Chapter 22

**Lies Wrapped in Silk**

With my fists clenched, I bounded into Jake's office. I could still see the messages, teasing me with their ruthless connotations. Dominic had already managed to tighten the rope around my throat, and my trust was already in jeopardy.

As soon as I walked in, Jake's head jerked up from where he was peering at a pile of papers behind his desk. Even while his eyes were analytical and piercing, there was something unreadable flickering beneath them.

"Emma?" His tone was too subdued.

My phone was still showing the most recent message when I hurled it across his desk. "Explain this."

He picked up the gadget and looked over the words. "Even the strongest strongholds contain weaknesses, even if you believe you're safe. He is also among them. - D"

Jake's face remained the same, but he slightly tightened his hold on my phone. "Dominic is manipulating people. His goal is to make you oppose me.

"And I’m supposed to just believe that?" With my heart racing, I took a step closer. "You are aware of his abilities. Blind trust is not something I can afford while my sons are in danger.

Jake put my phone down and let out a deep exhale. "You believe I would turn on you? after all that we've endured?"

I paused. The issue was that I had lost my sense of what to believe. "I believe Dominic is overly knowledgeable. And that indicates that he is being fed information.

Jake's mouth tightened. "I would die before I let anything happen to you or the boys."

My phone buzzed once more before I could reply. One more message. As I unlocked it, I felt sick to my stomach.

a video recording.

As I hit play, my fingers shook. A dimly lighted bedroom appeared on the screen. My boys. Curled up in bed, they had no idea they were being observed, their little chests rising and falling with steady breaths.

Shortly after, a message appeared: "A reminder of what’s at stake."

I wavered a little, my stomach roiling with nausea. "He is observing them. At this moment."

Jake's expression darkened as he viewed the video and he reached for the phone. Without wasting any time, he called his security detail. "Tighten up the guys' surroundings. Unless I say so, nobody is in or out. Learn how this video was captured. I need answers right away.

My uneasiness only grew as the call came to an end. "Jake, he will not stop." He is demonstrating his ability to get close at any time.

I retreated a step as Jake reached for me. While uncertainty was still gnawing at the corners of my mind, I wasn't prepared to be reassured. "You must have faith in me, Emma. I'll protect them."

Despite my emotions screaming at me that it was far from done, I nodded and swallowed hard.

The estate was on high alert that evening. Every shadow seemed dangerous. My heart skipped a beat with every sound. However, I had a gut feeling that something was about to happen even with the increased protection.

The scream then reverberated across the corridors.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I sprang to my feet. Outside my door, I heard thundering footsteps, and before I could grab my rifle, Jake appeared, his face etched in stone. "Stay here."

"Like hell," I retorted, snatching up my weapon and shoving him aside.

There were many security guards on the stairway, but they dispersed as we got closer. Then I caught sight of him.

Jake's own man, whom I had known and trusted, was lying sprawled on the chilly floor with a clean slice across his throat from ear to ear. My stomach lurched, but not because of the blood.

His breast was engraved with the emblem. Dominic's signature.

A message.

As Jake knelt next to the dead, his fingers brushing the wound before squeezing into a fist, the room was oppressively quiet. He remained silent. He was not required to. It was an obvious message.

We were penetrated by Dominic. Once more.

I clenched my fingers around my firearm. "Stop waiting. Stop responding. We confront him in battle.

Jake gently rose up and looked at me. "And what if that’s exactly what he wants?"

"Then we give it to him on our terms."

Jake didn't protest, but his lips formed a narrow line. Because, like me, he understood that this was no longer a defense.

It was war.

And that was the most audacious thing Dominic had ever done.

A creaking door opened somewhere in the house's depths. My blood froze.

We weren't by ourselves.

I immediately recognized the aroma of Dominic's perfume as it slithered along the corridor. As I pivoted, my gun already up, my stomach knotted.

The stairwell resonated with a slow, purposeful clap. Then a figure emerged from the darkness.

"Well done, Emma," a purring voice said. "You finally understand."

Dominic wasn't the one.

It was someone far worse.

The light struck his face and I felt my breath catch in my throat. The realization hit me like a freight train. The surrounding air froze.

"No," I muttered.

Not just anybody was a traitor.

I used to love that person.

Furthermore, he was directly in front of me.

My grip on my gun trembled as I attempted to comprehend the impossibility. "You... I trusted you."

The man took a slow, deliberate step forward, grinning and cocking his head slightly. "And that was your first mistake."

Jake stepped to my side, his posture stiff, his eyes blazing with anger that he could hardly control. "I should have known it was you."

The betrayer laughed. "You should have, of course. However, you didn't. The enjoyable thing is that.

Tension tightened like a vice around my chest, making the air heavier. There was the sound of footsteps approaching; more than one pair and others were coming. Strengthenings? Or more adversaries?

I had a few seconds to make a choice.

Run or fight.

For me, Jake made the decision.

He yelled, "Move!" and shoved me back while a gunshot echoed.

I was struck hard by a bullet that had lodged itself in the wall where I had just been standing, and my ears began to ring. Through the confusion, I saw Jake lunge forward and throw the traitor to the ground.

More shooting. More yells. As I clambered to my feet, looking for a weapon, an escape route, or whatever else, the earth shook.

Then I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye.

Dominic.

With a sly grumble, he stood at the end of the corridor and watched

everything happens.

He called, "Time’s up, Emma," but his voice was lost in the commotion.

Then everything turned dark.