Chapter 95 Breaking
Rowan
Violet stands near my desk, still gripping her phone. The glow from the banking app lights the underside of her hand. Frozen account notification still on the screen. The wire transfer from Ashcroft Holdings still sitting there like a loaded weapon waiting to be interpreted the wrong way.
Her arms fold across her chest, but it is not defensive.
It is containment.
If she lets go of that control for even a second she will either start yelling again or start shaking.
Theo pushes himself off the edge of my desk and begins pacing.
That is always the first sign that his mind is moving faster than his mouth.
When Theo starts pacing someone usually ends up bleeding politically.
“They’re framing you,” he says finally, his voice calm but edged with irritation as he glances between Violet and me. “And they’re doing it very well.”
I lean back slightly in my chair, folding one hand loosely over the other while I watch him think.
“Yes.”
Theo gestures vaguely toward the hallway outside my office where the building hums with activity.
“Manipulative billionaire. Vulnerable assistant. Key witness sleeping under your roof.” His mouth twists. “It’s a hell of a narrative.”
Violet looks like she wants to argue, but she stays quiet.
“And the press is eating it up,” Theo continues.
“Yes,” I say again.
He stops pacing.
Actually stops.
Then he snaps his fingers like something finally locked into place.
“Fine,” he says. His eyes brighten in that dangerous way they do when he realizes the solution will hurt someone. “Let’s give them a better villain.”
Violet frowns. “What does that mean?”
Theo looks directly at me. “We leak the bathroom footage.”
The words settle in the room like a dropped knife.
Violet stiffens.
I don’t respond immediately. I simply study him.
He continues when I don’t interrupt. “The security footage of Calder following her into the bathroom,” Theo says. “That alone already looks bad.”
Yes.
It does.
But bad is not enough.
“That could work,” I say slowly, my fingers tapping once against the desk.
Theo nods immediately.
“And if we get the intern’s phone footage—”
“That’s the key,” I cut in.
Both of them turn toward me.
“We need the phone video,” I say. “The one from the intern who caught the door opening.”
Theo nods. “The moment Calder grabbed her.”
Violet’s jaw tightens slightly.
“And the bruises,” I add quietly.
Her eyes flick toward me. “The bruises on your arm when I walked in.”
The memory burns behind my eyes for half a second.
Her pinned against the wall.
Calder gripping her like he thought he owned the room.
Theo folds his arms. “Exactly.”
He gestures vaguely toward the windows behind my desk, toward the city beyond the glass.
“You release that footage and suddenly the story changes.” He pauses, letting the idea breathe. “It’s not billionaire manipulating employee anymore.” His voice lowers slightly. “It’s corrupt detective assaults woman at work.”
Violet shifts, clearly uncomfortable with how blunt he is being.
“That would make Rowan look better,” she says carefully.
Theo nods. “It would.”
“But the spotlight would still be on him,” she continues, glancing at me.
I shrug faintly. “The spotlight is already on me.”
Theo grins. “And that’s the beauty of it.”
He gestures between us. “Right now the public thinks Rowan is the predator.” He spreads his hands. “But if they see the footage?” He lets the silence finish the sentence.
“Billionaire protects employee from corrupt cop,” Violet says.
His voice carries a certain satisfaction. “No one ignores that story.” He glances at me again. “And once that narrative lands, your organization becomes very difficult to attack without looking like you’re defending a cop who assaults women.”
The logic is simple.
Brutal.
Effective.
Violet goes quiet.
She studies the floor for a moment before speaking again. “What about the journalist?”
Theo looks at her.
“The woman who came here,” Violet continues. “The one digging into the financial papers.”
I remember her.
Sharp eyes. Too observant for comfort.
“She already had information,” Violet says. “She was trying to get us to confirm it.”
Theo tilts his head slightly. “Using a journalist to release the footage would make it look like investigative reporting,” he admits.
“Instead of retaliation,” Violet adds.
I consider that for a moment.
It is not a bad idea.
But it is not the first move.
“No,” I say.
Both of them look at me.
“Not yet.”
Theo raises an eyebrow. “You want to drop the footage yourself?”
“No.” I stand.
The movement immediately shifts the atmosphere in the room.
Theo straightens instinctively.
Violet watches me carefully.
“Theo,” I say.
“Yes?”
“Go talk to the intern.”
His eyebrows lift. “Now?”
“Yes.”
My voice stays calm, but there is no room for hesitation.
“If that phone video still exists,” I continue, “I want a copy of it before the end of the hour.”
Theo nods once. “Got it.”
I turn toward Violet. “You.”
Her brows pull together. “What about me?”
“You go back to your desk.”
Her expression sharpens immediately.
“Rowan—”
“There are calls stacking up,” I interrupt evenly.
I gesture toward the door.
“Investors. Developers. Attorneys. Reporters.”
Her lips press together.
“They all reach me through you first.”
She exhales slowly. “That’s how this works,” she mutters.
“Yes.”
She studies my face for a second longer, clearly deciding whether to argue.
Then she nods once. “Fine.”
She turns toward the door. Then pauses. “What are you going to do?”
I pick up my phone.
“I’m going to call Devin. We need to get in front of this,” I say. “Before anything else blows up.”
Theo moves toward the door. “I’ll find the intern.”
Violet reaches the doorway as well, already pulling that professional composure back over herself like armor.
The assistant again.
The gatekeeper.
The woman who stands between me and the world.
Theo opens the door.
Both of them step into the hallway.
Phones ringing.
Employees whispering.
The building watching everything.
Then the door closes.
And my office goes quiet.
I look down at the phone in my hand.
The press.
Hargrove.
The frozen accounts.
The leak inside my own security team.
And a missing detective who is very likely watching all of this unfold from somewhere in the dark.
Yes.
Things are about to break.