Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

LEVERAGE 1

The first message came before dawn.It wasn’t addressed to me by name. That alone made my blood run cold.We know you were there.No signature. No number I recognized. Just those four words glowing softly on the screen of the phone Dominic had given me “for emergencies.”I sat up slowly, the sheets pooling around my waist, my pulse thudding in my ears.They know.Not he. Not Dominic.They.Which meant the lesson from the warehouse hadn’t gone unnoticed.I didn’t reply.Lesson one: information moves faster than fear.Instead, I memorized the number and deleted the message. Then I waited.Dominic came to my room an hour later.He didn’t knock.He rarely did when something mattered.“You received a message,” he said.It wasn’t a question.I held his gaze. “Yes.”“What did it say?”I recited it exactly.His expression didn’t change, but the air did. Something sharpened. Tightened.“How long after you woke?” he asked.“Immediately.”“Did you respond?”“No.”A pause.“Good,” he said. “That

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-14

LEVERAGE 2

The silence in the car lasted too long.That was how I knew something had changed.Dominic didn’t look at me as we crossed the bridge back toward the estate. His attention was on the city, on the traffic patterns, the exits, the buildings sliding past like pieces on a board only he could see.“You shouldn’t have smiled at him,” he said at last.I turned slightly. “That wasn’t part of the lesson.”“No,” he replied. “That was instinct.”“And?”“And instincts reveal intent.”I didn’t apologize.“I needed him to believe I wasn’t afraid,” I said. “Fear invites repetition.”Dominic’s jaw tightened, not in disagreement, but calculation.“You didn’t tell me you were going to imply you speak with my authority.”“I didn’t imply,” I corrected. “I stated a consequence.”A pause.“You assumed I would back you.”“I knew you would,” I said quietly.That got his attention.He turned then, his gaze sharp, assessing. “Explain.”“Because if you didn’t,” I continued, “you would have undermined your own s

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-14

FAULT LINES

Night changed the house.During the day, the estate functioned like a machine; efficient, controlled, alert. At night, it breathed. The silence deepened. Shadows lingered longer. And every sound felt intentional, even when it wasn’t.I couldn’t sleep.The message still burned behind my eyes.You chose the wrong side.I stood at the window, barefoot, watching the security lights sweep across the grounds in slow arcs. Somewhere out there, someone believed they could reach me. Touch me. Use me.They were wrong.The door behind me opened quietly.I didn’t turn.“You should be resting,” Dominic said.“I tried.”He came to stand beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched. Almost. He followed my gaze out the window.“They won’t move tonight,” he said. “They’re waiting.”“For what?” I asked.“To see if I come to you,” he replied.I glanced at him. “And did they?”“Yes.”“Good.”That surprised him.I felt it in the way his attention sharpened, the way his body angled slightly to

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-14

TERRITORY

The first rule Dominic Voss lived by was simple:Nothing he valued stayed unseen for long.The second was more brutal:Anything seen became a target.That morning, he broke both.I didn’t realize it at first.The estate was unusually active, cars arriving, staff moving with heightened purpose. A meeting day. Important enough that Dominic had allowed outsiders through the gates.Important enough that he brought me downstairs.That alone drew attention.“You’re coming with me,” he said, handing me a tablet. “You’ll sit. You’ll listen. You won’t speak unless asked.”“Am I decoration or deterrent?” I asked.His gaze slid to mine. “Both.”I dressed carefully. Not provocative. Not submissive. Something sharp, understated. Something that said I belonged here without begging permission.Dominic noticed.His eyes lingered for half a second too long before he turned away.The room fell quiet when we entered.Not silence, awareness.Men stopped mid-conversation. Eyes tracked us. Calculated. Curi

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-14

AFTER MATH 1

The door closed behind us with a quiet finality.Not a slam.Not anger.Control.The study was dim, lit only by the low glow of the desk lamp and the city lights filtering through the tall windows. Dominic didn’t move for a moment. Neither did I.The air felt… altered.“You shouldn’t have let him speak to you,” he said finally.“You were watching,” I replied.“Yes.”“Then you know I didn’t invite it.”He turned slowly, his gaze dark, intent. “That wasn’t what bothered me.”I swallowed. “Then what did?”“That he wanted to.”The honesty of it hit harder than anger would have.Dominic crossed the room, stopping just in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the tension humming beneath his stillness.“You don’t see what they see,” he said quietly.“Tell me.”He lifted a hand, hesitated, then cupped my jaw. This time, he didn’t stop himself.“They see something they think they can take.”My breath stuttered as his thumb brushed the line of my cheek.“And that,” he con

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

AFTER MATH 2

The house did not return to silence after the alarms stopped.It held its breath.I sat on the edge of the desk in Dominic’s study, his jacket still wrapped around me, every sense sharpened. Time stretched oddly, minutes passing without shape, each one heavy with unanswered questions.Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.Fast. Controlled.Then voices, low, urgent.I stood before the door opened.Dominic entered without ceremony.His jacket was gone. His shirt darkened at the shoulder. Blood—drying, not fresh—streaked along his knuckles.My heart lurched.“Dominic.”He looked up sharply, as if only just remembering I existed.“You shouldn’t be standing,” he said.That was the first thing he said to me after what had clearly been violence.Not reassurance.Concern.I crossed the room before he could stop me. “You’re hurt.”“It’s nothing.”“It’s bleeding.”He exhaled slowly, like a man realizing resistance was pointless. “It’s handled.”“Sit down,” I said.The tone surprised us both

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

FALLOUT

By morning, everyone knew something had happened.No one said it outright. No whispers followed me openly. But the staff moved differently; quieter, more deliberate. Guards doubled at entrances. Phones were confiscated at the gate.Dominic’s house didn’t lock down unless blood had been spilled.I felt it in the way doors opened faster when he approached. In the way men lowered their eyes. In the way his name was spoken less, and obeyed more.Dominic didn’t come to breakfast.Instead, a message arrived on the phone he’d given me.Stay where you are.No explanation. No reassurance.Just control.I obeyed.From the window, I watched cars arrive and leave faces I didn’t recognize, men who didn’t belong to the estate’s daily rhythm. Power brokers. Cleaners. The kind of people who erased consequences.Around noon, the rumors reached me anyway.Not words signals.A guard who wouldn’t meet my eyes.A housekeeper who lingered a second too long.The tension coiled beneath every interaction.By

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

EXPOSURE 1

Visibility was louder than danger.I learned that by midday.Being escorted everywhere wasn’t new, but today, it was obvious. Two guards instead of one. Doors opening before I reached them. Conversations stopping when I entered a room.People didn’t look at me with curiosity anymore.They looked at me with calculation.I felt it most in the silence.No one asked questions. No one tested boundaries. They watched instead, as if waiting to see what would happen to the person who stood closest to Dominic Voss.That person was me.By afternoon, Dominic hadn’t returned.I was summoned, not to his study, but to the east sitting room. Neutral ground. A message in itself.When I arrived, three men were already there.None of them stood.That was deliberate.“Elara Quinn,” the man in the center said smoothly. “Thank you for agreeing to meet.”“I didn’t agree,” I replied. “I was told.”A flicker of amusement crossed his face.“Dominic prefers efficiency,” he said.“And you?” I asked.“We prefer

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

EXPOSURE 2

That night, the house did not sleep.Neither did I.I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rhythm of footsteps outside my door. Guards rotating shifts. Controlled. Predictable.Protection that felt a lot like surveillance.Dominic hadn’t returned after leaving the library. No message. No summons.That was deliberate.He was reminding me, reminding himself, that distance was still possible.Near dawn, a knock sounded.I sat up instantly.The door opened before I could answer.Dominic stepped inside, his expression unreadable, his presence filling the room like a change in pressure.“You’re awake,” he said.“Yes.”He closed the door behind him, not locking it.“You shouldn’t be,” he added.“I rarely sleep when people decide my future without asking me.”That earned a faint exhale, not quite a laugh.“They didn’t decide,” he said. “They assessed.”“And?” I asked.“They didn’t like what they saw.”I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Good.”His gaze tracked the moveme

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

THE INVITATION 1

The invitation arrived the next morning.Cream paper. Heavy stock. Hand-delivered.Neutral ground, Dominic had said.Polite faces. Sharp knives.I read it twice before folding it carefully and setting it on the table between us.“A charity gala,” I said. “How civil.”Dominic didn’t smile.“They chose it because they think manners make them untouchable,” he replied. “And because declining would look like retreat.”“So we attend,” I said.“Yes.”Not you attend.We attend.That distinction was already being noticed.“They want an audience,” I continued. “Which means whatever they plan isn’t meant for you.”“No,” Dominic agreed. “It’s meant for you.”The house shifted into preparation mode immediately.Stylists. Security briefings. Route mapping. Every movement planned, rehearsed, contained. Dominic watched it all with detached precision, but I noticed the change in his posture when the conversation turned to me.More guards. Closer perimeter.“You’re overcompensating,” I said quietly whe

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-01-17

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