Chapter 14 Traitor Inside the Valmere Industry
“You shouldn’t have let him touch you.”
The words cut through the cool night air like glass.
Deborah froze, her heel catching slightly on the marble step before she steadied herself. She didn’t have to turn to know who it was. The tone, quiet, deep, and threaded with restrained anger, could only belong to one man.
Luther Cain.
Slowly, she turned.
He stood half in shadow near one of the stone pillars at the edge of the L’Archeum’s grand driveway. The golden lights of the city flickered against the dark line of his suit, the sharp planes of his face thrown into stark relief. He looked both immaculate and dangerous, too composed for a man who should’ve stayed far away from her.
The hum of passing engines and laughter from the auction hall drifted behind them, fading into insignificance. For a brief, suspended second, there was only the sound of her breath and the faint rustle of his coat as he shifted his weight.
“I didn’t,” she said finally, her voice calm but her pulse unsteady. “He didn’t touch me.”
Luther’s eyes held hers, steady, unwavering. “He wanted to.”
Deborah exhaled, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “You shouldn’t have been watching.”
“Then stop giving me something to watch,” he said, quiet, deliberate, with that tone that made her heartbeat a little too fast.
Her throat tightened. “You can’t be here.”
“I’m always where I need to be.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
He took a step forward, the faint scrape of his shoe echoing softly across the pavement. “You think I was going to watch another man talk to you like that? Touch you like that? Pretend he had a chance?”
Her voice was a whisper now. “Luther…”
“Because I would’ve killed him for it,” he finished, his tone low, unshaken, like he was stating a fact, not a threat.
The air between them vibrated, danger and longing tangled into one. The way his eyes darkened when he looked at her wasn’t rage. It was restraint, raw and deliberate, like a man fighting the instinct to burn everything in his path.
Deborah swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t talk like that,” she said softly. “Not here. Not tonight.”
“You told me not to come,” Luther said, stepping closer still, the distance shrinking to a breath. “You told me to stay away. And I did. For weeks. But I’m done watching from the edges of your world while men like that think they can stand next to you.”
She shook her head, a mix of anger and panic rising. “Do you even hear yourself? My brothers are inside. If they see you—”
He smiled faintly, not out of amusement, but in defiance. “Then let them.”
“Luther.”
“Let them see what they can’t control,” he murmured. “Let them see what it looks like when you stop pretending you don’t want me.”
Her breath caught. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
He took another step, slow, measured. His presence alone pulled at her composure. The faint scent of his cologne, the soft rasp of his voice, the way he said her name like it was both a warning and a prayer.
“Do you think I came here to start a scene?” he asked. “I came to make sure you were safe.”
“I didn’t need saving,” she said quietly.
“No,” he agreed, his gaze softening. “But you deserved to have someone watching your back for once.”
That silenced her.
For a long, delicate moment, neither of them spoke. The world seemed to contract, just her, him, and the fragile tension balancing between restraint and ruin.
Finally, she whispered, “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I told you to meet me tonight,” Luther reminded her, his tone rougher now. “You didn’t.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Because of them.”
Her silence confirmed it.
Luther exhaled slowly, running a hand down the back of his neck. When he spoke again, his voice had lost its edge, it was quieter, rawer. “You think I don’t know what it costs you to even talk to me? You think I don’t see how they watch you like a hawk, waiting for one mistake?”
She looked away. “They’re already questioning the rumors,” she murmured. “They said someone saw us that night. That I was seen with you.”
Luther smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Let them talk. I’ve been called worse than a rumor.”
“This isn’t just about your name,” she said sharply. “This is about mine. About the Valmere name. If they think I’ve compromised the family—”
“They’ll turn on you,” he finished.
Her silence said enough.
Luther’s jaw tightened. He took another step forward until he was close enough for her to feel his breath against her hair. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Then maybe it’s time you stop being their pawn.”
Her head lifted at that. “Don’t.”
He met her gaze, unwavering. “You’ve been running their empire for months, Deborah. You’re the mind behind the council, the reason they’re even surviving the board’s attacks. But they’ll never see you as their equal. To them, you’re still their little sister they have to protect.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
She hated that his words stung, not because they were cruel, but because they were true.
“You deserve more than their approval,” he said, his tone softening again. “You deserve freedom. And you can’t have it if you keep hiding behind their name.”
She looked at him, eyes bright but unyielding. “And what would you have me do? Run away with you?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
Her lips parted, a quiet, involuntary laugh escaping her. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It could be,” he said, stepping closer until there was no space left between them. “You just have to stop being afraid of what happens if you choose me.”
Her pulse thundered. “I’m not afraid of you, Luther.”
“No,” he whispered, “you’re afraid of what you become when you’re with me.”
The truth in his words burned.
Then, as if the world had been waiting for that moment to shatter, a voice echoed faintly from the hall, Caelum’s, low and clipped, followed by footsteps approaching the exit.
Deborah’s head snapped up. “Go. Now.”
Luther didn’t move. He reached out instead, his fingers brushing the inside of her wrist, a brief touch, light as breath, but it sent a shiver through her spine.
“Before I go,” he said quietly, “you need to hear this.”
She hesitated.
“There’s something happening inside Valmere Industries,” he continued. “Someone’s leaking information, confidential data, internal trade movements, private meeting minutes. It’s not an external breach. It’s coming from the inside.”
Her blood ran cold. “How do you know that?”
“Because Cain Dominion intercepted one of your transmissions this morning. The signature code matches your family’s private channel.”
She blinked, shock flickering across her features. “That’s impossible. Only my brothers and I—”
“Exactly,” Luther interrupted. “You’re being watched, Deborah. Not by me. By one of them.”
The sound of footsteps grew closer, voices now, Lucio’s and Aston’s.
Her mind raced. “You think one of my brothers is behind it?”
“I think someone inside the Valmere circle wants to see you fall,” he said. “And if you’re not careful, they’ll make sure you take the blame for it.”
The words hit her harder than she expected. “You’re guessing.”
“No,” he said softly. “I’m warning you.”
Then, before she could respond, he leaned forward, his breath brushing against her ear, low enough that only she could hear.
“Be careful, baby,” he whispered. “You’re walking through fire, and they don’t even know it’s burning.” before he left, he gave her a soft kiss in the cheek.
Her heart stilled. The word baby felt like a secret itself, dangerous, fragile, too intimate for the space between them.
And then, like smoke, he was gone.
The next second, the shadow he had occupied was empty.
When Caelum’s voice called her name, she turned quickly, forcing calm into every movement.
“Everything alright?” he asked, glancing behind her.
“Yes,” she said smoothly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just needed some air.”
He studied her for a moment, but said nothing more. “Let’s go,” he said finally.
She followed, quiet, composed, untouchable again, the perfect Valmere heiress walking back into the light.
But as she slipped into the limousine beside her brothers, the world outside blurred into colorless streaks. Luther’s words replayed in her mind like a curse she couldn’t unhear.
Someone inside Valmere Industries was leaking information.
Someone was betraying them.
And for the first time, Deborah Valmere didn’t know whether the real danger was outside her family,or sitting right beside her.