear it from him. I need to know if my best friend knew what his family was doing to me."So here I was, hand raised to

Elise's povBy the time noon rolled around, I had convinced myself that I was being paranoid. Maybe the texts were just Victoria trying to intimidate me. Maybe Sophia was exactly who she claimed to be—a new employee looking for friends.Maybe I was seeing conspiracies where there were none.I was going insane at this point.But even as I tried to rationalize it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was walking into something dangerous.Sophia was waiting outside my office with two coffee cups and that same bright smile. "Ready? I got you a latte. Oat milk, right? I remember you mentioning it last week."She remembered. That was thoughtful. Normal friend behavior.So why did it feel odd?"Thanks," I said, taking the cup. "That's really sweet of you."We walked out of Grey Tech together, Sophia chattering about some meeting she'd sat in on that morning. She was easy to be around, I had to admit. Funny and self-deprecating in a way that made me want to open up.The coffee shop was one of

Elise's povI spent the rest of the workday staring at that flash drive, turning it over and over in my hands like it might reveal its secrets if I just looked hard enough.By the time Leonardo picked me up, I had worked myself into a state of anxious paranoia that must have been obvious because he immediately asked, "You okay back there?""Fine. Just tired.""Boss is making dinner. He said to tell you he's trying out a new recipe."Of course he was. Sebastian and his domestic gestures that made it so easy to forget he was a man who owned a BDSM club and collected blackmail material like other people collected stamps.The penthouse was filled with the smell of garlic and herbs when I walked in. Sebastian stood at the stove, sleeves rolled up, looking like he belonged in a cookbook photoshoot rather than plotting corporate espionage."Hey, princess." He turned and smiled, but it faded when he saw my expression. "What's wrong?"I held up the flash drive. "What's really on here?""I told